Daniel Costanza takes a look at Thursday mornings NBA matches, selecting a trio of best bets.
Basketball betting tips: NBA
2pts Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat) to score Over 17.5 points against Chicago Bulls at 17/20 (888sport)
2pts Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves) to record Over 3.5 assists against OKC at 23/20 (888sport)
2pts Sacramento Kings to beat Portland Trail Blazers at 5/6 (Coral)
Chicago Bulls @ Miami Heat
- Tip-off time: 00:30 BST, Thursday
- Moneyline: Chicago Bulls 2/1 @ Miami Heat 2/5
- Points Spread: Chicago Bulls (+6.5) 10/11 @ Miami Heat (-6.5) 10/11
The Miami Heat are coming into this season looking to pick right back up from where they left off last year.
Narrowly missing out on a trip to the Finals by way of a Game 7 defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat are once again a top contender in the East.
After an outstanding post-season, Victor Oladipo looks very much back to his All-Star form prior to his injury. Unfortunately for the Heat though, Oladipo will miss this season opener against the Bulls.
One player that I believe can capitalise on this opportunity is BAM ADEBAYO, a player who has made it known that he is looking to be more aggressive and take more shots this season.
In his two most recent games against the Bulls last season, he scored 16 and 15 points respectively, while shooting 7 for 9 and 6 for 8. Those are incredibly high shooting percentages, and if we are to believe that Adebayo is coming into this season with a mind-set of being more aggressive, this is an opportunity to back him with one less mouth to feed on offense as Oladipo sits this one out.
Back him to RACK UP OVER 17.5 POINTS on Thursday morning.
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Minnesota Timberwolves
- Tip-off time: 01:00 BST, Thursday
- Moneyline: Oklahoma City Thunder 9/2 @ Minnesota Timberwolves 1/6
- Points Spread: Oklahoma City Thunder (+10.5) 10/11 @ Minnesota Timberwolves (-10.5) 10/11
The Minnesota Timberwolves made a splash in the off-season by acquiring Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz, a player who is widely regarded as the best defensive centre in the entire NBA.
This gives the T'wolves an interesting proposition as they now have 2 of the top 5 centres in the league, already having Karl-Anthony Towns (KAT) on their roster.
This means that Towns will slide to the power forward position, and I could see the offense running through him slightly more than it did last season.
Gobert and Towns will take some time to mesh and play together, but I believe the presence Gobert will have in the paint will allow Towns to make more of an impact with the ball in his hands, making the price available for KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS TO RECORD 4+ ASSIST appeal.
The Thunder are a young team and should be amongst the teams fighting for the worst record this year. The Timberwolves should be able to control this game at home from start to finish and I would expect Towns to fill the stat sheet in the process.
Portland Trail Blazers @ Sacramento Kings
- Tip-off time: 03:00 BST, Thursday
- Moneyline: Portland Trail Blazers 11/10 @ Sacramento Kings 8/11
- Points Spread: Portland Trail Blazers (+1.5) Evs @ Sacramento Kings (-1.5) 5/6
The Sacramento Kings will be looking to build on of their offensive success last season and tighten things up on defence, which would make them a legitimate challenger for one of the last playoff spots in the West.
Since joining the Kings last season in a trade from Indiana, Domantas Sabonis has played exceptionally well with De’Aaron Fox. Although they only played together in 13 games towards the end of last season, Fox had his numbers take a noticeable boost with Sabonis on the floor with him. Fox score 27.8 points per game with Sabonis, which was up from his season average of 23.2.
Fox is not the only one that benefits from this tandem, as Sabonis averaged 18 points, 6 assists, and nearly 12 rebounds in those 13 games, notching 10 double-doubles. Sabonis gives the Kings a big man who can handle the ball and create plays with his tremendous vision.
The disappointing news for the Kings is that they will be without their star rookie, Keegan Murray, who was named the MVP of the NBA Summer League.
He looked brilliant in the pair of pre-season games he was able to play in, but will now miss at least the 1st game of the season as he is in the NBA’s health and safety protocol.
Still, even without Murray, I expect the SACRAMENTO KINGS to start the season on the right foot and GET THE WIN at home on their season debut.
Portland will likely be in the running for one of the worst teams in the league this season.
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