The NBA regular season is heating up with only a few more weeks of action left to go before the playoffs. Here, we take a look at the upcoming nine-game slate on Tuesday and bring you our best bets from the key games!
NBA Betting Tips: Tuesday, 20th of April
Phoenix Suns at Milwaukee Bucks
Fiserv Forum, 10am AEST
Phoenix Suns come into this off an uncharacteristically bad loss at home to the Spurs. Prior to the loss they had won four in a row and 11 of their past 12 games, so that performance may just be an anomaly on an otherwise fantastic season to date.
Milwaukee Bucks were also shock losers in their most recent home game against the Grizzlies. Their defence wasn’t up to scratch as they conceded 128 points to lose their fourth game from their last seven and seventh from their past 13.
Both teams are coming off big losses and will be looking to bounce back on Tuesday. In our opinion, the Suns are the more likely to do just that as they haven’t lost back-to-back games since way back in January, which is a phenomenal feat. Take them at the small line for a bit more safety.
You can’t go wrong with the ‘overs’ in a lot of player props here as it should be an absolute shootout. The one we’ve landed on in the end in Chris Paul’s overs because we expect him to step up in such a big game like he always does. He’s been quiet of late but he dropped 28 on the Bucks last time they met and will fancy his chances again here.
Prop: Paul O15.5 Points ($1.93)
Memphis Grizzlies at Denver Nuggets
Pepsi Center, 11am AEST
Memphis Grizzlies will be full of confidence after their 128-115 road win against the Bucks last time out. They’re rolling at the moment with wins in seven of their last 10 games and a pushing hard for a top eight or even top six spot in the Western Conference.
Denver Nuggets had the free win against the Rockets in their most recent game, winning comfortably to back up their great performance against the Heat. The Nuggets are preparing for life without Jamal Murray for at least 12 months and have done well so far, but there are certainly much bigger tests to come.
Both teams will be happy with their recent performances, but it’s fair to say the Grizzlies’ wins hold more merit. They look to be pushing really hard in order to clinch at least eighth spot in the West and while the Nuggets on the road are always a stern challenge, we expect the Grizzlies to be in this up to their eyeballs.
Michael Porter Jr has stepped up in Jamal Murray’s absence and has now scored 20+ points in 10 of his last 12 games. He’s getting a ton more sets run for him and is making the most of it so far. We expect him to have another solid night where he eclipses his points line.
Prop: Porter O21.5 Points ($1.87)
Memphis Grizzlies +6.5
$1.90
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers
Staples Center, 12pm AEST
Utah Jazz hit the ground running this season and haven’t looked back. They’ve held onto the number one spot in the West for a couple of months now and it doesn’t look like anything will change prior to the playoffs commencing. They had a bunch of their key players miss their last start against the Lakers, but all reports are indicating they’ll be back to near full strength on Tuesday.
Los Angeles Lakers have been without LeBron James and Anthony Davis for many weeks now, but the rest of the team has done a pretty good job at keeping them up in the standings. They’ve traded wins and losses in 10 straight games now and currently occupy the fifth seed in the West.
These teams met each other just two days ago in LA and it was the Lakers who came away with the win in OT. However, the Jazz are expected to get a couple of stars in Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert back in action for this rematch and we expect it to make all the difference, with the road team getting revenge.
