The beginning of another week of NBA previews and best bets as we venture on into the second-half of the season.
Philadelphia 76ers are back on the court, while the LA Clippers and Miami Heat also take the pine in a big day.
Basketball best bets below!
San Antonio @ Philadelphia
march 15th 10:00am
The Phildaelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs do battle for the first time this season with both teams attempting to fortify its spot in the race for a playoff position.
Even without MVP prospect Joel Embiid and his 2021 partner in crime Ben Simmons, the 76ers have managed to win the two games it has played without them and continue its unbeaten run.
Doc Rivers’ men face the prospect of five wins in a row if it can overcome a Spurs outfit who have been good enough to get to a 19-15 win-loss record at this point of the season.
The Spurs foundation this year has been it’s relatively solid defence which has only conceded 110.1 points per game making it the seventh least amount of points conceded in the league.
That defensive fortitude will need to come to the fore today in order to quell a 76ers offence which has scored the fourth highest amount of points per game (115.3 points per game).
A solid 9-5 away record for the Spurs will give them confidence heading into this game and the point spread looks the appropriate way to play this.
Suggested Bet: San Antonio Spurs to cover the +3.5 point spread at $1.91
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: San Antonio Spurs to cover the +3.5 point spread
Leg 2: Total points scored under 222.5
Leg 3: Derrick White total points scored over 14.5
Combined odds = $6.75
Miami @ Orlando
15th March 10:00am
A six game winning streak on the road is on offer for the Miami Heat when it travels to the Amway Centre to face the embattled Orlando Magic.
It’s been opposing stories for both teams with the Heat on an absolute tear having won nine of its last ten games, while the Magic are in a massive slump having lost seven in a row.
Jimmy Butler continued his resurgence back from early season injury to score 28 points in the Heat’s 101-91 win against the Chicago Bulls.
Nikola Vucevic continues to play a lone hand for the Magic with the big man averaging 24.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists throughout this season.
Miami is fifth in the scoring defense, allowing 107.8 ppg and holding its opponents to 44.3% shooting which is the second-best in the NBA however the offensive side of things has been a constant struggle.
The Heat is 26th in scoring offense averaging 106.8 ppg, and 17th, shooting 46.2% from the field.
It is the third and final time these two squads meet in the regular season with the current three-game series split at one a-piece.
The point spread was set at 8.5 last game and the Magic were able to cover it in a 111-103 loss but the Heat were without gun centre Bam Adebayo.
Expecting this to be a Heat victory and they should be able to add to their 8-2 point spread success in the last ten games.
Suggested Bet: Miami Heat to cover the -7.5 point spread at $1.90
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Miami Heat to cover the -7.5 point spread
Leg 2: Nikola Vucevic to score under 24.5 points
Combineds odds = $3.60
Cleveland @ Atlanta
march 15th 10:30am
The Atlanta Hawks are in search of a five game winning streak when it faces the Cleveland Cavaliers at the State Farm Arena.
It will be the third time the teams have met this year with the Cavaliers attempting to make a complete clean sweep of the Hawks having defeated them 96-92 and 112-111 in the previous outings.
The Hawks did start favourite in both those losses but Colin Sexton led the way for the Cavaliers by posting 27 points and 29 points across the two games to help his side to victory.
Despite the Cavaliers being out of form on Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans when it suffered a 116-82 hiding, it can definitely atone for that result.
The head to head market looks to be focusing on the recent form of both teams rather than the head to head form of both.
Matches involving the Cavaliers are on a 7-0 hot streak of total points scored going under after copping 100 points against assigned market position highlights the Cavaliers ability to lockdown its opposition and respond defensively.
The point spread might be the safer option here but at $2.92 on offer at the head to head for Cleveland seems great value.
Suggested Bet: Cleveland Cavaliers head to head at $2.98
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Cleveland Cavaliers head to head
Leg 2: Total points scored under 221.5
Leg 3: Colin Sexton over 22.5 points
Combined odds = $8.5
LA Clippers @ New Orleans
march 15th 12:00pm
Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers set themselves for a highly anticipated clash against the Zion Williamson led New Orleans Pelicans today.
Both Leonard (26.7 points per game) and Williamson (25.5 points per game) have guided their squads’ offence all season and the performances of both players will go a long way to determining the outcome.
The Clippers sit fourth in the Western Conference at 25-14, while the Pelicans have only managed a 16-22 record to sit in 12th spot.
Despite the gap between both teams on the table, the Pelicans, without Williamson, were left reeling after a tightly contested match ended up swinging 111-106 in favor of the Clippers.
Now, with Williamson back on the court, it represents a big opportunity for the Pelicans to get one back on the Clippers.
Looks like the head to head market has not accounted for the influence WIlliamson has on this team.
A 130-104 belting of the Golden State Warriors is the form-line the Clippers bring to this one, while a defensive shutout against the Cleveland Cavaliers helped the Pelicans to a 116-82 victory..
If the Pelicans can continue to reverse its 27th ranked points allowed per game rankings and keep the clamps down in defence like it did against Cleveland, they are a huge winning chance.
Suggested Bet: New Orleans Pelicans head to head at $2.90
