Another tough day for us in NBA betting tips on Tuesday as we hit on just 1/3 tips. We are counting down the days until the playoffs start, with just two weeks of games left to play. Today we take a look at some of the key games in the five game slate this Thursday, the 28th of March.
NBA Betting Tips Thursday 28th March
Portland Trail Blazers at Chicago Bulls (11am AEDT)
What a massive blow for the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday as starting centre Jusuf Nukic went down with a horrific leg injury. The Blazers will be shaken after losing their star centre and will likely be in no mood for an away game against the Bulls on Thursday. unfortunately for them, playoffs seedings in the Western Conference are on the line and the Blazers currently sit just two games ahead of the Utah Jazz in fourth place.
The Bulls will be desperate to continue losing games in a hope to land themselves in the bottom three records in the league and earn the maximum percentage chance of securing the No.1 draft pick that comes with it. They have lost seven of their last 10 games and currently sit two games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who maintain the third worst record in the league.
The Blazers will have to adjust to life without Nurkic but should still be way too strong for the Bulls here, who aren't really interested in winning games at this point in the season.
Indiana Pacers at Oklahoma City Thunder (11am AEDT)
The Pacers captured a monster home win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday to snap a four game losing streak. They currently hold onto fourth place in the Eastern Conference by just two games over Boston and face off against the Celtics twice in their remaining eight games.
The Thunder find themselves at the very bottom of the tight Western Conference seeding race at the moment. Having lost six of their last 10 matches, they have slipped to eighth plae in the West, but currently trail the 5th placed Utah Jazz by just one game. They were disappointing against the Grizzlies in Memphis on Tuesday, losing by 12 points and will look to get back on the winners list at home on Thursday.
The Thunder start as six point favourites here, which we think is a touch high given their form over the past few weeks. The Pacers are near full strength at the right time of the season and looked dominant against the Nuggets on Tuesday, winning by 36 points. We think the Pacers cover here.
Golden State Warriors at Memphis Grizzlies (11am AEDT)
The Warriors bounced back from a uncharacteristic 35 point loss to the Mavericks on Sunday to defeat the Pistons by seven points on Monday. They currently hold onto a 0.5 game advantage over the Denver Nuggets atop the Western Conference standings but have a relatively easy run home with games against the Grizzlies x2, Wolves, Hornets, Lakers, Cavs and Pelicans over their last nine games.
The Grizzlies are one of the more frustrating teams in the NBA at the moment. It seems that whenever they play a good side, they show up to play proven by wins over the likes of the Rockets, Thunder, Blazers and Jazz over the last few weeks. However, in that period, they have also lost games to the Hawks, Wizards, Magic and Wolves, who are all sub .500 teams.
We can almost guarantee that the Grizzlies will put up a spirited performance against the Warriros at home on Thursday. They have covered the spread in five out of their last six home games and we expect them to cover a large 11.5 point line on Thursday.
