The NBA show rolls on as do the BetDeluxe previews and tips for the pick of the games from basketball action in the USA.
The Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz go head to head again while the Golden State Warriors against the Orlando Magic also peaks our interest.
Oklahoma city @ milwaukee
february 20th 12:00pm
Having slumped to five straight defeats the Milwaukee Bucks are looking for a change of fortune when it faces the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Fiserv Forum today.
Following five double-figure wins on the trot, Milwaukee has lost its last five fixtures by an average of nine points.
The loss to the Phoenix Suns in that patch may have been the only game considered to actually be close but aside from that, the Bucks offense has been well below par and struggled to maintain rhythm and momentum, while the backcourt has almost gone to water and is leaking badly.
The energy brought by their stalwart and MVP candidate Gianni Antetokounmpo, for some reason, is not wearing off on the players around him.
Oklahoma City Thunder will clearly sense an opportunity to add to the Bucks’ woes but the Thunder is in somewhat of a form slump itself.
Having only won one of its last six matches and sitting 13th, 12.5 games off the top-placed Utah Jazz, it’s hard to make a genuinely confident case for Oklahoma to beat a Bucks side with realistic playoff aspirations.
With 26th ranked scoring offense in the league at 107.7 points per game and the 22nd ranked scoring defence in the league which concedes 113.6 points per game, it does not make for good viewing.
The intrigue surrounding this clash is whether or not the Bucks can realign it’s season and get back into winning ways.
Given its opponents tonight and playing at home, the Bucks should be able to get the job done here.
Suggested Bet: Milwaukee Bucks to cover the point spread -10.5 at $1.90
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Milwaukee to cover point spread
Leg 2: Total points scored under 233.5
Leg 3: Giannis to score over 29.5
utah @ la clippers
february 20th 2:00pm
The returns of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will be much awaited when the Los Angeles Clippers play host to the Utah Jazz at the Staples Centre for the second time in three days.
Despite leading at halftime, the Clippers were no match for a rampant Jazz outfit who were simply too good on Thursday.
The Jazz outscored their opponents by 23 points in the second-half to run away with a 114-96 victory.
It was the usual suspects for Utah who did the damage.
Offensive lynchpin Donovan Mitchell continued his brilliant season racking up 24 points, seven assists and seven rebounds while Ruby Gobert notched up a huge double double with 23 rebounds and 20 points.
With Leonard and George coming back into the line-up for the Clippers, it’s unlikely the Jazz will be able to dominate for long patches as it did on Thursday.
The Clippers turned the ball over four more times than the Jazz in the loss and gave up 16 offensive rebounds to its nine.
With the game evenly poised, it was those crucial moments when turning the ball over and not being able to stop the offensive rebound that created extra shots for the Jazz and would ultimately prove costly for the Clippers.
Even without Leonard and George, the market still gave the Clippers a good chance to win at around the $2.7 to $2.8 quote.
The Jazz defence, rated the second best for points conceded per game in the league, will need to be onsong again if it is to continue this incredible run of 20 wins in its last 21 games.
Tryonn Lue would have pointed out on his whiteboard, three main areas the Jazz have a stranglehold of in the NBA;
- Utah leads the NBA in 3-pointers made per match with a 16.6 average
- Utah leads the NBA for rebounds per match with 48.7 average
- Utah holds opponents to a field goal percentage of 44, which ranks third best in the NBA.
Defensively, George and Leonard will provide coverage in the backcourt but it is offensively where George (24 points per game) and Leonard (26.6 points per game) will provide the Clippers with a winning hope.
We went one too early with the Clippers on Thursday by making them a suggested bet.
More than happy to butter up again here and give them another chance.
Suggested Bet: Los Angeles Clippers win at $1.93
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Los Angeles Clippers win
Leg 2: Kawhi Leonard total points over 28.5
Leg 3: Total points over 227.5
golden state @ orlando
february 20th 11:00am
A road trip to the Amway Center awaits the Golden State Warriors when it faces the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
Stephen Curry has been on an absolute tear across the NBA carrying his inexperienced Warriors to a 15-13 record and leading them into eight spot in the Western Conference.
While the tale of the tape for the Magic has been a season stooped in disappointment and rumors that NIkola Vucevic will be traded.
The Magic did, however, have a rare victory against the New York Knicks with a 107-89 success to begin its four game run at home.
But the Warriors will be confident it can slice its way through this Orlando Magic team having already accounted for it with a 111-105 victory earlier this season.
Curry went berserk on the floor that night.
The champion point guard nailed 40 points of which 30 were from beyond the arc in what was a vintage Curry display.
Orlando coach Steve Clifford, who could find no stop-gap for Curry that night, has battled all year on both the offensive and defensive ends with his squad.
Sporting the second-worst offensive record with an 105 adjusted offensive rating in the league through 28 games and an adjusted defensive rating of 113.5 which ranks 23rd in the league, the Magic will have a tough time of it.
If Terrence Ross can continue the form he showed against the Knicks where he led all point scorers with 30 points of his own to go with Vucevic’s 16 points and 16 rebounds, then the Magic might find themselves in rare air winning two on the bounce.
However, with Curry averaging nearly 30 points per game and lighting it up, it’s hard to see the result going anyway but Golden State.
Suggested Bet: Golden State Warriors to cover -3.5 point spread at $1.90
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Golden State Warriors to cover point spread -3.5
Leg 2: Stephen Curry total points over 30.5
Leg 3: Total points scored
