NBA Thursday Betting Preview: Suns, Mavs Renew Rivalry
Plenty of Value on Six-Game Slate
Big Favorites Dominate the Board
There are plenty of heavy favorites in the market on tonight’s six-game slate, but one game that hangs in the balance sees the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks renew their rivalry. Let’s dive into our NBA Thursday Betting Preview to see how the betting lines stack up for bettors.
The Suns have opened as 1.5-point home favorites against the Mavs, with both teams seemingly trending in opposite directions at the moment. Phoenix have recently welcomed back Chris Paul and Cam Johnson to their rotations as they etch closer to being a fully healthy team once again.
Devin Booker remains the only notable absentee for the Suns in this one, although Cam Payne and Landry Shamet are fringe players who are also set to miss out. Meanwhile, the Mavs continue without the services of Christian Wood and Maxi Kleber, which in turn leaves their frontcourt options fairly limited.
The total for this game is currently set at 222.0 points and has already received some strong support towards the Over. The last five straight regular season meetings between these teams in Phoenix have all stayed Under this total.
Celtics, Nets Look to Take Care of Business
The Boston Celtics return home from a three-game road stint to take on the New York Knicks at the TD Garden.
The Celtics have opened as 8.0-point favorites and should have most of their stars back and available, with Jaylen Brown, Al Horford and Malcolm Brogdon all off today’s NBA injury report for this game. Marcus Smart is the only player listed out for Boston.
The Knicks have struggled since losing Mitchell Robinson and the Celtics will look to take advantage of the lack of rim protection inside. The total for this game currently sits at 226.0 points – a number these teams comfortably cleared in their only meeting earlier this season.
The Brooklyn Nets will play their second game of a back-to-back at home to the Detroit Pistons.
The Nets have been listed as 9.0-point favorites by the bookmakers despite the significant rest advantage in favor of the Pistons.
It remains to be seen whether the Nets will rest any of their players after falling short in a tough divisional matchup in Philadelphia last night, but the Pistons should be with their main core having not played since being blown out in Milwaukee a few nights ago.
Brooklyn is 4-4 ATS this season when playing on the second night of a back-to-back, while Detroit is 5-4 ATS when playing with a rest advantage.
Bulls, Cavs, Clippers Play Tanking Teams
The LA Clippers will look to keep their recent run going when they take on the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs will play the second of a back-to-back in the same arena after facing the Lakers here last night.
The Clippers were six-point winners in San Antonio last week on a night where some late drama saw the Spurs cover the point spread thanks to an 8-2 run over the final 36 seconds of a blowout. This time around the Spurs are catching 12.5-points on the road against a team that looks to have turned a corner now that their superstar duo are back on the floor together.
Coach Ty Lue will be hoping NBA injuries stay at bay for his team as they try to stack up some wins and make up ground in the Western Conference standings.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to overcome some of their road woes when they take on a flailing Houston Rockets team at the Toyota Center.
The Cavs are 7.5-point favorites against a Rockets team also playing the second game of a back-to-back. Houston has lost 14 of its last 15 games, going a woeful 2-13 ATS in that span to match. Cleveland is just 5-8-2 ATS as road favorites this season.
The Chicago Bulls have opened as 5.0-point road favorites against the Charlotte Hornets, who are also stuck in a seemingly permanent rut. The Bulls are 0-5 ATS as road favorites so far this season and continue to underperform against lesser teams.
LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward are both questionable for the home side, who have lost their last five straight at home.
That’s all for our NBA Thursday Betting Preview. Be sure to check back again tomorrow for more trends and predictions.
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