Huge games in the Western Conference today with the Los Angeles Clippers meeting the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers squaring off against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Giannis Antentokounmpo also takes the court as the Milwaukee Bucks challenge the Phoenix Suns in one of the games of the day.
Previews and best bets are locked, loaded and ready to go.
LA CLIPPERS @ MINNESOTA
february 11Th 12:00Pm
The Los Angeles Clippers will attempt to inflict more pain upon the Minnesota Timberwolves when it travels to the Target Centre on Thursday.
Kawhi Leonard has spearheaded a 9-4 away record for the Clippers this year while the Clippers struggle to climb out of the doldrums of the Western Conference.
A two-game slide against Boston and Sacramento saw the Clippers relinquish their spot at the top of the Western Conference but now get the opportunity against an out of sorts Minnesota squad who have only won three of its last ten games.
Stopping Leonard is going to be a strenuous task for this Timberwolves defence who rank in the bottom five for points conceded so far this year.
Leonard has continued to fire away in offence averaging 26 points a game and nailing just over half his attempted field goals.
The Timberwolves have already faced the Clippers this season and were easily accounted for going down by 23 points in a 124-101 defeat.
The scary proposition Ryan Saunders’ and his men face is the Clippers were without Leonard for that game but there is some reprieve with Paul George set to miss due to a foot injury.
It means a lot of the offensive is likely to run through Leonard and he should be able to hit the scoreboard hard.
Even with a home court advantage and the absence of George, the Wolves are unlikely to win but it will be closer than the December 2020 outing.
Suggested Bet: Minnesota Timberwolves to cover +10.5 point spread at $1.91
Suggested Same Game Multi:
- Leg 1: Los Angeles Clippers win
- Leg 2: MInnesota Timberwolves point spread +10.5
- Leg 3: Kawhi Leondard to score over 28.5 points
Combined odds = $5
MILWAUKEE @ PHOENIX
february 11th 2:00pm
Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee Bucks travel to PHX Arena for its clash against the Phoenix Suns.
A five-game winning run has jettisoned the Bucks into second place in the Eastern Conference while the Suns have battled gamely all season and find themselves sitting fourth in the west.
The Bucks have been able to conjure that table position thanks to the best offence in the league from a point scoring perspective.
Under the tutelage of Mike Budenholzer the Bucks head the league with 121.3 points per game while the Suns have the fourth best defence in the league which has conceded only 107 points per game.
It shapes up to be a great game with contrasting styles on display.
Both sides shared the spoils both times they played each other last year and the Suns, on paper at least, are traveling much better this year.
A solid 7-4 home record for the Suns compared to an equally impressive 7-6 away record for the Bucks sets the scene for a very tight game here.
This has all the makings of a nail-biter.
Suggested Bet: Phoenix Suns to cover +4.5 point spread at $1.92
Suggested Same Game Multi:
- Leg 1: Phoenix Suns to cover point spread +4.5
- Leg 2: Giannis Antetokounmpo under 27.5 points
- Leg 3: Giannis Antetokounmpo over 9.5 rebounds
Combined Odds = $5.5
oklahoma city @ la lakers
february 11th 2:00PM
After a thrilling overtime contest on Tuesday the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers resume hostilities at the Staples Centre for the second time this week.
Having led for the majority of the match on Tuesday, the Thunder squandered a game-high 1-point lead with 10:57 remaining in the final quarter to go down 119-112 in a gut wrenching result.
LeBron James had to pull out everything in his armoury to get the Lakers over the line and in doing so made it a fifth successive victory.
James notched up yet another career triple double with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists without the influence of Anthony Davis who missed the game with an achilles injury.
It is unknown if Davis will prove his fitness in time to get up for this Thursday afternoon game but even with his omission on Tuesday it still was not enough to stop the Lakers winning.
The men in purple and gold sit 3-1 without Davis and should be able to make that 4-1 if he is unable to be fit for this game.
Oklahoma City can draw hope from its ability to shut down the Lakers from outside the arc.
The Thunder defence managed to keep the Lakers three point field goal percentage down to 23.7%.
Where the Thunder also need to focus its attention is the speed at which it breaks open the court offensively and the speed in which it tightens up the court defensively.
The Lakers walloped the Thunder on the fast break on Tuesday as it accumulated 23 fast break points compared to the meek and tame three points scored by the Thunder.
If Oklahoma coach Mark Daigeneault can rectify the fast break issue it will greatly assist the Thunder’s chance of a win.
Tough to see anything but a Lakers win here however, the Thunder can definitely cover the point spread for a second time in a row.
Suggested Bet: Oklahoma City to cover +11.5 point spread at $1.91
Suggested Same Game Multi:
- Leg 1: Oklahoma City Thunder to cover +11.5 point spread
- Leg 2: Los Angeles Lakers win
- Leg 3: Total points scored over 218.
Combined odds = $4.33
