Few deaths in the world of sport have been as unsettling as that of Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant, who passed, along with his daughter and seven others, in a helicopter crash on Sunday. On January 22, 2006, Bryant shocked the world when he hung 81 points on the Toronto Raptors; he ended up scoring 60 points in the last game of his career. His reputation is a checkered one, for a number of reasons, but the combination of raw talent and sheer dedication to improving his game is what made him a transcendent NBA star.
It was bizarre seeing games still go on Sunday afternoon and evening: the Spurs and the Raptors opened with matching 24-second shot clock violations, in honor of the #24 that Kobe wore in the second half of his career; Clippers coach Doc Rivers was just one of many who had an extremely difficult time steeling himself for competition just minutes after receiving that awful news. Kobe will certainly be missed after his contributions to the game. With that said, the league will go on; we have put together a couple of NBA betting picks for you to consider from the Association.
Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – January 27th Edition
Updated #NBA Power Rankings – https://t.co/TiQF3R3PNU 1. #Bucks 2. #Lakers 3. #Clippers 4. #Heat 5. #Jazz pic.twitter.com/B46nE3KPtx
— The Sports Haven (@TheSportsHaven) January 27, 2020
Monday, January 27th
Houston at Utah (9:00 pm ET, NBA TV)
The Houston Rockets had brought a four-game skid to an end by beating Denver at home and Minnesota on the road, but then the Nuggets got some revenge with a 117-110 win on Sunday. The game was secondary to many of the players, but the Nuggets got the better of things. Houston did get 32 from Russell Westbrook, including 22 after halftime, as well as 19 from Eric Gordon and 15 from Ben McLemore. James Harden (thigh bruise) missed the game and remains day-to-day. Given that Monday’s game will be Houston’s second consecutive contest at high altitude, it’s hard to see their legs being fresh.
Utah may get to face Houston without both Harden and Westbrook, as Westbrook has not played in both ends of a back-to-back yet this season. It may not matter to the Jazz, who have won 14 of their last 15, including a 112-107 comeback win over Dallas on Saturday. Utah got 22 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks from Rudy Gobert, as well as 25 points from Donovan Mitchell and 23 from Bojan Bogdanovic. With that extra rest and the potential for Houston to have their two top stars on the bench, I’m going with Utah here.
NBA Betting Prediction: Utah 111, Houston 106
Tuesday, January 28th
L.A. Clippers at L.A. Lakers (10:00 pm ET, TNT)
The Clippers return to Los Angeles with a 4-1 record on their road trip (although their lone loss came to lowly Atlanta). They beat New Orleans, Dallas, Miami and Orlando on their road swing, which technically continues as they “visit” the Lakers on Tuesday night, in what is sure to be an emotionally charged night. In their win over the Magic on Sunday, the game got underway not even four hours after news broke of Kobe’s passing. Kawhi Leonard but the Clippers on his back, scoring 31 points (with 15 in the third quarter) as the Clippers made it six wins in seven games.
Next comes a matchup with the Lakers, who return from a five-game road trip in which they went 3-2. They defeated Houston, New York and Brooklyn, but they lost in Boston by 32 and in Philadelphia (now 21-2 at home, by the way) by 19. In that loss to the 76ers on Saturday, LeBron James actually passed Kobe to move into third on the all-time scoring list, but that was the only highlight for the Lakers. Anthony Davis added 31 points, but they couldn’t keep up with a Philadelphia team that still is without Joel Embiid (torn finger ligament). Given the emotions that should reverberate through the Staples Center on Tuesday night, though, it’s hard to see the Clippers winning.
NBA Betting Prediction: Lakers 128, Clippers 124
