The reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and 2020 runner-up the Miami Heat do battle in NBA action today in a finals rematch.
The BetDeluxe NBA team has syphoned through the games of the day and the best bets are now on hand.
golden state @ charlotte
february 21st 12:00pm
The Charlotte Hornets come face to face with the Golden State Warriors on Sunday with both teams looking to make amends after losses in their most recent fixtures.
A humbling 124-120 defeat at the hands of the lowly-ranked Orlando Magic yesterday might be the wake-up Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors needed but it does not get any easier here.
Curry has managed to churn out his usual high numbers in recent weeks, but has been less efficient of late and that might prove to be the Warriors undoing again in this match.
This is now the third game in four days for the Warriors and they meet the Hornets who are coming into this one fresh off a five-day break.
The Hornets were left to rue a poor finish against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday afternoon.
With scores locked at 89 a-piece heading into the final quarter, Charlotte faded away to eventually go down 110-122.
James Borrego’s defence looked very shaky throughout the match and conceded a whopping 47 points in the second quarter which is something the Warriors will be looking to take advantage of.
The Warriors are again likely to be forced to run with a small ball lineup for another match and possibly into next week as big man James Wiseman continues his recovery from injury.
Draymond Green will again play at center while Juan Toscano-Anderson finds his way to the starting lineup again and has done a decent job, in particular on rebounds.
The talented trio consisting of off-season signing Gordon Hayward, nifty point guard Terry Rozier and gun rookie LaMelo Ball have all been pivotal this season.
Hayward has averaged a career best 22.3 points a game this season while Rozier has nailed 20.6 points per game. Ball, too, has been impressive when asked to start. The 19-year-old has averaged 20.9 points 6.3 assist and 6.9 rebounds when on the court at tipoff.
It’s the first time these two teams meet this year and it’s hard to get a gauge on exactly who has the stronger formline.
Happy to take the punt on Charlotte. Home court advantage and the $2.10 on offer at the head to head is tempting enough.
Suggested Bet: Charlotte Hornets head to head at $2.10
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Charlotte Hornets head to head
Leg 2: Total points scored over under 235.5 points
Leg 3: Terry Rozier over 27.5 points
miami @ la lakers
february 21st 12:30pm
The Miami Heat head to Los Angeles in preparation for its 2020 finals rematch against the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon from the Staples Centre.
With the Heat struggling to maintain the brilliance it showed last year and the Lakers losing two of its last three games after a seven-game winning streak, it will unlikely be the high-octane level of competition we saw in the 2020 finals but nevertheless a game that will shape the season.
The Lakers now find themselves in third spot of the Western Conference with an equal win-loss record to that of its cross-town rival the Los Angeles Clippers who sit in second spot.
It has been a battle for the Lakers since Anthony Davis was omitted from the squad over a week ago with an achilles complaint.
Dennis Schroder will also be a big loss to the backcourt against this resurgent Heat team.
Losses to the Brooklyn Nets and Denver Nuggets, who are amongst the title competitors this year, highlighted how important Davis is to the Lakers squad.
LeBron James will have to carry a lot of the burden this game after his 32-point effort against the Nets still wasn’t enough to get the ‘W’.
While for the Heat, Jimmy Butler has slowly worked his way back into his 2020 form after missing a solid chunk of the first two months this season with a foot and ankle injury.
Butler broke a franchise record after posting three straight triple doubles to become the first Heat player in the franchise’ history to do so.
He has nearly averaged a triple-double this month with 18.6 points per game, 9.6 assists and 9.3 rebounds per game in a sign that he is back to his very best.
This has the makings of a very close match.
The Lakers know how to get it done but with the backcourt vulnerable and the Heat coming off a solid 118-110 win over the Sacramento Kings we will side with Miami to cover the spread here.
Suggested Bet: Miami Heat to cover the +3.5 point spread at $1.90
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Miami Heat to cover the +3.5 point spread
Leg 2: LeBron James to score over 29.5 points
Leg 3: Total points scored over 208.5
