I knocked down my Best Bet for the day with the Pacers trouncing the Trail Blazers already this afternoon, improving my record to 21-10 (67.7%) for the season. The UFC offered up two easy Best Bets yesterday as well with two first-round finishes. I have two free selections for tonight’s games.
NBA: Celtics (-2.5) @ Nuggets $
Boston may be the hottest team in the NBA and many people now see the Celtics as legitimate contenders in the eastern conference. Their defence is as good as any team in the NBA and Jayson Tatum is playing at an elite level. I do not need much of an excuse to back Boston right now and today appears another opportunity to do so.
I am now seeing a pattern with the Nuggets as a team that can dominate weaker opposition but still, struggle mightily with elite-level teams. This is my current theory and I’m sticking to it, for now. Elite defences seem better prepared to deal with Jokic, forcing the Nuggets to win with their very average remaining players. This is the main reason I do not see the Nuggets advancing past the first round this year in the playoffs.
NBA: Warriors (-6.5) Vs Spurs $
Stephan Curry left the last game against Boston with a foot injury and is expected to be out indefinitely. This comes as devastating news for Warrior fans who are hopeful for the team to make a return to the finals. As great as Curry is, it is a mistake for most betters to count the Warriors out because of just one injury.
One of Golden State’s greatest assets is its bench depth. Both Jordan Poole and Gary Payton are talented and very capable replacements, at least for a regular season game. The playoffs may be an entirely different conservation, but we are not there yet. I don’t see a significant dropoff in poer rating with Curry sidelined.
What I do see is a San Antonio team that no longer believes in team defense. They have allowed 119 points or more in 5 of their last 6 games. The most embarresing of those was 149 points to MIN in a non OT game with KA Towns dropping 60.
The Warriors are still the much better team and I like them to get this cover.
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Legend $ – one-unit bet, $$ – two-unit bet, $$$ – three-unit bet
NBA Odds provided by Odds Shark. Posted lines are of writing time.
