Don't Spend It All On The NFL, Here Are Two NBA Bets Saturday Worth Making
Unfortunately, I have to dial down the NBA betting Saturday. It's not because of any losing streak or personal choice. In fact, I got my head back above water in my NBA betting season Friday. Along with the live bet on the New York Knicks I added via Twitter, I went 4-1 in the Association Saturday.
For whatever reason, the NBA only scheduled four games Saturday and only one of them is exciting. That said, I'm keeping up with my daily routine of betting on the NBA. The plan is to pad my bankroll with these ...
NBA Saturday Best Bets
New York Knicks (-9) at Washington Wizards, 7 p.m. ET
The Knicks crush bad teams on the road. Since last season, they are 13-4 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) as favorites in away games with a +9.9 scoring margin. NYK smacked the Wizards 120-99 in D.C. in mid-November.
New York made a great move by acquiring 3-And-D guy OG Anunoby for SF R.J. Barrett and 6-man Immanuel Quickly Dec. 30th. Anunoby is money from the corner and can guard positions 1-4. He's the perfect forward for Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.
Since that trade, New York is 3-0 SU and ATS with a +19.3 scoring margin. The Knicks beat the 76ers 128-92 in Philadelphia Friday, the Chicago Bulls 116-100 Wednesday, and Minnesota Timberwolves Monday.
New York forward OG Anunoby high-fives Knicks forwards Julius Randle and Josh Hart at Madison Square Garden. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
More importantly, aside from Wizards big Daniel Gafford, all Washington's starters are bad defenders. The Wizards guards don't have anyone that can check PF Julius Randle and PG Jalen Brunson. New York can throw Anunoby on Washington wing Kyle Kuzma and call it a day.
Finally, NYK has a deep enough roster to overcome bad games by its best players. For example, New York All-Star Julius Randle scored just 8 points on 1-for-11 shooting vs. the Sixers last night. Yet, the Knicks won by 36 points.
My prediction: Knicks 122, Wizards 102
Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers (+6), 7 p.m. ET
The Celtics smacked the Pacers by 51 points in their 1st meeting this season. Then Indiana evened the series by beating Boston 122-112 Dec. 4th in an NBA In-Season Tournament game. The difference in the two games was Indy All-Star PG Tyrese Haliburton missed the 1st Celtics-Pacers meeting and played the 2nd.
Granted, Haliburton himself doesn't make up the 51-point difference. However, he might be the best player on the floor in this game. Haliburton dished 18 assists with 0 turnovers in Indiana's 150-116 home win Friday over the Atlanta Hawks.
Per CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG), Haliburton's +15.6 on/off non-garbage time rating is the best for either team. He leads the NBA with 12.7 assists per game and has the best PER and Win Shares per 48 minutes of any player in Celtics-Pacers.
Pacers PG Tyrese Haliburton jogs to the bench during an NBA In-Season Tournament vs. the Boston Celtics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Also, Boston has the highest 3-point attempt rate (3PAr) in the NBA but Indiana is the better 3-point shooting team. Indy leads the NBA in wide-open 3PAr on both ends of the floor. At home, the Pacers are hitting nearly seven more 3-pointers per game than their opponents.
Lastly, Indiana is one of the hottest teams in the Association. Over the last two weeks, the Pacers have the best non-garbage time offensive rating and ATS margin in the NBA, according to CTG.