NBA royalty is on display Thursday night as the Boston Celtics host the Los Angeles Lakers to start a TNT doubleheader.
Before we preview that contest, and the three others on Thursday, we wanted to note an NBA betting trend to follow. As you can see from the table below, the five best against the spread teams all rank very high in fewest turnovers with the exception of Denver. So the motto of ‘being careful with the ball’ pays off in more ways than one.
| TEAM |
ATS MARK |
TURNOVER RANK |
| Philadelphia |
17-7-1
|
No. 1
|
| Denver |
15-10
|
No. 27
|
| Chicago |
16-11
|
No. 5
|
| San Antonio |
15-11
|
No. 2
|
| LA Clippers |
13-9
|
No. 7
|
Los Angeles at Boston Celtics
8:00 p.m. (ET) on TNT
These teams have combined for over half (33-of-65) of the league titles and met in the Finals in 2008 and 2010, with each winning one. Both are in a decline phase, with Boston a lot farther along, but this rivalry is still extremely heated for the players and fans.
The Lakers (14-11 straight up, 11-14 ATS) started this 6-game trip with a nice win at Denver (93-89), but have since dropped games at Utah (96-87) and Philadelphia (95-90). They’re at least well rested with Philly coming on Monday.
Kobe Bryant is shooting just 35.4 percent on this trip (23-of-65) and Bryant (29.3 PPG), Andrew Bynum (17.1 PPG) and Pau Gasol (16.4 PPG) are the only Lakers scoring more than 7.3 PPG.
The Celtics (14-10 SU, 12-12 ATS) have won five straight games and nine of 10. They beat Charlotte (94-84) at home on Tuesday, but failed to cover the big 14-point spread. They’re just 2-4 ATS in their last six overall. Boston has a veteran bench with Brandon Bass, Mickael Pietrus and Chris Wilcox who are in their first year with the team and will come in handy Thursday.
The road team won both meetings last year as underdogs. Points could be at a premium in this game with both in the top-4 in points allowed and struggling to score. The ‘under’ is 6-1 in the last seven meetings between the teams and 5-0 in the last five in Boston.
Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets
9:00 p.m. (ET) on Regional Networks
Golden State (8-14 SU, 9-13 ATS) has played just one road game in its last eight, a 114-106 OT loss at Sacramento last Saturday. The Warriors are 2-6 SU (4-4 ATS) on the road, despite playing just two teams that currently have winning records.
The Nuggets (15-10 SU and ATS) have cooled down lately, going 0-3 SU and ATS pending Wednesday night’s home game versus Dallas. Scoring has been way down their last three (92 PPG) compared to their league-leading 104 PPG. Three starters could be missing against Dallas with Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov out, and Nene Hilario questionable.
Denver is 4-1 ATS (5-0 SU) in the last five home games versus Golden State. The ‘over’ is 7-1 in the last eight overall.
Houston Rockets at Phoenix Suns
9:00 p.m. (ET) on Regional Networks
The Rockets (14-11 SU and ATS) are at Portland on Wednesday night (result pending) before heading to Phoenix. They’re 5-1 ATS in their last six when playing on consecutive days. The ‘under’ is 5-1 in those games.
Phoenix (11-14 SU and ATS) has won 3-straight games since losing badly at Houston (99-81) last Friday. That includes road wins at Atlanta (99-90) on Monday and Milwaukee (107-105) on Tuesday, both as 8-point ‘dogs. The Suns now return home where they’re just 2-4 SU and 1-5 ATS in the last six.
Houston has lost four straight playing in the desert, going 1-3 ATS.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Sacramento Kings
10:30 p.m. (ET) on TNT
The Thunder (20-5 SU, 14-11 ATS) are 2-1 SU and ATS during this 5-game road trip, most recently with close wins and covers over Portland (111-107 OT) and Golden State (119-116). The ‘over’ is 4-0 in their last four and 7-1 in their last eight. Guard Thabo Sefolosha (foot) is doubtful to return after missing six games.
The Kings (9-16 SU, 12-13 ATS) lost a close 86-84 contest at Minnesota on Tuesday night, but are playing pretty well lately. They’re 3-1 SU since leading scorer Marcus Thornton (17.3 PPG) returned from his thigh injury. They’ve also covered six-straight. Power Balance Pavilion has been a much friendlier venue for them at 6-4 SU (6-4 ATS) compared to 3-12 SU (6-9 ATS) away.
This is the first meeting between the teams this year. The Thunder are 6-0 SU (4-2 ATS) in the last six.