Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – January 21st Edition

With the return of DeMarcus Cousins, the Golden State Warriors look to have gotten the piece they needed to start running away with the West. They have won seven straight and nine of ten, moving past Denver into the top spot in the conference. Utah has heated up as well, winning six in a row and eight of ten to slip into seventh. In the East, Milwaukee and Toronto are still slugging it out at the top of the standing, with each team having won eight of ten. Brooklyn is starting to surprise, winners of seven and ten and holding onto eighth. We have three solid NBA betting picks for you to peruse as you look at your wagering for the week ahead.

Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – January 21st Edition

🚨 NBA Power Rankings 🚨 1. Warriors 2. Bucks 3. Raptors 4. Nuggets 5. Pacers 6. Celtics 7. Sixers 8. Jazz 9. Blazers 10. Thunder What are your thoughts?#warriors #bucks #raptors… https://t.co/heBIiuGFZK

— Dead Honest Sports (@deadhnstsports) January 21, 2019

Monday, January 21

Golden State at L.A. Lakers (10:30pm ET, TNT)

The Warriors’ winning ways have taken the Los Angeles Clippers as their latest victims, as Golden State roared to a 112-94 win at the Staples Center on Friday night. This game actually marked Cousins’ season debut for Golden State, and he put up 14 points (and fouled out) in just 15 minutes of action. Stephen Curry put up 28 points to lead the Warriors, and Kevin Durant added 24, even though the team went just 9 for 37 from behind the arc. Given how easily the Warriors won on a night when their shooting was off, that doesn’t bode well for what might happen on Monday in the same arena. The Lakers have been putting up all kinds of points lately, scoring 172 points in their last two games. They rode that offense — with LeBron James still out nursing that groin — to a ten-point win in Oklahoma City on Thursday but then fell in overtime in Houston on Saturday, as James Harden put up 48 points for the Rockets. The Lakers’ lack of defense came back to bite them, as the Rockets were able to come back from a 21-point deficit. Eric Gordon also kicked in 30 for Houston in the overtime win. The Lakers aren’t built to win a track meet against the likes of the Warriors. NBA Betting Prediction: Golden State 122, Los Angeles 116

Tuesday, January 22

Sacramento at Toronto (7:00pm ET)

The Sacramento Kings have split their last 10 games but picked up a clutch win in Detroit on Saturday, as Buddy Hield slipped free for a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Kings to a victory. That capped off a 35-point night for Hield, who also gave the Kings a late lead with 1:11 left in the fourth period with another three-ball. Marvin Bagley and De’Aaron Fox had 14 points each for Sacramento, and Willie Cauley-Stein put up a dozen in the win. Now the Kings head to Brooklyn to take on the Nets on Monday afternoon before tangling with the Raptors north of the border on Tuesday night. Toronto held off Phoenix on Thursday by two and then rolled to a 29-point shellacking of Memphis on Saturday. In that win, Danny Green nailed seven three-pointers, all in the third quarter, to set a team record for three-balls in a period, and put up a season-best 24 points on the night. Serge Ibaka scored 18 points, and Pascal Siakam added 17. The Raptors have won nine in a row at home and 20 of 24 overall — and I don’t see Sacramento denting that streak. NBA Betting Prediction: Toronto 109, Sacramento 101

Portland at Oklahoma City (8:00pm ET, NBA TV)

The Portland Trail Blazers have won two in a row by a combined total of 33 points, routing Cleveland by 17 at home on Wednesday and then New Orleans at home two nights later by 16. They head to Utah on Monday night before turning south to face the Thunder on Tuesday night. In that win over the Pelicans, Damian Lillard put up 22 points and eight assists, and C.J. McCollum and Jake Layman had 20 points apiece. Layman is a reserve forward who put up all those points in the second period, as the Trail Blazers took advantage of another sloppy night from the Pelicans’ defense. After facing the Jazz on Monday, Portland will visit Oklahoma City with the two teams both sitting 4 ½ games back of Golden State in the West standings. The Thunder had dropped five of six but came away with a two-point win in Philadelphia on Saturday. The Thunder face the Knicks on a matinee on Sunday in New York before heading home to take on Portland the next night. In that win over the Sixers, Paul George converted a four-point play with 5.1 ticks left in the fourth quarter to give the Thunder the lead they needed. George ended up with 31 points, six boards, five assists and three steals. Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 10 boards and six assists, and Dennis Schroder added 21 points off the bench. Can the Thunder return home and take charge against Portland? NBA Betting Prediction: Oklahoma City 113, Portland 110