Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics. Prediction and Betting Tips
- Pick: Celtics -6.5
- Odds: +113 (Tonybet)
With Tyrese Haliburton likely still out due to illness, the Pacers stand little chance against the stacked Celtics roster. The Pacers definitely have something special going on for them this season, with their all-in on offence mentality – but again, without their centrepiece, they are a middle-of-the-pack Eastern Conference team.
The Celtics, on the other hand, are coming off a four-game winning streak against admittedly weaker talent. They are also missing the big man, Kristaps Porziņģis, which will hurt inside. However, the Pacers only have Myles Turner, and while he is improving, he is no superstar.
In all honesty, the Celtics should be able to dominate the overall pace of play throughout four quarters. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will easily tear apart the nonexistent Pacer’s defence, easily outscoring the Pacers lineup without Haliburton.
Even with Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers have been struggling a bit more as of late, losing three of the last five games against mediocre teams. It could be just a few bad games or a larger symptom of Eastern Conference teams getting more used to the all-offence playstyle.
As long as Al Horford is able to hold it down even a little bit inside, this NBA match shouldn’t even be close. All factors point to a Celtics blowout, solidified most likely by the middle of the third, easily covering a 6.5-point spread.
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Sacramento Kings vs New Orleans Pelicans. Prediction and Betting Tips
- Pick: Pelicans -2.5
- Odds: +180 (Tonybet)
The fourth-seeded Sacramento Kings face off against the eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans after losing twice to them in November. Since then, the King’s games have really been a mixed bag, taking wins off decent teams and then losing to weaker ones. A perfect example of this is losing to the Los Angeles Clippers and then turning around and burying Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
The Pelicans have also had a mixed start to the season, beating out heavy-hitting competition like the 76ers one night and then losing to Chicago one day later.
However, with their history this season, we have to give a slight edge to Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. Sacramento may be sitting at number four in the West as of now, but that has been almost entirely on the back of De’Aaron Fox.
If Fox doesn’t have a show-out performance, the Kings just lose. He carries the majority of the offensive burden, creating gravity, scoring, and just generally improving the team’s offence. That’s not to say Malik Monk can’t pick it up some nights, but he just isn’t as consistent as a Sacramento fan would want.
The Pelicans just seem like a more well-rounded roster, at least when healthy. The combo of Zion, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum creates a potent offensive combination. Both Zion and Ingram have no problem getting to the basket, while Mcollum has proven to be one of the stronger shooters year in and out since his Blazers days.
While bookmakers might give Sacramento a slight advantage, the two losses to the Pelicans earlier in the month say otherwise.
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Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns. Prediction and Betting Tips
- Pick: Lakers -3.5
- Odds: +109 (Tonybet)
The Phoenix Suns take on the Los Angeles Lakers, with both teams winning three of their last five games. Unfortunately for the Suns, Eric Gordon and Bradley Beal will be out for the game, which will severely decrease the Sun’s overall effectiveness.
While Kevin Durant and Booker both excel tremendously on the offensive side of the court, LeBron James and Anthony Davis simply have a stronger one-two punch and dominate on the defensive side of the ball.
LeBron may be continuing to age, but he still manages to showcase consistent numbers and lead the Lakers to wins.
Outside of just the superstars, the defensive identity of the Lakers is just stronger than that of the Suns, especially on the perimeter. While Devin Booker is easily an all-star, he still leaves far too much to be desired on the defensive side of the ball and creates a hole in the defence for bigger and faster players.
The Suns usually supplement this gap with Brandley Beal and Eric Gordon, but they won’t be there for the Lakers matchup.
If both rosters came into this healthy and ready, this could be different, but as of now, we have to lean in favour of the Lakers. We still have to give some respect to the Suns, though, as it should be close, with the Lakers likely winning by 5 or less.
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Disclaimer: Odds are accurate at the time of posting and subject to change. Please verify the latest odds on our platform before betting.
