It was a day out on Saturday for Before You Bet NBA fans as we went 3-0 in our best bets of the day with winners coming at odds of $1.90, $1.84 and $1.90. We also hit on two out of three player prop bets for a combined record of 5/6 for the day!
We’ll be hunting more winners this Thursday as we take a look at some of our favourite matchups in the 11 game slate.
NBA Thursday January 21st Betting Tips
Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers
11am (AEDT)
The NBA has been absolutely ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last few weeks and two of the most affected teams have been the Eastern Conference rivals in the Celtics and 76ers. They will do battle on Thursday, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Seth Curry have all missed games over the past few weeks while the Celtics have been without their most important player, Jayson Tatum, for the last two games and he will remain out until he produces a negative COVID-19 test.
The Celtics will be buoyed by the return of All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, who came back from a knee injury in the Celtics last game and should continue to increase his game time as he gets more match fitness under his belt. With so much uncertainty surrounding Tatum and the Celtics line-up at the moment, the 76ers will start as 5.5 favourites.
Both teams are hovering around the .500 mark in terms of their record against the spread this season, but at home, the 76ers are a dominant 7-1 ATS. Embiid is likely to play in this game, so it’s tough to bet against them at home given the Celtics have Tatum out. Back the 76ers to cover here.
Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers
2.10pm (AEDT)
The Blazers are 8-6 on the season so far but have been pretty horrendous at home, especially by their lofty standards. They are 4-4 straight up at home and just 2-6 against the spread, and they’ll start as 1.5 point favourites on Thursday against the Grizzlies. The Blazers were dealt a blow a few days ago as they lost star shooting guard CJ McCollum to a foot injury. McCollum will be out for at least four weeks, leaving the bulk of the scoring load on point guard Damian Lillard.
The Grizzlies got their own star point guard back from injury just last week as Ja Morant returned to the line-up with immediate impact. They have won their only two games since he has been back from injury and they have been fantastic on the road this season, racking up a 4-1 record both straight up and ATS away from Memphis.
With McCollum and most likely Jusuf Nurkic out, the Blazers will still be getting used to life without a true second scoring option. The Grizzlies have looked dominant on the road and are getting 1.5 points here. Back them to cover against a rattled Blazers team.
San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors
2.10pm (AEDT)
The Warriors captures a fantastic win over the Lakers in their last game, winning by two points in a thriller and covering as underdogs quite easily. The win snapped a two game losing streak and they now move to 7-6 on the season with a 6-7 record against the spread. They are still without star shooting guard Klay Thompson and will be for the majority of the season, but they seem to be getting along okay without him, especially given the progression of star rookie James Wiseman.
The Spurs have been one of the more surprising teams in the league so far this season. They are just 8-6 straight up but are 9-5 against the spread, the second best record in the league behind only the Bulls. They will be on the road on Thursday, where they are 6-2 against the spread and are coming off two straight covers against the Blazers and Thunder.
Like the look of the Spurs here. It’s no surprise that the most professional organisation in the league has not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic yet and they seem to be reaping the rewards of that at the moment. Back them to cover the small 1.5 point spread.
