Happy New Year to all of our followers! We’ve had a fantastic start to our NBA betting tips this season with wins in 6/8 of our spread bets and 6/8 on player props and are confident we can bring our form into the new year. Catch our best tips for the 10-game slate on Saturday below and good luck to everyone following!
NBA Betting Tips: Saturday, 2nd of January
Memphis Grizzlies at Charlotte Hornets
Spectrum Center, 11am AEDT
The Grizzlies were able to win a thriller against the Nets two games back but weren’t up to the task last time out against the Celtics, losing by 29 points. Ja Morant remains out with an ankle injury and is set to miss around a month of action.
The Hornets lost their first two games of the season but have bounced back with impressive wins against both the Nets and the Mavericks. LaMelo Ball had a break out game in the latter, drilling four threes on his way to 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Both of these are young teams that are going to have their ups and downs throughout the season, but it seems there’s going to be plenty more downs for the Grizzlies with Morant on the sidelines. At home and on a two-game winning streak, expect a confident Hornets outfit to get the job done.
With Morant out there’s plenty of extra shots available for the other Grizzlies starters, most of which we expect to go to Dillon Brooks. He’s had 37 shots in the past two games and should be able to clear his points line providing he gets a few to fall in.
Prop: Brooks O19.5 Points ($1.86)
Los Angeles Clippers at Utah Jazz
Vivint Smart Home Arena, 1pm AEDT
The Clippers have bounced back beautifully from their embarrassing loss to the Mavericks, defeating both the Timberwolves and Trail Blazers by 20+ points. Kawhi Leonard sported a mask in his return last game and poured in 27 points along with seven assists.
The Jazz were no match for a firing Suns outfit on Friday and will be looking to bounce back a day later on their home deck once more. The Jazz are now 2-2 on the season and will be hoping for greater output from Donovan Mitchell who is shooting 34.8% from the floor.
Both Leonard and George are expected to play on Saturday, which could spell disaster for a Jazz team that’s yet to hit their straps in season 2020-21. Taking into account the form both teams bring into this contest, covering a spread of -3.5 seems very achievable for the Clippers here.
One player for the Jazz that has been great to start the season is Rudy Gobert. He’s already had 18+ points and 14+ rebounds in three games and should be able to post those type of numbers again against the Clippers frontcourt.
Prop: Gobert O29.5 PRA ($1.85)
Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors
Chase Center, 2:30pm AEDT
The Trail Blazers have had a mixed bag in terms of results so far, winning two games rather comfortably and losing the other two by 20+ points. Damian Lillard will be looking for more consistency with his shot after shooting below 40% in three of their four games to date.
The Warriors were always going to find it difficult again this season without Klay Thompson and they were blown out in their opening two games against the Nets and the Bucks; however, the Warriors have managed to win their past two games against weak opposition to square up their record at 2-2.
There’s been a bit of an overcorrection on the Warriors price after two wins in a row and we see this as an opportunity to take advantage. The Blazers have beaten the Warriors by 5+ in their last two meetings and we expect that to trend to continue.
While we expect the Blazers to win, we still like Steph Curry to cover his points line. He had a shaky start to the season, which was to be expected after playing very little basketball last season, but he’s come on strong in the last two with 36 and 31 points on a decent clip. Providing he plays 30+ minutes, we see this as a solid bet on a tough slate.
Prop: Curry O27.5 Points ($1.88)
