Christmas and Boxing Day are done, but the NBA season does not stop as we head towards the New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day with a treat of NBA best bets.
It all begins when the Pacers take on the Hornets.
charlotte @ indiana
december 30th 11:00am
The Indiana Pacers welcome the Charlotte Hornets to Gainsbridge FieldHouse for an Eastern Conference battle on Thursday morning.
The Hornets enter in this game with winning form after belting the Houston Rockets, while the Pacers return home following their tight loss to the in-form Chicago Bulls.
Winning home form is what the Pacers have relied upon to keep their season alive with an 11-7 record and even though they suffered another road defeat, it was against a Bulls team that genuinely looks like a championship threat.
Caris LeVert and Myles Turner should be able to cause the Hornets defence all sorts of trouble alongside big man Domantas Sabonis.
With a winning record against the spread when starting as favourites at home and having an extra day worth of recovery, the Pacers are the ones to be with.
Suggested Bet: Indiana Pacers -2.5 at $1.92
miami @ san antonio
december 30th 12:30pm
The East travels to the West when Miami heads over to the AT&T Centre for a cross-conference battle against the San Antonio Spurs.
In what is the final fixture of three home games in a row, the Spurs will look to avenge a narrow loss against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday with victory against a Heat squad which despatched the Wizards 119-112 on Wednesday.
The Heat have been effected by injury to Jimmy Butler again this season, but have dealt with his absence quite well to sit in fourth spot on the Eastern standings, while the Spurs, who are building for the next few years, sit 10th in the West.
The 110-104 loss against the playoffs bound Jazz showed just how capable this Spurs team can be when on song.
They also boast an 8-3 record against the spread when playing a rest advantage over their opponent which is the scenario for this game.
Suggested Bet: San Antonio Spurs -3.5 at $1.94
oklahoma @ phoenix
december 30th 1:00pm
The Phoenix Suns will start one the shortest priced favourites we have seen in the NBA this season when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder as the -14.5 favourites on Thursday afternoon.
This game looks a clear case of the Suns being a time in the championship window, while the Thunder continues to build with a young squad with a plethora of talent unable to sustain a high level of form for prolonged periods.
The Suns are coming off two losses in a row since their 113-101 win over the Thunder on Christmas Eve and will be keen to make amends.
With the Thunder having to deal with a COVID issue ripping through their team and franchise, they will be a missing star Australian guard Josh Giddey and veteran Derrick Favors.
Both Giddey and Favors join Darius Bazley, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl on the sidelines.
To add the woes, the Thunder will be playing against the Suns with no rest.
Should simply be a case of how much the Suns win by.
Suggested Bet: Phoenix Suns -14.5 at $1.89
utah @ portland
december 30th 2:00pm
Utah Jazz takes a four-game winning streak over to Oregon for a clash against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Centre.
The Jazz sit third in the East with a 23-9 record after notching up a 120-116 win over Dallas on Sunday as sharp shooter Donovan Mitchell went to work with 33 points.
The Trail Blazers, however, could not put their troubles in the rear-view mirror and with their disappointing 111-97 loss against New Orleans being followed up by a 132-117 defeat against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
An issue arising for the Trail Blazers is meeting a Jazz team which has been afforded four days off since its last meeting.
The Jazz have only had one match this season with such a long break but covered the spread easily in that game and the freshen up will only help the likes of Mitchell, Ruby Gobert and play-making genius Mike Conley.
Expecting the Jazz to do the business on the road.
Suggested Bet: Utah Jazz -5.5 at $1.89
