Brooklyn and Washington get the show on the road for the BetDeluxe Thursday NBA preview.
The best bets from the best fixtures across the USA.
washington @ brooklyn
february 18th 11:30am
Fresh off a big win against the New York Knicks, the Brooklyn Nets will quest towards victory against Washington when the pair go head to head at the Barclays Center.
The Nets came back from the brink of despair against the Knicks with a blistering final period to steal a 111-106 win in an attempt to turn its season around.
Brooklyn had been struggling to gather wins having lost 11 in a row, but finally made amends and is now looking for its third consecutive win.
Ben Simmons is not expected to make his debut yet and Kyrie Irving (H&S Protocols) and Kevin Durant will miss this home clash, which makes life a little more difficult.
Washington, however, is not exactly going great guns at the moment having been dropped Indiana on Thursday.
The Wizards, like the Nets, will get no rest coming into this game.
From a spread perspective, it is actually the Wizards who fare much better with a 3-3 record compared to Brookyln’s 1-7 record.
Despite that losing tally, Brooklyn seems to have shaken off its poor run of form and whatever quarrels it had with James Harden have now been forgotten about.
The pressure valve has been released and we can finally see some free-flowing basketball from the Nets.
Suggested Bet: Brooklyn Nets -2.5 at $1.91
dallas @ new orleans
february 18th 12:00pm
The Dallas Mavericks confront the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Arena on Friday afternoon in a Western Conference clash.
Sitting fifth in the West has the Mavericks sitting just below the Jazz, while the Pelicans sit 11th and on the precipice of the play-in spots for the playoffs.
Luka Doncic has produced astronomical numbers this year and is arguably the sole reason the Mavericks find themselves where they are in the Western standings.
His form has been good enough to help the Mavericks to a 2-1 season series lead against the Pelicans, but it was the Pelicans who have the most recent win with a 107-91 result back on December 4 last year.
On that form, the Pelicans can easily cover the spread on their home deck.
Suggested Bet: New Orleans Pelicans +2.5 at $1.92
philadelphia @ milwaukee
february 18th 12:30pm
The Philadelphia 76ers head over to Fiserv Forum for a massive encounter with the Milwaukee Bucks.
In a game that pits two of the best big men in the game against one and other when Giannis goes head to head with Joel Embiid, we should be set for an absolute cracker.
The Sixers have been red hot since a pedestrian beginning to their season.
Philadelphia enters this match riding a sturdy 18-7 record since the holidays and a 14-11 ATS run – while scoring 109.8 ppg and allowing just 104.7 ppg across that window.
On the other hand, Milwaukee also posted a relatively slow start to the season, as the Bucks kicked things off with a lacklustre 6-8 record.
The Bucks have quietly dominated since that opening stretch though with a 30-15 record across their latest 45-game stretch as they charge towards a defence of their NBA crown.
The market is firmly siding with the Bucks in this one and it may have just overstated the Sixers’ loss against Boston.
This is the biggest underdog spread the Sixers have been tagged with in nearly three months.
Not going to write off the 76ers after one bad loss.
Suggested Bet: Philadelphia 76ers +5.5 at $1.92
houston @ la clippers
february 18th 2:30pm
The Houston Rockets continue their road trip against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.
The lottery-bound Rockets are looking towards the NBA Draft instead of the playoffs.
The Rocket are 1-9 in their last ten games and it opens the door for the Clippers to make ground in the playoffs spots in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles has done a brilliant job covering for injured duo Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
However, this fixture might be as easy as the form on paper would suggest.
The Rockets took it up to the Suns on Thursday to only fall short by three points in a sign that they have not completely given up on the season.
Playing without rest is going to be a disadvantage for the Rockets, so with that, the Clippers should be able to get it done.
Suggested Bet: Los Angeles Clippers -9.5 at $1.86
