The Detroit Pistons continue their free fall, losers of six in a row and eight of their last ten, and now 6 ½ games out of the last playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee continues their march toward a 70-win season, now sitting at 48-8, 6 ½ games ahead of Toronto atop the conference. Philadelphia continues their historic differential between home record (26-2) and road record (9-20). The problem with this is that, as a fifth seed, they would not have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. In the Western Conference, the Clippers are in a bit of a skid, dropping three in a row and five of ten, slipping down closer to fourth place in the standings. Houston and Oklahoma City are both on the rise, now in fourth and sixth, respectively, in the West standings, winners of three in a row and seven of ten. We have two picks for your NBA betting consideration as you look to the coming week.
Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week 19
Monday, February 24
Memphis at L.A. Clippers (10:30 pm, NBA TV)
The Memphis Grizzlies have dropped two in a row, losing in Sacramento on Thursday and then again in Los Angeles to the Lakers on Friday. They have had two days off in Los Angeles to gear up for a matchup with the Clippers on Monday night. In that loss to the Lakers, Memphis almost came back from a 25-point deficit, thanks to a 20-point night from Josh Jackson and 17 points out of Ja Morant. However, the Grizzlies will need to find ways to get more stops if they want to beat the Clippers, and they missed way too many lay-ups and open looks to keep in the game.
The Clippers have dropped four out of five, losing to Minnesota, beating Cleveland and then losing to Philadelphia, Boston and Sacramento. That loss to the Kings came at home on Saturday, as Sacramento won by nine. In that game, the Clippers did not have Paul George or Patrick Beverley, but they did have Kawhi Leonard but had no answer to a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter. Leonard had 31 points, Lou Williams had 24, and Montrezl Harrell added 16 points and 10 boards, but the Clippers could not get stops. Can they hold off another struggling West team?
Final Score Prediction: Los Angeles 111, Memphis 103
Tuesday, February 25
Milwaukee at Toronto (7:30 pm ET, TNT)
The Milwaukee Bucks have rebounded from their loss in Indiana last week, beating the Pistons in Detroit on Thursday and coming home to beat Philadelphia by 21 on Saturday. The Bucks face Washington down in the nation’s capital on Monday before heading to Toronto Tuesday. In their win over the 76ers, the first half was close before the Bucks put their foot on the gas the rest of the way. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points and pulled down 17 boards, and Khris Middleton added 25. Giannis had the Bucks’ first 11 points in the third period, as Joel Embiid had to miss a lot of the third with foul trouble, and the Bucks did not look back.
The Bucks will head to Toronto on the second night of a back-to-back featuring consecutive road games.
Toronto followed up a loss to the Nets with home wins over the Phoenix Suns and the Indiana Pacers. They routed the Pacers by 46 points on Sunday. In that win, Kyle Lowry had his sixth straight double-double, with 16 points and 11 assists. Serge Ibaka put up 15 points and 15 boards, a season best, while Pascal Siakam chipped in 21 points. Matt Thomas had a career high 17 points, all in the fourth quarter, and Terence Davis (13 points) and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (12) also had double figures. Toronto has now won 17 of 18 overall and nine in a row at home. Are the Raptors ready to deal the 48-8 Bucks a loss?
Final Score Prediction: Toronto 125, Milwaukee 122
