More NBA action from the USA as both the Western Conference and Eastern Conference continue to take shape as the season unfolds.
Defending NBA champion the Los Angeles Lakers are in action today as is Steph Curry and his Golden State Warriors.
Our matches of the day have been assessed and the best bets in each are in.
washington @ chicago
february 9th 12:0pm
Bradley Beal and his Washington Wizards travel over to Chicago to face off against a Chicago Bulls team headlined by Zach Lavine.
Sitting first in the league individual scoring with an average of 33.2 points per game, Bradley Beal has been a standout for the Wizards for this season but it has not led to a positive win-loss ratio.
The Wizards currently sit on 5-15 with a 3-8 record on its travels away from this season.
While Beal’s counterpart, Zach Lavine, who sits ninth on the scoring charts with an average of bang on 27 points per game, has led the Bulls to a 9-13 record with some hope of reaching the playoffs this season.
Having played the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic twice in the last week and sharing the spoils with one win and one loss against each side, the Bulls must now focus their attention to shutting down Beal.
These two squads have already met this season and its the Bulls who came away victorious on both occasions despite Beal averaging 28.5 points across both games.
Surprisingly, it was Otto Porter who did the damage for Chicago as he averaged 22 points and 7.5 rebounds across the two encounters.
If he can reproduce that kind of form and assist Zach LaVine then it’s hard to see the Wizards having the answers in this match.
The focus for Washington needs to be taking care of the ball in possession much better than it did the first time it faced Chicago this season when it gave away 21 turnovers.
Suggested Bet: Chicago Bulls head to head at $1.53
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Chicago Bulls head to head
Leg 2: Total points scored over 236.5
Leg 3: Zach La Vine under 28.5 points
Combined odds $7.5
golden state @ san antonio
february 9th 12:30pm
Fresh off an incredible 57-point game in the loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors travel to the AT&T Centre to go head to head with the San Antonio Spurs.
The Warriors and Spurs have already met once this season with the Warriors proving far too good in the clash on January 20.
Curry was everywhere that night.
He led the game for points with 26, led the game for rebounds with 11 and led the game for assists with seven in an inspired performance to give the Warriors the 121-99 win.
The Warriors have proven many pundits wrong during their 2020/21 campaign thus far with many saying this season would be used as a stepping stone for its inexperienced, yet talented, group to build towards playoffs in the next year or so.
However, sitting at 12-11 with a playoff berth on the horizon, it’s hard not to be excited about what this Warrior team has dished up so far this year.
For San Antonio the story has been similar with not much being expected from a playoff point of view but it has positioned itself nicely to sit fifth in the Western Conference with a 13-10 win loss record.
This clash today brings it with intrigue from an offensive point of view.
The Spurs, despite having one of the best three point shooters in the league in the form of Patty Mills, were absolutely horrendous from outside the perimeter last time they played the Warriors.
Mills went 0-7 from three point range that night and his misses were contagious as the Spurs made a mere four three pointers from 33 attempts while the Warriors buried 15 of their 38 attempts.
It ultimately proved the difference on that night with the Warriors triumphing by 22 points and it has to be a point of focus for Gregg Popovic in his side if it wants to flip the result.
Suggested Bet: Golden State Warriors head to head at $2
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Golden State head to head
Leg 2: Steph Curry over 6.5 assists
Leg 3: Patty Mills 2+ three pointers
Leg 4: Total points scored over 232.5
OKLAHOMA CITY @ LA LAKERS
february 9th 2:00PM
The Los Angeles Lakers will be without Anthony Davis against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Staples Centre tonight as it looks to extend its four game winning streak in the league.
Davis aggravated an achilles injury and will sit out the game tonight in what will be the fourth game he has missed this season due to injury.
The Lakers are currently 2-1 without their go-to man in the paint this season.
Oklahoma City will be looking to seize the opportunity of a Lakers team without one of their main big men and will be seeking a much more competitive display than it put out the first time it met the Lakers this season.
It was the Lakers who belted the hapless Thunder that day with a 128-99 drubbing just under a month ago after a dominant second half display in which LeBron James scored a game-high 26 points for the match.
James will need to be on point again tonight without Davis.
A superior three point display from the Lakers is what separated the two teams in January.
The Lakers buried seven more three point attempts than the Thunder to go at 45.9% from long range compared to the Thunder’s 32.3% from outside the arc.
Even without Davis, it’s near impossible to see the Lakers fluffing their lines here.
Suggested Bet: Los Angeles Lakers point spread -10.5 at $1.90
