Author: voidsports1

The Philadelphia 76ers (18-14) will face the New York Knicks (20-11) at Madison Square Garden 7:30PM ET.

This is a crucial bounce back opportunity for New York after back to back losses against San Antonio Spurs & Atlanta Hawks. Yesterday’s game was a complete shock, trailing Atlanta by as much as 29 points. It was just their 3rd defeat at the Garden all season, where they hold an impressive 15-3 record. New York rank in the top third for pace in the last 5 games, and they will need this to disrupt Philadelphia who have looked very strong since fielding Paul George, Joel Embiid, & Tyrese Maxey together.

Maxey has been exceptional recently, averaging 27.2 points in his last 5 games. Maxey got 34 points, 8 rebounds, & 10 assists in Philadelphia’s victory over Dallas on Thursday evening. One of the concerning factors for Philadelphia this season has been inefficient FG percentage, however in their last two games they have been scoring above 50% FG’s. I think Maxey’s performance will be key for Philadelphia tonight.

Betting Markets:

• Philadelphia 76ers ML (+138)/New York Knicks ML (-175)
• Philadelphia 76ers +3.5 pts (-110)/New York Knicks +3.5 pts (-110)
• Over 235.5 pts (-110)/Under 235.5 pts (-110)

Our Prediction:

New York Knicks play at a fast pace and this will disrupt the defensive setup of Philadelphia who like to setup in a 2-3 zone and restrict teams. Joel & Maxey do not put much effort into stopping scoring opportunities, so New York should capitalise on this.

However given the current confidence and form of Maxey, George, & Embiid I would expect Philadelphia to make this a high scoring match.

Recent Form:

Injury Report:

Philadelphia 76ers: Trendon Watford (Out), Kelly Oubre Jr (Out)

New York Knicks: Landry Shamet (Out), Josh Hart (Out)

The Memphis Grizzlies (15-18) travel to the Crypto.Com Arena to take on the LA Lakers (20-11). In their previous meeting this season Los Angeles won 117-112 after a 44 point haul by Luka Doncic.

Our Prediction:

The La Lakers rank 28th in the league for defensive rating in the last 10 games. So far they haven’t worked out a way for Lebron & Luka to co-exist on the court. When they play together, their defensive rating is 124.7 with a net rating of -8.7.

Memphis are a well co-ordinated team on both sides of the floor and do not rely on a single player for output. This season they have 8 players averaging double figure points. Maintaining this cohesion and stopping Luka will be key to covering the spread tonight.

Recent Form:

Injury Report:

Memphis Grizzlies: Scotty Pippen Jr (Out), Ty Jerome (Out), Zach Edey (Out), John Konchar (Out), Brandon Clarke (Out), Vince Williams Jr (Out), Kentavious Caldwell- Pope (Probable), Jaylen Wells (Probable)

La Lakers: Austin Reaves (Out), Rui Hachimura (Out), Adou Thiero (Out), Gabe Vincent (Out), Jarred Vanderbilt (Out)

The Denver Nuggets (23-10) travel to the Rocket Arena to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-16) at 7:30PM ET.

It has been a turbulent season so far for Cleveland. They are just two defeats away from their total loss tally last season and we have barely reached the halfway mark. In December, Cleveland stumbled against struggling teams such as Portland & Charlotte. Losing seven games in total. But Kenny Atkinson’s side have bounced back well in their last two games, beating the San Antonio Spurs & Phoenix Suns in emphatic style.

The Denver Nuggets have been a standout team in the West for years. The 2022-23 NBA Champions have been a top 4 seed in the past three seasons and look set to make it a fourth if they continue at their current rate. Their chances of securing home court in the first round of the playoffs has taken a slight dent after three time MVP winner Nikola Jokic went off with a hyper-extended knee injury against the Miami Heat on December 29th. Nikola Jokic led this year’s NBA power rankings before his injury, averaging a staggering 29.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, & 11.0 assists per game.

Denver won their first match without Jokic on Wednesday, beating the Raptors 106-103. They fielded a reduced rotation of eight players, all of whom played 20+ minutes. A major concern tonight is that backup centre Jonas Valuanciunas is also unavailable.

Betting Markets:

• Denver Nuggets ML (+550)/Cleveland Cavaliers (-1000)
• Denver Nuggets +14.5 pts (-110)/Cleveland Cavaliers -14.5 pts (-110)
• Over 239.5 pts (-110)/Under 239.5 pts (-110)

Our Prediction:

I don’t expect Cleveland to miss out on this blowout opportunity. Despite their struggles this season, Cleveland are 12-7 at home and have all of their key starters available.

Denver are about to play their fourth straight away game without their star man Nikola Jokic. I’m expecting the side to be fatigued and lacking drive to challenge Cleveland tonight.

Recent Form:

Injury Report:

Denver Nuggets: Tamar Bates (Out), Cameron Johnson (Out), Christian Braun (Out), Aaron Gordon (Out), Nikola Jokic (Out), Jonas Valunciunas (Out), Jamal Murray (Probable), Julian Strawther (Probable)

Cleveland Cavaliers: Max Strus (Out), Larry Nance Jr (Out), Sam Merrill (Questionable), De’Andre Hunter (Probable), Dean Wade (Questionable)

The Brooklyn Nets (10-21) travel to the Capital One Arena to play Washington Wizards (8-24) for the second time this season, 7PM ET. Brooklyn dominated the previous encounter in November, winning by a margin of 23 points.

However Brooklyn face challenging circumstances tonight. Their core group of scorers are missing tonight (Cam Thomas, Michael Porter Jr, & Nic Claxton). This takes away 60 points per game from the Brooklyn lineup.

However this might be less of an issue against an ageing Washington side that lacks dynamism in their starting lineup. Brooklyn are a young group, with lots of energy and good defensive organisation. In the last 10 games, Brooklyn rank 2nd for defensive rating (108.7) and despite being in the bottom third for scoring they went 5-5. Egor Demin & Danny Wolf will have to step up in their scoring to give Brooklyn a chance. But it will be an uphill task without their key men.

The Washington Wizards are trending upwards in recent weeks. On Wednesday evening, Washington beat Milwaukee 114-113, Alex Sarr leading the way with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks. With No Claxton tonight, Sarr will fancy his chances of having a big scoring night and asserting dominance in the paint.

Washington also have the veteran duo of CJ McCollum & Khris Middleton that remain scoring threats, but lack the dynamism to make an impact against the younger, more athletic teams in the league such as a Houston. The most important question tonight will be the level of application from Washington. They have only won back to back games once this season (December 26th vs Toronto, & December 28th vs Memphis).

Betting Markets:

• Brooklyn Nets ML (+130)/Washington Wizards ML (-167)
• Brooklyn Nets +3.5 pts (-110)/Washington Wizards -3.5 pts (-110)
• Over 224.5 pts (-110)/Under 224.5 pts (-110)

Our Prediction:

It is very difficult to ignore the value on the Washington spread, given the players that Brooklyn are missing.

I am backing Sarr to have a big night exposing the lack of experience in the centre position for Brooklyn tonight.

Recent Form:

Injury Report:

Brooklyn Nets: Haywood Highsmith (Out), Cam Thomas (Out), Michael Porter Jr (Out), Nic Claxton (Out), Terence Mann (Probable)

Washington Wizards: Cam Whitmore (Out), Kyshawn George (Out), Corey Kispert (Out)