The Milwaukee Bucks just keep winning, with their latest streak up to six in a row. They sit at 52-8 and lead the Eastern Conference standings by ten full games over the Toronto Raptors, who have lost three in a row. The biggest skid in the East right now belongs to the Brooklyn Nets, losers of four straight. In the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets have the longest winning streak at six games, and they are slowly moving up the standings. They are still in fourth place in the West, but they are now just 1 ½ games behind both Denver and the Clippers. The Lakers sit at 46-13 atop the conference, 5 ½ games ahead of those two teams. If the NBA fits in your sports betting plans for the coming week, check out our two primo picks for your NBA Betting.
NBA: Top Betting Picks of the Week 20
Monday, March 2
Houston at New York (7:00 pm ET)
The Houston Rockets have not lost since a home setback against the Utah Jazz more than two weeks ago. Since then, they have six straight wins, including a one-point overtime win over the Boston Celtics to start their East Coast swing. In that win, James Harden had an uncharacteristically difficult time scoring points, so it was definitely a good thing that Russell Westbrook was healthy. He led both teams with 41 points, going 16 for 27. He has been red hot in February, shooting 54.9% from the floor for the month and averaging 33.4 points per game, second best for any month in his career when he has played at least five games.
Next up for the Rockets is a trip to Gotham to take on the Knicks. New York just ended a six-game skid with a 125-115 win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. In that game, Mitchell Robinson had a career best with 23 points and pulled down 10 boards. Rookie R.J. Barrett had 19 points. Kevin Knox II came off the bench and had a bunch of hustle plays, scoring a dozen points and getting six rebounds in the Knicks’ first win since February 8. But can they beat a rising team in the West?
NBA Betting Final Score Prediction: Houston 118, New York 107
Tuesday, March 3
Philadelphia at L.A. Lakers (10:00 pm ET, TNT)
The Philadelphia 76ers hit a bump in the road on the first game of the West Coast swing, hanging 130 points on the Clippers but still losing by six on Sunday. In that game, SMU graduate Shake Milton went 7 for 9 from downtown, finishing a streak of 13 made three-pointers that tied an NBA record. He finished the night with 39 points, helping out significantly in the absence of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. However, the Clippers had four players score at least 24 points, led by Kawhi Leonard’s 30 points, as the Sixers could not get defensive stops. If you like Philadelphia in this matchup, you see them finding more holes in the Laker defense than most teams have all season long.
Things don’t get easier two nights later, as the road-challenged Sixers face the other team that calls Staples Center home. The Lakers rebounded from a 17-point loss in Memphis on Saturday with a 122-114 win in New Orleans the next night. In that victory, the Lakers were missing Anthony Davis, but LeBron James filled in nicely with a triple-double, posting 34 points, 13 assists and a dozen rebounds. Zion Williamson had 35 points, a career high, but he also had six turnovers, which the Lakers took advantage of. Kyle Kuzma had 20 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 13 and Javale McGee had eight points and six blocks, as the Pelicans struggled both inside and out. If you like the Lakers, you see Davis returning from that sore knee and helping LeBron take apart a Sixers team that is missing two of their stars and likely used a ton of emotional energy in that track meet loss to the Clippers.
NBA Betting Final Score Prediction: Los Angeles 124, Philadelphia 116
