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Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week - January 29th

Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – January 29th

Written by on January 29, 2018

NBA News and Rumors
In the Eastern Conference, the grind of the regular season seems to be showing on the leaders, as none of the top seven teams have won more than six of their last ten. None of them have lost more than six, though — so there hasn’t been a lot of shifting. Detroit is the outlier, having dropped eight straight and nine of ten to fall out of the top eight, replaced by the Philadelphia 76ers, winners of seven of their last 10. In the West, Golden State and Houston are still atop the table, winners of eight of their last 10. Joining them at that pace is Oklahoma City, which has shot up to fifth in the standings. The Clippers have won seven of 10 to come to the edge of the playoff conversation one again — and so have the Lakers, who seem to win more when LaVar Ball doesn’t appear on ESPN. Let’s look at some of your NBA betting picks in the Association for this week.

Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – January 29th

Wednesday, January 31

Philadelphia at Brooklyn (7:30pm ET, CSN / YES)

The Brooklyn Nets return home from their crosstown trip to Madison Square Garden Tuesday night to welcome the burgeoning 76ers on Wednesday. The Nets have had a tough road trip so far, winning by a point over Detroit but then losing by the same margin in Oklahoma City, getting shelled by 25 in Milwaukee and losing in Minnesota by 14. Brooklyn remains shorthanded — one reason for their losing streak — but they did get 21 from Jahlil Okafor and 15 rom Nick Stauskas in that loss to Minnesota. It didn’t help that they opened with a 33 percent shooting performance in the first quarter and also turned the ball over nine times in that frame, as the Timberwolves rolled to a 30-11 lead after that period. The Nets would close to within five before fading down the stretch. This is a team that is playing good teams close but losing late. Philadelphia plays at Milwaukee Monday night before heading on to Brooklyn. They dominated the Spurs on the road, 97-78, before losing in Oklahoma City by 10 in a thrilling duel between Joel Embiid and Russell Westbrook. Embiid did put up 25 points and grab 10 boards, but the Sixers lost both games to Oklahoma City in the season series (with the game in Philly going to triple overtime). With Embiid and Simmons, though, things are clicking, and I expect the same on Wednesday. NBA Betting Prediction: Philadelphia 109, Brooklyn 104

New York at Boston (8:00pm ET, ESPN)

The New York Knicks had dropped three in a row and four of five on their Western road trip, but they pulled off a 22-point rout of the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter combined to go 20 for 31, putting up 54 points — a huge night for a frontcourt aht has been underperforming. Trey Burke went 8 for 13, scoring 18 points on the night. The Knicks need that kind of inside-outside balance if they are going to finish the season more competitively than they have played it so far. They visit a Boston team that is still looking to right the ship. They had dropped four straight before taking down the Clippers on the road, 113-102, but then they lost at Golden State, 109-105, in an epic battle between Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving. The two combined for 86 points. If Al Horford and Marcus Morris hadn’t missed point-blank shots, the result might have been different — but the Celtics’ focus seemed to be back. With Enes Kanter questionable for the Knicks, this is a home win that the Celtics should get. NBA Betting Prediction: Boston 105, New York 99

Friday, February 2

New Orleans at Oklahoma City (9:00pm ET, FSN / FSOK)

The New Orleans Pelicans suffered a huge blow at just the wrong time, as big man DeMarcus Cousins has gone down for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. The Pelicans had pulled off some big wins lately, taking down the Celtics on the road and then edging Houston at home. However, they lost at home to the Clippers in their first full game without Cousins. Can Anthony Davis step up his production inside? We will see. We do know that things get no easier for the Pelicans as they head to Oklahoma City to take on a resurgent Thunder squad. Winners of eight straight, the Thunder have included a 24-point road thrashing of Cleveland, a nine-point win over Washington and a ten-point win over Philadelphia in that stretch. That question of balance among offense and defense with Carmelo Anthony in the lineup appears to be heading back in a positive direction. NBA Betting Prediction: Oklahoma City 111, New Orleans 102  
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