Filip Tomic
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East meets West in tonight’s highly anticipated clash between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James might not be playing, but there is still plenty of star power on both rosters. Catch the game live on NBA TV from 9.30 pm ET.
I’ve prepared a same game parlay for the game which is available below. Make sure you also check our NBA predictions for picks on all 8 games being played today!
Let’s dive in.
Brooklyn Nets 11+ win nargin (+220)
Under 219 total points (-108)
Russell Westbrook over 1.5 made threes (+102)
Parlay odds: +1168
Brooklyn Nets 11+ win margin (+220)
The Nets defense has flourished without Kyrie Irving over the past 5 games. They are allowing 91.2 points per game, which ranks 1st in defensive rating and in net rating. That has translated into 4 wins and just 1 loss, and 3 of those wins were by 15, 27 and 42 points. It could be a long night for the Lakers, LeBron James is doubtful with a groin strain, while Anthony Davis is questionable with a back problem. Brooklyn doesn’t have such injury issues, and Seth Curry is slowly returning to form after his injury and has dropped 20+ points in consecutive games off the bench. I know it’s a small sample size, but if this team can continue playing like this they’ll be up in the top 4 of the Eastern Conference in no time. In head-to-head meetings against the Lakers they are 4-1 ATS over the last 5. Add to that a 2-9 SU record for the Lakers in their last 11 Sunday games, and I think the Nets can win this one with ease.
Under 219 total points (-108)
In terms of pace, these teams couldn’t be any more different. The Lakers lead the NBA in averaging 103.2 possessions per game, while the Nets are all the way down in 26th, averaging 97.2 per game. I’m expecting the tempo of the game to be somewhere in the middle, as we’ve seen the Nets improve quite a lot on defense recently. Their last 5 games away from home have all gone under the total, which has also been the case in 5 of their last 6 against Pacific Division teams. By now you’ve probably read about the Lakers’ historically bad shooting numbers. They are still having issues with that and with LeBron James out of the lineup, they might struggle with scoring once again. In head-to-head meetings the under has cashed 6 times in the last 9, and it could happen tonight too.
Sunday’s NBA mega parlay has +989 odds!
Russell Westbrook over 1.5 made threes (+102)
His team might be losing, but Westbrook has resurrected himself in his new role and efficiency (yes, you’ve read that correctly) has been one of the main reasons why. He has upped his field-goal percentage to almost 50% this month, compared to just 34.3% in October. His 3-point numbers are also up from 20% to 48% makes on 2.2 shots made per game. He’s scored at least 2 threes in 4 of his last 5 games, against Sacramento in his last game he went 4-for-7 from deep. No LeBron James in the lineup (and possibly no Anthony Davis) means that Russ’s usage rate should go up tonight. He faces a Brooklyn team that ranks just 27th in opponent 3-point percentage, allowing 37.6% made threes per game. Let’s back Russ to score a couple of them tonight.
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