We hit on two of our three best bets on Saturday’s NBA slate to continue our solid start to the new year. Our first play of the day was unlucky not to get up with the Timberwolves fading after half time to go down to the Spurs by three. Thankfully though, our next two plays on Trail Blazers and the Warriors both got up very comfortably to make it a profitable day. We now shift our focus to the 11-game slate on Tuesday and look to find some more winners. As always, good luck to everyone following!
NBA Betting Tips Tuesday January 22nd
Orlando Magic @ Atlanta Hawks (7am AEDT)
First up for the Tuesday slate we’re making a play on the Orlando Magic at Atlanta Hawks contest. Surprisingly, this is just the first meeting between these teams this season, meaning there’s still a full four game regular season series set to play out.
The Magic come into this game after losing each of their past three contests, as well as seven of their last nine. It’s been a really poor couple of months for a team that started the season off well. As it stands, Magic are in 11th position in the Eastern Conference standings at 19-27.
The Hawks have actually been a lot more competitive than we perhaps anticipated during the pre-season. They’ve managed to put together a 14-31 season to date, which is obviously not good enough for a playoff berth, but it’s certainly more wins than what most had them claiming by this stage in the season.
The bookies have priced this Eastern Conference match-up at a coin toss, which we disagree with. The Hawks have been solid at home with eight wins from 20 games and are facing a relatively poor road team in the Magic (7-14). The Magic also don’t have a big that will keep star sophomore John Collins off the offensive glass, which he has been feasting on in recent weeks on his way to averages of 19 points and 11 rebounds. We see the young Hawks pinching this at home against a lethargic and battered up Magic outfit.
Houston Rockets @ Philadelphia 76ers (12pm AEDT)
Our second feature game of the day takes place in Philadelphia with the 76ers hosting the Houston Rockets. These teams actually haven’t met since October 2017, so head-to-head results are pretty much N/A here.
The Rockets enter this one coming off a thrilling overtime win against the Lakers. They trailed by over 20 points at stages, but were able to claw back and get the win thanks to another incredible James Harden performance. The Rockets moved to 26-19 with the win and into fifth spot in the Western Conference standings.
The Sixers three game winning streak came to a disappointing end against the Thunder last time out, where they rallied back late but eventually lost by three points. That loss saw their record go to 30-17 and their position in the Eastern Conference standings stay at number four.
We’d be very surprised if the Sixers fail to win this one by double digits. They’ve got the edge in depth and talent, as well as a huge advantage in the front court with Embiid. The Rockets just don’t have a match-up down low, so we expect this to be a comprehensive victory on the back of a big game by Embiid.
Philadelphia 76ers -5
$1.92
Golden State Warriors @ Los Angeles Lakers (2:30pm AEDT)
Our third and final game of the slate sees the Golden State Warriors travel to Staples Centre to take on the Los Angeles Lakers. This will be the second meeting between these new rivals this season. The Lakers won the first by 26 points on Boxing Day.
The Warriors are really starting to build and put pressure on the other top teams in the West to keep up with them in the standings. They’ve now won seven on the spin and nine of their last 10 games. They’re clear first in the West and have now added DeMarcus Cousins to the starting line-up, who was great in his first appearance with 14 points in 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, the Lakers injury list continues to grow with Lonzo Ball now sit to miss 4-6 weeks with an ankle injury. He joins Rajon Rondo and LeBron James on the pine, which leaves them really thin in terms of capable ball handlers. As it stands, the Lakers are in ninth position in the West at 25-22.
The -10.5 spread may seem big at first glance, but we feel this one could get really ugly. The Lakers are without their first three options in terms of ball handling and are coming up against a now fully healthy Warriors unit. We can’t see how this one doesn’t end in a double figure win for the Warriors in a revenge game.
Golden State Warriors -10.5
$1.92
