Two of the NBA’s best meet up on Thursday night when Cleveland and Orlando clash in a prime Eastern Conference matchup. Also on the Thursday night NBA betting slate is a Western Conference faceoff between rivals San Antonio and Phoenix.
The Cavaliers head into Thursday night with the best record in the NBA after winning their last four games.
Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Illgauskas could return to the lineup on Thursday against the Orlando Magic and it could be the betting key.
The 7’3” big man has missed the last 12 games with an ankle injury and the team has gone just 7-5 against the spread (ATS). For the season, the Cavs are just 9-6 ATS with ‘Z’ out of the lineup.
Contrast that with Cleveland’s stellar 20-8 ATS record with him, and you can see why bettors are constantly checking the latest injury report for this contest.
When the Philadelphia 76’ers take the court against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, they will do so without their best big man, and one of the most prized free agents of the off-season, Elton Brand, at full strength. That’s not a good thing because the Houston Rockets have perhaps the best center in the NBA right now, Yao Ming.
The Denver Nuggets travel to New Orleans to take on the Hornets in a key Western Conference match-up between two of the best point-guards in the NBA. After acquiring Chauncey Billups from the Detroit Pistons, the Nuggets have been very, very good. They are 30 and 15 straight-up and are riding a three game winning streak without their best player, Carmelo Anthony.
The Indiana Pacers travel to Orlando to take on arguably the best team in the NBA. For sports betting fans, a team can’t really get any better than the Orlando Magic. With Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, the Magic have stormed to a 33 and 10 record straight-up.
The San Antonio Spurs travel to Utah to take on a Jazz team still playing without their top scorer from last season, Carlos Boozer. The Spurs have become the same old Spurs, that is a winning team, after digging themselves into a hole earlier this season. They are currently 29 and 14 straight-up.
The Los Angeles Lakers are flowing with confidence on a four-game winning streak but they may be a bad bet tonight.
Sportsbook.com has Los Angeles as 11-point favorites with a Total of 196, but they haven’t fared well as big chalk this year. Tip-off is set for 10:30pm ET.
L.A. thrashed San Antonio 99-85 as 7 ½-point favorites on Sunday. The contest was so lopsided, Kobe Bryant only got off the bench in the fourth quarter for timeouts.
The Phoenix Suns (23-18 SU, 13-26-1 ATS, 23-17 O/U) snapped their three-game winning streak on Sunday, beating the Atlanta Hawks 104-99 to cover the spread for BetUS NBA sports betting backers as a 4-point road underdog in the BetUS Sportsbook. The Washington Wizards (9-34 SU, 17-26 ATS, 17-24-2 O/U) have dropped two consecutive games, including their dismal 100-87 loss to the Portland Trailblazers on Saturday while failing to cover the spread as 9.5-point road underdogs in the BetUS Sportsbook.
The Houston Rockets (27-17 SU, 20-24 ATS, 24-20 O/U) bounced back nicely form a loss in their previous outing, beating the Detroit Pistons 108-105 on Sunday to cover the spread for BetUS NBA Sportsbook betting backers as a 3-point road underdog. The New York Knicks (18-25 SU, 24-19 ATS, 17-26 O/U) are coming off a 116-110 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday where they failed to covert the spread for BetUS NBA sports betting backers as a 7.5-point underdog.
The Atlanta Hawks (26-16 SU, 23-19 ATS, 19-21 O/U) had their three-game winning streak snapped the last time out, losing to the Phoenix Suns 04-99 on Sunday while failing to cover the spread asd4-point home favorites in the BetUS Sportsbook. The Miami Heat (23-19 SU, 19-21-2 ATS, 22-20 O/U) have alternated wins and losses in each of their last five games, but are coming off an encouraging 103-97 win overt the Orlando Magic on Saturday, covering the spread in the BetUS Sportsbook as 7.5-point home underdogs.
With the Super Bowl occurring next Sunday, both NASCAR and Major League Baseball on hiatus, and sports betting fans not really warming up to either golf or NHL yet, the NBA pretty much has the weekend all to itself.
The NBA schedulers couldn’t have made NBA basketball betting fans happier than scheduling a huge game on Saturday and a huge game on Sunday.
The Detroit Pistons will be favorites when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night, but bettors should have their eyes firmly on the Total.
The Pistons have gone Under the Total in seven out of their last nine games with one push. For the season, Detroit has gone Under the Total in 25 of 41 games.
And with Detroit’s second leading scorer, Richard Hamilton, coming off the bench now, bettors need to look closely at the point total for this 7 pm ET telecast on ESPN.
The Boston Celtics (35-9 SU, 24-20 ATS, 18-25-1 O/U) have won five straight games in the BetUS Sportsbook. The Orlando Magic (33-8 SU, 28-12-1 ATS, 19-22 O/U) have won each of their last seven outings. Tonight, the Eastern Conference powers will both be looking to record an SU and ATS victory for BetUS NBA sports betting backers when they meet at Amway Arena.
The Washington Wizards (9-32 SU, 17-24 ATS, 16-23-2 O/U) have won two of their last three games, including Wednesday’s high-scoring 110-107 win over the Sacramento Kings. The Los Angeles Lakers (33-8 SU, 19-22 ATS, 24-17 O/U) have won two straight following a modest two-game slide and dominated their same-city rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers, from start to finish on Wednesday en route to a 108-97 win.
The Orlando Magic have been the most profitable team in the NBA and it hasn’t been a trick.
Orlando has covered eight of their last 10 games and bettors will be looking for more profits as they prepare to host the defending champion Boston Celtics on national television on Thursday night.
The Toronto Raptors (16-27 SU, 17-24-2 ATS, 25-18 O/U) have dropped six straight games in the BetUS Sportsbook. The Detroit Pistons (23-17 SU, 17-23 ATS, 15-24-1 O/U) snapped their five-game skid the last time out. Tonight, both teams will look to pick up an SU and ATS victory when they battle at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
