San Antonio Spurs @ Detroit Pistons – 7PM ET
*This game has been postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a new date has not been confirmed at this time*
Denver Nuggets @ Boston Celtics – 7PM ET
The Boston Celtics are seriously struggling right now, losers of two straight and four of their last five. Things don’t get any easier this evening when they host the Denver Nuggets, who have won three straight including beating the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
Nikola Jokic had a massive triple double with 23 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists while Jamal Murray shrugged off some bad form to lead the game in scoring with 25. Will Barton missed against the Lakers and will miss this one again, but Facundo Campazzo flourished with his increased opportunity, finishing with 15 points, four assists and two steals!
Jokic puts up another triple-double in the Nuggets’ win over the Lakers:
⛏ 23 Pts
⛏ 16 Reb
⛏ 10 Ast pic.twitter.com/cwKdkzpmsh— ESPN (@espn) February 15, 2021
Denver used a 40-28 second quarter to put the game to bed and put up 122 points on the best defense in the league. They will be looking to do the same against the Celtics who haven’t been themselves over the last couple of weeks.
Sunday afternoon saw them fall to the lowly Wizards, 91-104, despite 25 points and seven rebounds from both Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown. Jayson Tatum battled with foul trouble and finished with just six points and without him playing at his regular level, the team struggled.
A Boston loss would see them fall below 0.500, something that is almost unheard of for the franchise, and unfortunately we are picking it to happen. The Celtics are just 6-6 after a loss while the Nuggets are 8-5 after a win and 7-5 on the road this season.
NBA Pick – Denver Nuggets (+105)
NBA Spread – Denver Nuggets +1.5 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Over 221.5 (-110)
New Orleans Pelicans @ Memphis Grizzlies – 7:30PM ET
The New Orleans Pelicans will be looking to snap a three game skid when they get on the road to take on the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. On the other hand, Memphis will be looking to consolidate on some very good performances of late, going 2-1 over their last three.
Sunday night saw Memphis get a big 124-110 win in Sacramento and it was a full team performance that got them over the line. Jonas Valanciunas continues to play incredibly well since returning from the health and safety protocols, leading all players with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Dillon Brooks had a good scoring night with 22 points while Ja Morant continued to impress with his passing game, finishing with a 16 point, 10 assist double double.
Sunday night wasn’t so favorable for New Orleans, dropping 112-123 to the Pistons. The Pels still managed to lose despite both Brandon Ingram and Zion Williams had 26 points, the former with seven assists and the latter with eight rebounds and two blocks. Steven Adams had a big double double with 13 points and 12 boards, but New Orleans shot just 25.7% from deep and allowed Detroit to make 17 threes of their own.
Memphis isn’t a typically good three point shooting team, making just the 23rd most per game in the league, but they lock in on defense, forcing the second most turnovers per game, and that is an issue for New Orleans at times.
Given how both teams are playing at the moment, we like Memphis to keep rolling on, especially with the Pelicans being just 4-10 on the road this season.
NBA Pick – Memphis Grizzlies (-110)
NBA Spread – Memphis Grizzlies -1 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Over 230 (-110)
Toronto Raptors @ Milwaukee Bucks – 8PM ET
In somewhat of an alarming run, the Milwaukee Bucks end their six game road trip on a three game losing streak and are now just 7-9 on the road this season. The positive is that they are hosting the Toronto Raptors tonight, meaning they are back on home floor where they are an impeccable 9-2.
Sunday night saw them suffer a five point defeat at the hands of the Thunder despite a massive triple double from Giannis Antetokounmpo. The reigning two time MVP had 24 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and three blocks while Bobby Portis had 21 points, six rebounds and three steals off the bench but the Bucks shot just 13/38 (34.2%) from deep and couldn’t keep up with OKC.
Best of Giannis’ 4th triple-double of the season:
24 PTS | 17 REB | 10 AST | 3 BLK | 3 STL pic.twitter.com/4W9UL8Gg1r
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) February 15, 2021
Things aren’t looking so good for the Raptors either at the moment, dropping two straight, most recently by four points to the Timberwolves on Sunday night. Kyle Lowry had 24 points, four rebounds and four assists while both Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell had 22 but struggled to come out hard after half time, dropping the third quarter 25-37 and they could never claw their way back.
These two sides met just under three weeks ago and the Bucks came out on top by seven points and now this one will be played back in Milwaukee which isn’t a good sign for Toronto. The Bucks rank better offensively and defensively and are almost unstoppable at home so we like them to win and win comfortably here.
