The injury ravaged Los Angeles Lakers take the court today ahead of a small yet much anticipated set of fixtures in the NBA today.
Three games feature in the BetDeluxe preview today as we stop, prop and dish up the best bets.
Portland @ Toronto
march 29th 10:00am
The Portland Trail Blazers are looking to make it a three-game winning streak when it meets the Toronto Raptors at the Amalie Arena on Monday morning.
After prevailing 112-105 without Damian Lillard against league battlers Orlando Magic, the Trail Blazers are likely to have their most prolific scorer back in the side today.
The second-best scorer in the league with a 30-point average, Lillard has been the driving force behind the Trail Blazers pursuit towards playoffs in 2021 and the Raptors will need to produce something special to stop him.
The Raptors did break an eight-game slide with a big 135-111 victory against Denver on Thursday but were unable to follow it up against the inform Phoenix Suns.
The narrow 104-100 loss to the Suns is the form the Raptors bring into this clash and despite the result, there was some substance about the Raptors performance.
This will be the second and final time both these teams play each other in the regular season with the first fixture resulting in a tense 112-111 victory to the Trail Blazers after Lillard (23 points, seven rebounds and five assists) combined brilliantly with CJ McCollum (30 points, six rebounds and five assists).
Despite the result of the first fixture and its 1-9 win-loss record in the last past 10 outings, the Raptors seem to have reversed the form slump.
Think the Raptors look the value at head to head.
Suggested Bet: Toronto Raptors head to head at $1.99
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Toronto Raptors head to head
Leg 2: P. Siakam total points scored over 18.5
Leg 3: P. Siakam total rebounds over 7.5
Combined odds = $4.33
Atalanta @ Denver
March 29th 12:00pm
Nikola Jokic and his Denver Nuggets welcome Trae Young and his Atalanta Hawks to the Ball Arena for a cross-conference battle on Monday afternoon.
Both teams sit perched in a playoffs position at the moment with the Nuggets holding down fifth spot in the Western Conference, while the Hawks have clawed their into sixth spot in the East.
Following back-to-back defeats against the superior Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings, the Hawks bounced back into winning ways against the Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors.
A 124-108 triumph over the Warriors was just what the Nuggets wanted heading into this clash as 23-year-old John Collins scored a career-high 38 points.
The big-ticket free agent prize to fall ahead of the trade deadline was Aaron Gordon.
JaVale McGee has also signed with the Nuggets in a low-key option that gives them depth. It’s clearly evident the Nuggets are trying to win now with the Western Conference suddenly looking wide open.
The Nuggets recently accounted for the New Orleans Pelicans with a 113-108 win to make it 27-18 for the season.
It’s unlikely to the Nuggets will be afforded easy options to the rim today.
Atalanta play defence well with Clint Capela and Collins guarding the bucket so Jokic will have to at the top of his game if wants to keep up his 27.2 point per game average.
While the Hawks will serve it up to the home team, the signing of Aaron Gordon and a return home after a three-game road trip is jus the tonic for the Nuggets.
Expecting them to win and the line looks a good play here.
Suggested Bet: Denver Nuggets to cover the -4.5 point spread at $1.91
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Denver Nuggets to the cover the -4.5 point spread
Leg 2. N. Jokic over 23.5 point scored
Leg 3: N. Jokic over 8.5 rebounds
Combined odds = $4
Orlando @ Los Angeles Lakers
march 27th 1:00pm
The injury ravaged Los Angeles Lakers continue their homestay at the Staples Centre against the battling Orlando Magic this afternoon.
The Lakers will again be without Anthony Davis and LeBron James who are both battling injury.
Five losses in a row left Lakers coach Frank Vogel searching for winning answers, but he finally got those answers with a 100-86 win over Cleveland on Saturday.
With the Magic conceding the season after a host of trades it will need the likes of Dwayne Bacon, James Ennis III, Chuma Okeke, and Khem Birch to step up while getting contributions from their newcomers after dealing away three of the team’s four leading scorers at the trade deadline
While the Lakers remain without their two best players, they still are easily the more talented team in this match.
The Magic will be playing their first game with three new players acquired at the trade deadline, and the Lakers should be able to take advantage of the rebuilding Magic as they work through chemistry issues on both ends of the court.
Even without the offensive power of James and Davis, the Lakers defence remains one of the strongest in league and they do have the best playmaker on the field in the form of Dennis Schroder.
Going with the Lakers in a canter here.
Suggested Bet: Los Angeles Lakers to cover the -6.5 point spread at $1.89
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Los Angeles Lakers to cover the -6.5 point spread
Leg 2: D. Schroder to score over 17.5 points
Leg 3: D. Schroder over 5.5 assists
Leg 4: Total points scored under 209.5
Combined odds = $7
