Great 10 game slate in the NBA this Saturday, the 3rd of March! We went 2-1 on Thursday’s betting tips and we’ll be looking to continue the decent form as we take a look at some of the key games in Saturday’s slate and give our tips below.
Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers (12pm AEDT)
A battle of Eastern Conference playoff teams gets us started on Saturday as the 7th seeded Bucks host the 5th seeded Pacers. The Bucks are currently on a three game losing after a tough loss to the Pistons on Thursday. Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was forced to the locker room in the game against the Pistons after being poked in the eye but rejoined the bench later in the game. He’ll likely play Saturday but look for additional updates closer to the game time.
The Pacers are currently 5th in the Eastern Conference and have won six of their last 10 games. They have, however, lost their last two after going down to two of the lower teams in the league in the Mavericks and Hawks. The losses were surprising for the Pacers, who have been impressive this season, and they’ll look to get back on track Saturday as their next three games come against Eastern Conference rivals.
The Bucks have started as 3 point favourites here, which suggests the bookies think that Giannis will definitely be playing. The Pacers have been average in their last two games but there’s always a chance that the Greek Freak misses here through precautionary reasons. Even if he plays, the Pacers have a great chance of winning this one, so the $2.25 price tag is value.
TIP: Indiana Pacers to win - $2.25 at Sportsbet
Toronto Raptors at Washington Wizards (12pm AEDT)
The Raptors continue to dominate the Eastern Conference, having won 9 of their last 10 games and currently sitting a game clear on top of the conference standings. They have no injuries of not at the moment, and the tandem of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have been playing out of their skin as they carry a 43-17 record into the back portion of the season.
The Wizards are still without their star point guard John Wall, who will be out for at least the next six weeks with a knee injury. It puts a massive damper on the Wizards season, who were seen as a top Eastern Conference team at the start of the season, but now look to be sliding down the conference standings. They still sit in fourth position, but will have to play above and beyond to stay there as the season winds down.
The Raptors start as 3 point favourites here, which we think is a little low, even if they are away from home. Toronto has won their last two games by an average of 21 points, and have regularly been blowing Eastern Conference teams out of the water since the all-star break. We think they cover here.
TIP: Toronto -3 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
Minnesota Timberwolves at Utah Jazz (2.30pm AEDT)
The Wolves will be on the second night of a tough road back to back here as they face the Jazz in Utah from 2.30pm. They went down to the Trailblazers on Friday and their number 3 seed in the Western Conference now looks to be in danger without their star guard Jimmy Butler. Butler was forced to the sidelines in the first game back after the all-star break with a knee injury and will be out indefinitely.
The Utah Jazz have won just one of their three games since the all star break, but faced tough opponents in the Rockets and Blazers in the loss. Their defence has really stood up, however, as they kept the high powered offence of the Rockets to just 96 points on Tuesday. They’ll be coming into this game on three full days of rest so should be up and about for the home game.
As the leagues leader in minutes per game at 37.1, the loss of Jimmy Butler is a massive one for the Wolves. Karl-Anthony Towns stepped up big time on Friday, scoring 34 points and pulling down 17 rebounds but the Wolves still weren’t able to come away with the victory. They won’t get that sort of production all of the time from Towns, especially against the defence of Rudy Gobert. We think the Jazz win here but we like the unders more.
TIP: Total points UNDER 210 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
