Another exciting day of NBA action awaits us, with 7 intriguing games on the board in this Sunday slate. This is headlined by the ESPN game of the day, where Kyrie and the Celtics travel to Minnesota to take on the upstart Timberwolves. Steph Curry is slated to return as Golden State travel to Detroit, whilst the Bucks look to continue their strong start to the campaign in New York. Let’s take a look at our 3 best spread bets and favourite daily multi opportunity in today’s NBA preview.
New York Knicks
Despite a 3-game winning streak last week, the Knicks have largely struggled this season. They currently sit 7-16 and last place in the Atlantic Division. One positive for New York this season has been the strong contributions they’ve got from their young players. Reserve Guards Damyean Dotson and Allonzo Trier have provided an excellent spark off the bench, averaging a shade under 23 points between them this season. Center Enes Kanter has also continued to do a strong job controlling the interior, averaging 15 points and 12 boards on the campaign.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks make the trip to New York sporting an impressive 15-6 record that sits them comfortably atop the Central Division. Small Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is looking like a front-runner for MVP, averaging 27 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists per game. Khris Middleton is a very capable complementary player, averaging 19 points, 5.5 boards and 4 assists of his own, including 41% from 3. In Brook Lopez, the Bucks have one of the best shooting centres in the association, really freeing up Giannis. Despite their middling 4-4 road record, I expect Milwaukee to make light work of this struggling Knicks side here.
Prediction: Bucks 1st Half -4
The Bucks have the significant talent edge in this one and I expect them to get out to a ferocious start. New York simply doesn’t have anyone to contain Giannis or this explosive Bucks offence. As the -8 full game opens some backdoor cover opportunities, I’m very confident in the first half line -4.
Washington Wizards
Despite a disastrous season so far, the Wizards don’t sit too far off the pace in the Southeast division. Part of their mini resurgence has been the improved form of Shooting Guard Bradley Beal, who is averaging 22 points and 7 assists per game over his last 5. Power Forward Markieff Morris is also starting to look more at home in his new bench role, averaging an impressive 17 points and 8 boards over his also 5. The long-term injury to Dwight Howard (in part due to his ‘lifestyle proclivities’) means the Wizards will likely struggle on the interior for the foreseeable future.
Brooklyn Nets
After a relatively strong start to the season, the Nets have struggled mightily of late. They’ve just lost 3 home games by double digits to the Timberwolves, 76ers and Jazz. Some of this is attributable to the injury to Shooting Guard Caris LeVert, who was the offensive catalyst for this team. Brooklyn has struggled offensively in his absence, with a lot of the burden falling on Point Guard D’Angelo Russell. A bright spot for the Nets this season has been the impressive play of young big man Jarrett Allen, the 20-year-old Sophomore currently averaging 12.5 points and 8.5 boards per game.
Prediction: Under 227.5 Points
With both of these sides struggling somewhat offensively and coming off back-to-backs, I feel as though this total is too high. I’m expecting a slower paced game here as both sides look to rebound from their injuries. 227 gives us a ton of room to play with as I expect this one to end between 215-220.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves enter this one in very impressive form, winning 7 of their last 9 games to sit with an 11-11 record. Center Karl-Anthony Towns has been immense since the Jimmy Butler trade, averaging 23 points, 12 boards and 3 assists per game over his last 5. Small Forward Robert “Bobby” Covington has also done an admirable job of replacing Butler, averaging 22.5 points and 8 rebounds over his last 2 games. In Jeff Teague, Derrick Rose and Tyus Jones, the Wolves have 3 capable backcourt playmakers that can provide quality regular minutes.
Boston Celtics
It has been a relatively disappointing season for the Celtics, who enter this one at 12-10 and 3rd place in the Atlantic division. Point Guard Kyrie Irving has started to establish himself as the offensive focal point of this team, averaging 21.5 points and 8.5 assists over his last 5. Second-year forward Jayson Tatum has also been much better of late, averaging 18 points and shooting 45% from 3 over his last 5. Moving to more of a 6th man going forward, we’ll have to see how Gordon Hayward progresses in his first season back from injury.
Prediction: Celtics +2.5
There is too much line value on the Celtics for me to ignore here. Just last week they were favoured by 3 on the road to an upstart Mavericks side. Whilst Minnesota’s results have improved of late, they haven’t really faced anyone notable on their schedule. I think Boston has every chance of winning this outright and will happily take the +2.5.
I expect very comfortable road wins for both the Bucks and Raptors against two of the worst teams in the NBA. Assuming Chris Paul is back, I expect the Rockets to also make light work of the lowly Bulls at home. Golden State looks a tempting 4th leg at $1.50, but I’d wait to see how Steph Curry looks before pulling the trigger.