We continue our coverage of the 2021-22 NBA season by bringing you previews and best bets from the huge 11-game slate on Saturday. Check out all of our favourite spread and player prop bets for the day for free right here!
NBA Betting Tips: Saturday, 22nd of January
Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando Magic
Amway Center, 11am AEDT
The Lakers have been horrible form in recent weeks, enough so that LeBron James has felt the need to apologise to the fans. They lost their most recent game against the out-of-sorts Pacers by seven points, making it four losses from their last five games. The Lakers have now dropped one game behind .500 at 22-23, which is good enough for eighth spot in the West.
The Magic entered this season knowing full well they’re at the beginning of a big rebuild and their results to date illustrate that. They recently managed to snap a big 10-game losing streak with a surprise win on the road against the Hornets, but have since gone onto lost each of their last three games. The Magic are currently the holders of the worst record in the competition at 8-38.
The Lakers have certainly underwhelmed this season but will start as the clear favourites against the Magic on Saturday. They’ve already met them once this season at Crypto.com Arena and were good enough to win that by 12 points. Despite their recent struggles, we believe they’re good value to win and cover the spread again here.
Los Angeles Lakers -5.5
$1.90
Toronto Raptors at Washington Wizards
Capital One Arena, 12pm AEDT
The Raptors season of runs continues to frustrate fans as they now find themselves on a stretch where they’ve lost four of their last five. Admittedly, they’ve had a tough schedule over the last couple of weeks with four of their games against elite teams, which has seen their record fall back to an even 21-21, which is only good enough for 10th spot in the East.
The Wizards lost a heartbreaker at home to the Nets in their most recent game, falling by one point after making a late surge. That took their current homestand record to 3-2 and their overall home record to a respectable 13-9. The Wizards have hovered around .500 for the majority of the season and are currently 23-22, placing them in eighth spot in the East.
These teams have already played each other three times this campaign, meaning their clash on Saturday will be their final matchup of the season. The Raptors currently lead the series 2-1 after winning their last two meetings, but the Wizards are the better form team of the two and will be on their home deck on Saturday, which should give them the edge.
Washington Wizards H2H
$1.80
Memphis Grizzlies at Denver Nuggets
Ball Arena, 1pm AEDT
The Grizzlies have been one of the most impressive teams all season long, far and away exceeding expectations to date. They may have lost their most recent game away to the defending-champion Bucks, but that was just their second loss from their last 14 games. The Grizzlies are now 31-16 on the season, making them the third best team in both the West and the NBA.
The Nuggets were able to negotiate a thrilling win in overtime against the Clippers last time out, which was a fantastic way to bounce back from a poor blowout loss against the Jazz in the game prop. Their recent win made it five wins from their last seven games in what’s turning into a very important stretch for the Nuggets, who have jumped into sixth spot in the West with their 23-20 record.
The Nuggets have been in some good form in recent weeks, but their lack of consistency from game-to-game is certainly a worry. On the other hand, the Grizzlies almost always bring their A-Game and have also won both of their meetings with the Nuggets this season. We expect them to be right in this once again and to cover the spread at a minimum.
Memphis Grizzlies +4.5
$1.88
Player Props
11am Thunder at Hornets – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 24+ Points $1.96 Sportsbet
11am Thunder at Hornets – Miles Bridges 21+ Points $1.94 Picklebet
11am Lakers at Magic – LeBron James 30+ Points $1.80 TAB
11am Clippers at 76ers – Joel Embiid 30+ Points $1.80 TAB
11:30am Heat at Hawks – DeAndre Hunter 15+ Points $1.85 TAB
12pm Bulls at Bucks – Khris Middleton 21+ Points $1.84 Picklebet
12:30pm Nets at Spurs – Dejounte Murray 37+ PRA $1.85 TAB
1pm Grizzlies at Nuggets – Aaron Gordon 24+ PRA $1.85 TAB
