The hottest teams in the National Basketball Association are the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, each winners of nine in their last ten, and each sitting stop their conference standings. The Houston Rockets have the longest winning streak in the league, winners of seven in a row, and they sit just a game behind the Lakers. The coldest teams in the league come from the Western Conference, as the San Antonio Spurs have dropped five in a row and the Golden State Warriors have dropped seven straight, winning just twice in the first 14 games of the season. In fact, if the season ended today, such teams as the Spurs, Warriors and the Trail Blazers would be locked out of the postseason, as the Western Conference has turned upside down in multiple ways. If you’re planning on including NBA betting for the week, don’t miss our pair of primo picks.
Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – November 18th Edition
Two of the greatest rivals in the NBA are jockeying for the top spot. Full rankings: https://t.co/ubDkL9M5TV pic.twitter.com/cN6h7pmu6z
— ESPN (@espn) November 18, 2019
Monday, November 18th
Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers (10:30 pm ET)
Oklahoma City had dropped a pair to the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers before getting back into the win column on Monday at home against the Philadelphia 76ers, rolling to a 127-119 victory. The Thunder needed an extra frame to deliver the win, behind 28 points from Danilo Gallinari and 27 points for Chris Paul. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 24 points, and Terrance Ferguson chipped in 19. The team had been waiting for a big win after the departures of Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Oklahoma City won the battle of the free-throw line, 35-15, wasting a 31-point, 12-board night for Joel Embiid.
Now the Thunder head west to take on the Clippers, who also brought a two-game skid to an end this weekend. They had fallen in Houston and New Orleans before coming home Saturday to rout Atlanta, 150-101. In that win, Paul George put up 37 points in 20 minutes, the first time an NBA player had put up that many points in under 21 minutes. The game marked the largest margin of victory in the history of the franchise — and Kawhi Leonard (knee contusion) didn’t even play. Can the Clippers pull off another big win with the Thunder coming to town?
NBA Betting Prediction: Los Angeles 124, Oklahoma City 116
Tuesday, November 19th
Portland at New Orleans (8:00 pm ET, NBA TV)
The Portland Trail Blazers had lost to Sacramento and Toronto before heading to San Antonio and beating the San Antonio Spurs, 121-116, on Saturday. They face the Rockets in Houston on Monday night before heading onto New Orleans to play the Pelicans. In that win over San Antonio, Portland built an early lead behind 32 points from C.J. McCollum, but the Spurs roared back in the third and fourth periods, leading by 15 during the fourth period and still by seven with just four minutes in regulation, but the Trail Blazers came all the way back in a game that they led by 23 points early in the second period . Damian Lillard chipped in 22 points, and Hassan Whiteside scored 21. The bench got 25 points for Portland, including eight points apiece from Kent Bazemore and Mario Hezonja.
Portland will head to New Orleans on the second night of a back-to-back. The Pelicans have won two of three, beating the Clippers before losing to the Miami Heat and then beating Golden State by eight on Sunday. In that win, Jrue Holiday kept feeding J.J. Redick the ball, and Redick responded with 26 points, including four three-point shots in the first quarter. Holiday put up 22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and Jaxson Hayes had a double-double with 10 points, 10 boards and three blocks in his first career start. It didn’t help that the Warriors were so short-handed due to injury that Draymond Green saw some time running the point. Can New Orleans take advantage of some tired Portland legs?
NBA Betting Prediction: New Orleans 111, Portland 105