NBA Pick – Milwaukee Bucks (-220)
NBA Spread – Milwaukee Bucks -5.5 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Under 234 (-110)
Los Angeles Lakers @ Minnesota Timberwolves – 8PM ET
The Los Angeles Lakers had their seven game win streak snapped in Denver on Sunday night but the bigger story is that Anthony Davis will miss the next 3-4 weeks with a calf straight. Now they stay on the road to face the Minnesota Timberwolves who snapped their four game losing streak with a 116-112 win over the Raptors two nights ago.
Malik Beasley and Karl-Anthony Towns led six different Timberwolves in double figures with 20 points a piece. Beasley shot a blistering 6/10 whilst also dishing out six assists while Towns dominated inside with 11 boards and three blocks.
Minnesota used a 37-25 third quarter to establish a lead that they never gave up. They should be looking to carry that momentum into a matchup with an undermanned Lakers side and Towns should dominate the interior without Davis in the lineup.
The Lakers are 4-1 when Davis misses this season but their performance on Sunday doesn’t give much confidence moving forward. With that being said they still have LeBron James who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists on Sunday. James will continue to do his bit but the bench will need to step up in Davis’ absence and Kyle Kuzma looks ready to do so, averaging 18 points and nine rebounds over his last three games.
It will be interesting to see how LA adjusts after a disappointing performance on both ends of the floor last time out and given the Timberwolves have been very competitive of late, but with James in the lineup you would expect the Lakers to get back on track with a win.
NBA Pick – Los Angeles Lakers (-275)
NBA Spread – Minnesota Timberwolves +6.5 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Over 223.5 (-110)
Portland Trail Blazers @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 8PM ET
The Portland Trail Blazers will look for a fifth straight win when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight and we think that they will be able to do it. OKC comes in with some mixed form, losing three straight games before beating Milwaukee last time out but that was a beaten and flailing Bucks side at the end of a road trip and the Thunder have actually been an average home side this season, 4-8.
Oklahoma City got the win without their best player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and will be without him again tonight, but they have been getting players to step up on multiple levels. Justin Jackson was a surprise top scorer with 22 points and five assists while Al Horford continues to play like he is back in Atlanta, putting up 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Damian Lillard’s last six games:
32 PTS | 8 AST
29 PTS | 9 AST
36 PTS | 2 AST
30 PTS | 7 AST
20 PTS | 9 AST
34 PTS | 11 ASTBlazers are 5-1 in those contests.
It’s Dame Time ⌚️ pic.twitter.com/aRqVR67C8G
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 15, 2021
Portland on the other hand have been racking up the wins, most recently in Dallas, 121-118. Damian Lillard hit clutch shots and willed his team over the line, finishing with 34 points and 11 assists while Robert Covington had a classic game by his standards, 15 points on 5/7 shooting and 4/4 from deep, along with five rebounds and four steals.
The Thunder have been playing to the level of their opponents of late with two narrow overtime losses to the Lakers, a two point loss to the red hot Nuggets and a win over the Bucks, but Portland are on too much of a roll right now. We like the Blazers to get the win on the road here.
NBA Pick – Portland Trail Blazers (-210)
NBA Spread – Portland Trail Blazers -4.5 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Over 222.5 (-110)
Brooklyn Nets @ Phoenix Suns – 10PM ET
Despite missing Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn Nets absolutely torched the Kings last night and will look to carry that over into the desert tonight. It may be tough against a Phoenix Suns side that has won six straight and nine of their last ten.
Devin Booker has been a big driving force of their recent good form, highlighted by his 27 points and six assists in Sunday’s 109-90 win over the Magic. Deandre Ayton had another double double with 10 points and 13 rebounds while Chris Paul had his usual all around game with 12 points, nine assists, six rebounds and two steals.
The most important player for Phoenix might be Mikal Bridges though. His defense will be needed against both Kyrie Irving and James Harden tonight. Irving put up a monster 40 points on 68.2% shooting and 9/11 from deep while Harden had another massive triple double, finishing with 29 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds.
It will be interesting to see who plays and doesn’t play for Brooklyn on the second night of a back to back but Phoenix may have a really tough time stopping the Nets’ high scoring offense. With that being said, Phoenix has won six straight for a reason, is 10-4 at home this season and should be winning this one.
NBA Pick – Phoenix Suns (-140)
NBA Spread – Phoenix Suns -2 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Over 230 (-110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of Bet365.
