The NBA season continues and so do our NBA betting tips as a whopping 26 teams will be in action on Christmas Eve. The Grizzlies travel to Washington to take on the Wizards in the ESPN Australia televised match, while you can continue reading for all our December 24th NBA Preview and Betting Tips.
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Memphis Grizzlies at Washington Wizards (Thursday 11am AEDT)
The Wizards have been disappointing this season after having a breakout year last year in the playoffs where they swept the Raptors and pushed the Hawks in the second round. A lot of experts believed John Wall and Bradley Beal would have huge seasons but injuries have hampered their progress as Wall is playing through an injury whilst Beal has been sidelined.
Meanwhile the Grizzlies are still inconsistent and have a poor record on the road despite picking up a comfortable victory against the Sixers in their last match. They have the second worst offence and Marc Gasol hasn’t been dominating on the offensive end. However, with Beal and Gary Neal on the sidelines we will be predicting a win for the Grizzlies.
TIP: Grizzlies @ $1.99 with Sportsbet
Boston Celtics at Charlotte Hornets (Thursday 11am AEDT)
These two sides are incredibly balanced offensively and use a lot of different players to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Both sides are in the top 15 in points, rebounds, assists and points allowed per game.
Isaiah Thomas is having a breakout season for the Celtics as the short point guard made the starting position his own and it will be a big match up between him and Kemba Walker. Marcus Smart is still on the sidelines but the Celtics have been playing without him for close to two weeks now and have adjusted accordingly. The Hornets will have an advantage on the inside with Al Jefferson but the Celtics will be able to keep their away record positive with a win.
TIP: Celtics @ $2.10 with CrownBet
San Antonio Spurs at Minnesota Timberwolves (Thursday 12pm AEDT)
The Golden State Warriors have received the majority of the attention this year with their incredible 26-1 record. However, the Spurs are cruising along under the radar and are proving to be the biggest obstacle that stands in the way of the Warriors going back-to-back. The Spurs are first in defence, second in assists and 5th in rebounding as they are only allowing their opponents to score 89 points per game. Meanwhile their offence is still strong and continuing to improve as they are 11th and score 102 points per game. The addition of Aldridge has allowed Duncan’s workload to be lowered whilst Kawhi Leonard is continuing to improve every time he takes the court. The Timberwolves are still a young team and with Nikola Pekovic on the sidelines they will be lacking interior defence. The Spurs will pick up a comfortable victory by a big margin.
TIP: Spurs -10.5 @ $1.92 with Palmerbet
Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers (Sunday 2.30pm AEDT)
The Lakers picked up their fifth win of the year as they defeated the Nuggets by 4 points and Kobe Bryant starred as he dropped 31 points but his struggles from behind the arc continued. They are taking on the Thunder in a back-to-back and with the Thunder having one of the best offences and a strong defence we are predicting a blow out victory in this one.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have been able to remain healthy this season and are combining for huge numbers in every game they play. Enes Kanter has proven to be a vital key off the bench but he needs to improve on the defensive end to earn himself more minutes. The Thunder have far too many pieces and will run away with this one early.
TIP: Thunder -13 @ $1.95 with WilliamHill
