Kemba Walker improved to 1-28 all time in his career against LeBron James, as the Boston Celtics obliterated the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, 139-108. Boston has still dropped six of ten, though, and are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They sit just 1 ½ games behind Miami, who is in second, but 9 ½ games behind Milwaukee; the Bucks have won seven in a row and nine of ten.
The coldest team in the NBA right now is Kemba Walker’s former team, as the Charlotte Hornets have dropped seven in a row. That loss was just the second in the last ten for the Lakers, who are four games ahead of Denver, Utah and the Clippers, who are in a logjam for second place.
Another hot team in the west is the Memphis Grizzlies, winners of eight out of their last ten, while Sacramento (five games in a row) and Minnesota (six) are the teams with the longest slides in the West right now. If you want to bet on pro basketball this week, don’t miss our top two primo NBA betting picks.
Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – January 20th Edition
NBA power rankings: The legend of Luka Doncic grows by the week https://t.co/s5KAJljKLD pic.twitter.com/LuBuIChg5x
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) January 21, 2020
Wednesday, January 22nd
Philadelphia at Toronto (7:00 pm ET, ESPN)
The Philadelphia 76ers have won four in a row, but none of those teams have been contenders, with a pair of wins over the Brooklyn Nets, and wins over Chicago and New York. Their most recent win came on Monday against the Nets, as Ben Simmons picked up the first 30-point triple-double of his career. He had 34 points (tied for a season high) along with 12 boards, 12 assists and five assists. The 76ers scored 108 points when he was on the floor, and he scored or assisted on 65 of those. Even so, Philadelphia struggled to put away Brooklyn late; the NEts were just down one with two minutes left, before Al Horford nailed a three. Can Philadelphia pull off a road win against a contender?
The Toronto Raptors have also won four in a row, taking down Oklahoma City, Washington, Minnesota and Atlanta, beating the Hawks on Monday in Atlanta, 122-117. Sixth man Norman Powell put up 27 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, as the Raptors withstood Trae Young’s 42 points and 15 assists. Powell has at least 20 points in five games in a row. The Raptors were up by 21 before the Hawks went on a 24-5 run to get within two in the late minutes. Fred VanVleet sank three free throws to push the margin to five before the end. Philadelphia has struggled on the road; can they change that trend against the Raptors?
NBA Betting Prediction: Toronto 118, Philadelphia 111
Oklahoma City at Orlando (7:00 pm ET)
Oklahoma City has won a pair of tough games, beating Portland at home on Saturday before turning around to win in Houston on Monday, 112-107. In that win over the Rockets, Chris Paul put up 28 points (27 of those before halftime), and Danilo Gallinari scored 25, and Oklahoma City came back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to pick up the win, benefiting from some cold shooting from Houston star James Harden. Harden had 29 points but went just 1 for 17 from downtown. For Oklahoma City, Dennis Schroder had 23 points, including 17 in the second half, and along with Gallinari, he pushed the Thunder to the win.
Next for the Thunder is a trip to Orlando. The Magic lost to the Clippers and Golden State on the road before winning in Charlotte, 106-83, on Monday. In that win over the Magic, Evan Fournier picked up 26 points, and Nikola Vucevic put up 24 points and 10 boards. Terrence Ross had 19 points, 16 in the first half. Orlando was deadly from downtown, going 14 for 28. The game was never really in doubt after the first quarter, as the Magic started the second with a 14-1 run, and then went on a 27-8 run to start the fourth quarter that put the game beyond doubt. However, the Hornets are in a tailspin right now; can the Magic do something similar at home against a West contender?
NBA Betting Prediction: Oklahoma City 110, Orlando 101
