The NBA Preview landed a handful of best bets and a $5 same game multi yesterday in the Los Angeles Clippers win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Here are the previews and best bets for today as Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors take the court from 2pm (AEDT) while the Portland Trailblazers host the Philadelphia 76ers.
toronto @ boston
february 12Th 11:30am
The Boston Celtics do battle against the Toronto Raptors from TD Garden today in its bid to put to a halt a two game losing run, after five games on the road.
Meanwhile, for the Raptors, it will be attempting to make it six wins from the past seven games as it continues to climb up the Eastern Conference standings.
A 126-114 victory to the Celtics was the result when these two teams played on January 4th and it was a joint effort that got the job done for Boston.
Jayson Tatum went to work on the Raptors, scoring 40 points and grabbing six boards in the win while Robert Williams hit a double double (15 rebounds and 11 points) and Payton Pritchard tallied up 23 points to go with eight assists.
The big men for the Celtics dominated the boards that night with 65 rebounds compared to the Raptors total of 46 but it was also the accuracy from the field which proved the difference.
Shooting at 48.8% from the field, the Celtics were able to net 41 out their 84 attempts compared to the 40% conversion rate for the Raptors.
The Celtics were also sharp when shooting from beyond the arc converting 51.5% of its three point attempts compared to the 35.1% shot by the Raptors.
Toronto shooting guard Fred Vanvleet played a lone hand with 35 points – 18 of which were three pointers – but it was not enough to stop a rampant Celtics outfit from coming away with the win.
Coming back home will provide some reprieve for Boston and they should be able to make it two from two against the Raptors this year.
Suggested Bet: Boston Celtics win at $1.71
ORLANDO @ GOLDEN STATE
february 12th 2:00pm
Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors welcome the Orlando Magic to the Chase Centre for a Friday afternoon battle in San Francisco.
The Warriors continue to prove many pundits wrong this year with the Silicon Valley based franchise exceeding expectations to sit eighth in the west and a realistic chance to make the playoffs.
Stephen Curry continues to be the reason the Warriors are in such a position.
The champion guard boasts the second best scoring record in the league this season with an average of 29.6 points per game.
A 57-point display in the loss to Dallas just over a week ago has been the highlight of his season so far with his last five games yielding an average of just over 37 points.
The Orlando Magic, meanwhile, have battled its way through the Eastern Conference to sit 13th with a 9-16 record.
Having only won two of its last 10 fixtures, the Magic have struggled to hit the scoreboard averaging 104.7 points per game which puts them third last in the NBA.
The main cause for concern for the Warriors will come from veteran Magic centre Nikola Vucevic who has been the shining light for his team this season.
The Orlando big man averages a double double (23.3 points and 11.5 rebounds) in the 25 games he has competed in this season and will be pushing to return to the All Star game.
He will need to produce an effort akin to those season averages in order for his squad to have a winning chance in this game.
It’s the Warriors offence that will trouble the Magic in this one.
The Magic just don’t have the scoring power to outlast the Warriors if Curry continues his brilliant form.
Suggested Bets: Golden State Warriors to cover the -7.5 point spread at $1.89
Same Game Multi:
- Leg 1: Warriors -4.5
- Leg 2: Stephen Curry to score over 28.5
- Leg 3: Draymond Green pts+rbs+ast over 20
- Leg 3: Total game points under 232.5
Combined Odds = $4.6
PHILADELPHIA @ PORTLAND
february 12th 2:00PM
Scoring powerhouses Joel Embiid and Damian Lillard prepare to butt heads as the Philadelphia 76ers seek to remain atop of the Eastern Conference against fifth-placed Western Conference franchise Portland.
Both Embiid and Lillard have helped forge their respective squads winning records with form that will see them in contention for the regular season MVP award.
Having won 10 of their 11 games, the 76ers have Embiid to thank for its sparkling run of form with the centre running absolute riot.
An average of 31.8 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per game in that 11 game stretch has catapulted him to being the arguably the best player in the league at the moment.
Lillard will have something to say about that though.
The freakish point guard from Portland has averaged 32 points per game to go with 7.6 assists in his last 10 outings as he too stakes his claim as the hottest property in the league.
Portland already has the runs on the board this season against the 76ers having accounted for them only a week ago with an undermanned squad that did not include Lillard.
Embiid scored 37 points for his mob last Friday but it was not enough to stop a depleted Trail Blazers squad from running away with a surprising 121-105 victory.
The 76ers shot poorly from outside the arc as it was only able to convert 7-27 from three point range while the Trail Blazers went 13-31 and it ultimately proved the difference.
With Lillard back in the team this time, plus the home court advantage, the Trail Blazers look great value to make it two from two against the 76ers this season.
Suggested Bets: Portland Trail Blazers head to head at $2.82
Suggested Same Game Multi:
- Leg 1: Portland Trail Blazers head to head
- Leg 2: Damian Lillard to score over 30.5 points
- Leg 3: Joel Embiid to score over 27.5 points
- Leg 4: Joel Embiid to get over 8.5 rebounds
Combined odds = $7.50
