After a smaller four game slate of NBA action on Friday, we return to a much larger nine game slate on Saturday! There’s plenty of exciting games on with some big names set to go head to head. We provide previews and betting tips for the three best value games here. Good luck to everyone following!
NBA Betting Tips Saturday December 15th
Washington Wizards at Brooklyn Nets (11:40am AEDT)
The Wizards have been dreadful this season and only made matters worse with their latest loss to the undermanned Celtics. They tried hard for stretches in that contest, but were just outhustled by Marcus Smart and the Celtics in the overtime period. That loss took their season record to 11-17, placing them in 10th position in the weaker Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, the Nets have found some form recently, winning three on the spin with some huge scalps along the way. Their latest win was over in Philadelphia where they defeated the red hot 76ers by three points. Five days before that though, they defeated the top team In the East in the Raptors by a single point. Despite their recent form, the Nets record still isn’t great (11-18), but if they can keep playing at this level they will find themselves amongst playoff contention in the East.
This definitely isn’t the most exciting game of the slate, but we value winners over excitement. And for this reason we are more than happy to suggest a play on the Nets to win here. The Wizards are a terrible 4-11 on the road this season and we only see this getting worse on Saturday.
Miami Heat at Memphis Grizzlies (12:10pm AEDT)
The Heat are another one of the Eastern Conference teams that have underwhelmed in the first quarter of the 2018-19 season. They were expected to be around the mark again this season, but after 27 games they find themselves with an 11-16 record, which has them in ninth position in the standings. Luckily for them there are a heap of other teams around them struggling, so it will only take a couple of wins to get them back on track.
On the other hand, the Grizzlies have grinded their way to an impressive position in the West, where they now sixth position in the conference standings with a 16-11 record. They’ve also turned their home court into the fortress that we’d come to know and love in past years, boasting a 9-4 record there so far. It seems the success of the Grizzlies will continue whilst key cogs Marc Gasol and Mike Conley stay healthy, but that has been a tough ask in recent seasons.
The spread might seem a little big here for the Grizzlies, but we believe they’re more than capable of covering. The Heat have had so many injuries so far this season that they really struggle with consistency. The problem here is that consistency is exactly what they’ll need to beat a determined Grizzlies outfit.
Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings (2:10pm AEDT)
The final game we’ve looked at with interest on Saturday is the Western Conference match-up between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings. The Warriors are coming off arguably their worst loss of the season in their last outing, losing to the Kwahi-less Raptors on their home deck by a whopping 20 points. Even with Draymond and Steph back in the line-up, they still haven’t looked themselves just yet. Luckily for them, time is on their side.
Meanwhile, the Kings have been one of the surprise packets this season and a team we’ve found great success backing. They’ve put together a 15-12 record so far, which has them in eighth position in the stacked Western Conference. The Kings are one of the few teams in the entire NBA to have above .500 records both at home and away, which shows just how consistent they’ve been to date.
Simply put, the line here is far too big. The Warriors are yet to show the form of the championship team they are, and until they do we’re happy to oppose them. A +8.5 advantage for the Kings at home represents tremendous value in this one.
