The NBA season has started with a bang and there have been a few surprises with the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans struggling early whilst the Detroit Pistons have stamped themselves as playoff contenders in the East. Continue reading as we offer our November 5th NBA Preview and Betting Tips which includes a look at the Knicks V Cavs which is live on Australian TV!.
- - -
New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers (Thursday 12pm AEDT - LIVE ON ESPN AUS)
After stumbling on opening night against the Chicago Bulls it has been business as usual for the Cavaliers as they blew away the Memphis Grizzlies away from home, defeated the Miami Heat and were too strong for the Philadelphia 76ers. Kevin Love hasn’t shown any issues with the shoulder that was dislocated in last year’s playoffs, as he has been averaging a double double whilst Lebron James has been playing at his MVP standard and he narrowly missed out on his first triple double of the year against the 76ers.
The absence of Kyrie Irving hasn’t been concerning for the Cavs as Mo Williams has been a solid replacement.
They will be returning home for their second home game of the season and they will want retribution after losing to the Knicks on opening night last year. James will want to get the better of Carmelo Anthony who has been averaging 23 points per game. The Knicks have had a solid start but their loss to the Spurs shows they are still off the pace of the elite teams.
TIP: Cavaliers -9 @ $1.91 with WilliamHill
San Antonio Spurs at Washington Wizards (Thursday 11am AEDT)
The Spurs weren’t able to get it done last week in Oklahoma against the Thunder but since then they have shown why they are a side expected to make a run for the finals. Lamarcus Aldridge has started to step up whilst Kawhi Leonard has proved why he was the defensive player of the year last year and has also added extra offence to his game as he scored a career high 32 points on Kevin Durant. Meanwhile Tim Dunca, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker have continued to do their thing and contribute to their team winning.
The Wizards were able to escape against the Magic and Bucks but were unable to defeat the Knicks at home and have had a three-day rest. They will want to make a statement against the Spurs but the loss of Paul Pierce’s experience seems to have affected this side. San Antonio has too much firepower whilst being great on the defensive end and will win their fourth straight.
TIP: Spurs -3.5 @ $1.92 with Palmerbet
Toronto Raptors at Oklahoma City Thunder (Thursday 12pm AEDT)
The Raptors are finally starting to get production from their 2011 5th overall pick Jonas Valanciunas and their new signing DeMarre Carrol has been a great addition as he can lock up their oppositions best scorer whilst producing on the offensive end with just over 16 points per game. They have been able to replace Lou Williams who was 6th man of the year last season as Terrence Ross has moved to the bench. They defeated the Dallas Mavericks and are playing a back to back as they are faced with their next 9 off 11 matches on the road.
However, they are up against the Thunder who has been able to stay healthy over the opening week but they lost their latest match to the Houston Rockets where they struggled to hold onto the ball as they made 24 turnovers. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are both averaging over 30 points whilst D.J Augustin, Dion Waiters and Enes Kanter have been great off the bench.
OKC will bounce back with a victory and hand the Raptors their first loss of the season however it won’t be a blow out.
TIP: Raptors +9 @ $1.91 with Sportsbet
Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors (Thursday 2.30pm AEDT - LIVE ON ESPN AUS)
This match will have a bit of added fire as the Clippers made a statement during the offseason that the Warriors were lucky they didn’t face them during the playoffs last season.
Golden State will want to show the Clippers that it wouldn’t of mattered who they faced last season that they would have clinched the championship. They already have been proving it so far this season as they have started undefeated and the current MVP has been shooting lights out from behind the arc and has averaged just under 40 points in their four matches this season.
If Curry wasn’t having such a great start to the year then there would be a lot more talk surrounding Blake Griffin with his 64% shooting from the field whilst averaging 32 points. Chris Paul has been running the offence and when he is on the court the side has been dominant whilst their bench hasn’t been as strong as first expected. Austin Rivers has struggled whilst it will take a while for Josh Smith to be effective.
The Warriors only lost two games at home during the regular season last year and after defeating the Grizzlies by 50 points in their last start I expect them to pass the line in this one.
TIP: Warriors -8.5 @ $1.98 with Crownbet
