Top NBA Betting Picks & Predictions of the Week – February 5th Edition

The NBA’s trade deadline is this week and one player who would like a change of scenery is Minnesota reserve Shabazz Muhammad. He has requested to the franchise that it move or waive him before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. Coach Tom Thibodeau rarely plays Muhammad, a 2013 first-round pick of the Utah Jazz. Here are two intriguing NBA matchups for this week. Check back for the latest NBA betting lines.

Top NBA Betting Picks & Predictions of the Week – February 5th Edition

#Power_rankings Week 15 – OKC Thunder enter upper echelon https://t.co/QhaHmnknum via @thunderousint pic.twitter.com/yFZkzYAvtm

— FanSided NBA (@FanSidedNBA) February 5, 2018

Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET (FSOH, FSFL) I’m dead serious when I say that if the struggling Cavaliers lose this game to a terrible Magic team that Coach Tyronn Lue might be fired right after. He is on a very hot seat right now, although ESPN is reporting that owner Dan Gilbert has no plans to fire Lue as of now. But what else would the team say? And it wouldn’t’ be all that out of the ordinary to fire its head coach midway through the season. After all, the Cavaliers fired David Blatt with a 30-11 record two years ago, the best record by a head coach ever to be fired midseason. Lue replaced him and the Cavs won an NBA title. Cleveland lost for the 12^th time in 18 games on Saturday and was flat-out embarrassed at home by Houston on national TV Saturday night, 120-88. LeBron James looked rather disinterested in going just 3-for-10 from the field for 11 points. James got off to a slow start and didn’t get much help from his teammates, which resulted in Cleveland heading into halftime with a 26-point disadvantage. Afterward, James said his team didn’t deserve to be on national TV any longer. Of course, the Cavs are without All-Star forward Kevin Love, who is expected to miss most of the rest of the regular season with a broken hand. Expect the Cavs to make a move by Thursday’s trade deadline.

What Can We Expect from Orlando?

The Magic will be playing the second of a back-to-back as they were in Miami on Monday night trying to win consecutive games for the first time since early November. Aaron Gordon missed his third game in a row with a strained left hip flexor so consider him questionable for this one unless he plays Monday. This is the final meeting of the season between these teams with the Cavs leading 2-1. Orlando snapped a 17-game losing skid to Cleveland, which is the longest all-time losing streak against any opponent for the Magic, back on Oct. 21 in Cleveland.  The teams last played on Jan. 18 also in Cleveland and the Cavs won 104-103. Isaiah Thomas scored 21 points, including the game-winning free throws with 11.2 seconds left.

Los Angeles Clippers at Detroit Pistons

When: Friday, 7 PM ET (ESPN) This will be Blake Griffin’s first game against his former team since the was shockingly dealt by the Clippers to Detroit last week. This game wasn’t originally going to be nationally televised but was picked up by ESPN because of the Griffin story line. It replaces the Portland Trail Blazers vs. Sacramento Kings game originally scheduled for the network. The Pistons enter the week having won both games since Griffin debuted. He had a key late 3-pointer in Saturday’s win over the Miami Heat. All-Star center Andre Drummond had a historic game against Miami with 20 points, 20 rebounds, four steals and four blocks. He was the first player with at least 20 points, 20 rebounds, four steals and four blocks since Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon on Dec. 22, 1989.

How Have the Clippers Done So Far?

The Clippers lost their first game after the Griffin trade but then beat the Bulls on Saturday. Tobias Harris, one of the players who came over in the trade, had 24 points in his debut. The other key piece in the trade, Avery Bradley, scored eight points with two rebounds, four assists and two turnovers in 32 minutes against the Bulls in his L.A. debut. It sounds as if the team might get back guard Austin Rivers, son of Coach Doc Rivers, for this one. Doc Rivers said his boy should return from a right ankle problem on Friday. Austin Rivers has missed 17 games with what was originally called a strained Achilles tendon. The Pistons won at the Clippers on Oct. 28, 95-87. Drummond had 15 points and 17 rebounds, Reggie Jackson added 15 points and Langston Galloway had 13 off the bench for the Pistons. Jackson is still out injured currently. Danilo Gallinari hit a 3-pointer that left the Clippers trailing 92-87. But he struggled offensively, going 4 of 16 from the field and missing 7 of 10 3-pointers. The Clippers shot 33 percent for the game. Griffin had 19 points and 11 rebounds against his future team. L.A. had won six straight in this series.

Expert NBA Betting Predictions of the Week

Take the Cavs to beat the Magic and the Pistons should clobber the Clippers – look for Griffin to have a monster game as he felt betrayed by the trade.