The NBA’s trade deadline is Feb. 7, and it’s looking more and more likely that at least one of the Grizzlies’ franchise stalwarts, point guard Mike Conley or center Marc Gasol, will be wearing another uniform by then. The Grizz aren’t going anywhere and ready to kickstart a full rebuild. Here’s a look at two interesting NBA matchups this week. Check back for NBA odds on game day.
Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – January 28th
Lauri Markkanen did a little bit of everything tonight with 21pts, 15reb and 4-7 from behind-the-arc. He is the first player in Bulls franchise history to make at least 3 threes in 7 straight games.
👀⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BXZjqhMJKr — Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) 27 de enero de 2019
Chicago Bulls at Brooklyn Nets
- When: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET (NBA League Pass)
The Nets are a huge surprise, but a big reason for that, guard Spencer Dinwiddie, might be out for a while. That’s because he has torn ligaments in his thumb and could require surgery on the injury. If so, that would sideline him 4-6 weeks. Dinwiddie has had his hand examined one of the top hand specialists in the country. He will get two other evaluations before deciding whether to have surgery. The 6-foot-6 Dinwiddie has emerged as one of the top candidates for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award while leading the Nets to the sixth-best mark in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago already has lost a key piece for likely the rest of the season in rookie big man Wendell Carter Jr. He recently had surgery to fix a torn ligament in his thumb. Carter, taken by the Bulls with the No. 7 pick in last year’s draft, was averaging 10.3 points, seven rebounds, and 1.3 blocks. With high-IQ play and defensive potential, he had been a rare bright spot for the team in an otherwise dismal season.
The Nets are 2-0 vs. the Bulls this year. They last met Jan. 6 in Chicago and the Nets prevailed 117-100. D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points, and DeMarre Carroll had 20 points off the bench. The Nets made 16 3-pointers. Russell was 6 for 14 from beyond the arc. The Nets pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Bulls 29-18. Zach LaVine had 27 points for Chicago and Bobby Portis scored 17 in 20 minutes off the bench.
Brooklyn has won the past five overall in this series. The Nets will be playing the second of a back-to-back, though, after visiting Boston on Monday. Entering that one, the Nets are 19-5 in their last 24 games, which ties the most wins in a 24-game stretch in franchise history.
Chicago enters on a three-game skid after losing embarrassingly at home to awful Cleveland on Sunday. The Bulls have scored 100+ points in 12-straight games, their longest streak over the century mark in the last four seasons.
Milwaukee Bucks at Toronto Raptors
- When: Thursday, 8 PM ET (TNT)
It’s the first game of Thursday’s TNT doubleheader and huge in the Eastern Conference as these clubs battle for the top seed and perhaps the NBA’s overall No. 1 record. The Bucks are 2-0 vs. the Raptors this season. They last played on Dec. 9 in Toronto and the Bucks prevailed 104-99. Malcolm Brogdon hit tying and go-ahead 3-pointers in the final 67 seconds. Brogdon scored eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 19 points and matched a season high with 19 rebounds, and Brook Lopez had 19 points for the Bucks.
Neither Kawhi Leonard (rest) nor Antetokounmpo (concussion protocol) played when the Raptors lost 124-109 at Milwaukee on Oct. 29, Toronto’s first defeat following a 6-0 start.
Dating back to Dec. 14, the Bucks have won 17 of their last 20 games and have an average margin of victory of 14.7 points in those 17 wins. Friday’s win over the Hornets marked the 35th time this season that Milwaukee has shot better than its opponent (33-2 in those games). Bucks’ opponents are shooting an NBA-low 43.0 percent from the field this season while the Bucks’ 48.0 shooting percentage is fourth-best.
The Bucks have the best defensive rating in the NBA at 101.8 and are fifth in offensive rating (111.0). They’re the only team in the league to be in the top five of both, while their net rating of 9.2 is the best in the NBA. Antetokounmpo now has the second-most 30-points, 10-rebounds games in the NBA this season after tallying his 17th such game of 2018-19 with 34 points and 14 rebounds on Friday.
Toronto has won a season-high 10 consecutive games (Dec. 19-Jan. 22) at home. The Raptors last loss at Scotiabank Arena was Dec. 9 vs. Milwaukee. Since then, Toronto has won by an average margin of +11.3 points against Indiana (twice), Brooklyn, Atlanta, Utah, Chicago, Cleveland, Phoenix, Memphis, and Sacramento. The franchise record for consecutive home wins is 12 (2X – last: Nov. 7, 2017 – Jan. 1, 2018).
Expert NBA Betting Picks
Back both home clubs.
