The preview and best bets for week eight of the NBA season have been driven to the rim and slam dunked with authority!
And it all commences with the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Atlanta Hawks.
LA LAKERS @ ATLANTA
FEBRUARY 2ND 11:30AM
The third placed Western Conference Los Angeles Lakers (15-6) face off against sixth placed Eastern Conference franchise the Atlanta Hawks (10-9) at the State Farm Arena on Tuesday morning.
The Lakers bring winning form into this game with a thrilling one-point victory over the Boston Celtics where big man Anthony Davis led the way with 27 points and 14 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Atlanta also has momentum after easily accounting for the Washington Wizards 116-110 in Washington on Saturday.
22-year-old All Star guard Trae Young lit up the court against the Wizards with a match winning performance.
Young spent 34 minutes in action and registered 41 points to give the Hawks its 10th win of the season and put its win/loss ratio in the positive ledger.
Statistically, both teams are eerily similar in their output this season.
Atlanta averages 113.2 points per game while the Lakers average 112 on the dot.
Both squads average almost identical rebounds per game with Hawks edging the Lakers in the rebound department with 47.8 compared to the Lakers 46.4.
Steals are identical with 6.7 a piece, but where the Lakers have the edge is in defence.
Los Angeles has conceded six less points per game compared to the Hawks this year and it also averages one more block per game.
The Los Angeles Lakers should be able to account for this Hawks team who will not be an easy beat. Looks like there is good value at the point spread.
Suggested Bet: Atlanta Hawks (+6) point spread at $1.91
NEW YORK @ CHICAGO
FEBRUARY 2ND 12:00pm
The New York Knicks travel to the United Centre in Illinois with both teams preparing for back to back matches against each other.
The last five games for the Knicks don’t read particularly well from a win and loss perspective.
The Knicks have only managed one victory through the last week and a half. That loss streak coincides with a three game road trip, the last of which was against a rampant Utah Jazz, the most in-form team in the NBA.
While the news for the Bulls is not dissimilar from the Knicks, having lost three consecutive matches to worsen it’s home record to only two wins from eight.
Both teams have faced very sturdy opposition in the last week and have come up short.
It’s a battle to pick between whether or not the losing form the Knicks showed against the high flying Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz outweighs the losing form of the Bulls against the reigning NBA champions the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.
Analysing both teams, it’s going to be the defensive fortitude of the Knicks coming against the offensive power of the Bulls.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has implemented a solid defensive system.
His side has conceded the least amount of points per game in the NBA this season (103.9 points) which is gulfs apart from the Bulls 118.5 points conceded per match.
However it is the Bulls scoring prowess that poses the biggest threat here.
Chicago is ranked fifth for points per game in the NBA with an average of 115.7.
Those scoring numbers are well in advance of the Knicks who are ranked last in the NBA for points scored per game with an average of 102.2.
Julius Randle will be pivotal in the chances the Knicks have in this match.
The power forward has been prolific this year averaging a double double with 22.4 points per game and a tick over 11 rebounds per game this season.
His most recent outing against a dominant Clippers side saw him register 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
If he can replicate that output against an arguably weaker opponent here, then that will take the Knicks a long way to winning.
New York are the outsiders here but can definitely cause an upset.
Suggested Bet: New York head to head at $2.43.
MEMPHIS @ SAN ANTONIO
FEBRUARY 2ND 12:30PM
San Antonio Spurs tip off against the Memphis Grizzlies at AT&T Centre for the second time in three days.
It was the Grizzlies who prevailed on Sunday with a 129-112 triumph and in doing so extended its unbeaten run on the road this season to five wins in a row.
Taylor Jenkins would have been pleased with the team effort his Grizzlies showed that night, with all bar three players hitting double figures on the scoresheet.
The Grizzlies bench and Jenkins rotations caused Spurs a lot of headaches.
Shooting guard De’Anthony Melton headed the scoring for the Grizzlies with 20 points off the pine to go with five rebounds and he was accompanied by a host of teammates.
Back-up centre Gorgui Dieng (15 points, seven rebounds and three assists) and benched guard Desmond Bane (15 points, four rebounds and two assists) all tagged along with the starting line up to do the damage.
Ja Morant was the pick of the starters with a double double which included 19 points and 11 assists.
A lopsided field goal percentage in favour of the Grizzlies proved a major factor in the win.
The Spurs allowed Memphis to shoot at 56% from the field and struggled to match them in that department going at 47%.
Conceding 56 points from inside the paint compared to 42 is also a worrying sign for the Spurs.
It highlights the defensive duty needed from centre pairing Lamarcus Alrdige and Jakob Poeltl who were well below their best on Sunday.
If the Spurs are any chance of turning the result three days ago it will need to tighten up in the key and not allow the Grizzlies any high percentage shots from closer to the ring.
We’re getting the same price to see if the Grizzlies can repeat the performance it produced on Sunday. No reason why that can’t happen again!
Memphis to go 6-1 on the road.
Suggested Bet: Memphis Grizzlies head to head $2.36
