Miami Heat (31-28) at Atlanta Hawks (32-27)
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat will be after their 4th straight win on Saturday as well as making ground on the Hawks in terms of the East standings. The Heat are currently just one game behind Atlanta so this is a key matchup. With no Trae Young on the court, that should see Jimmy Butler dominate this contest. Jimmy has only played 1 game in the last week, meaning he'll be fresh and gets a good matchup against the Hawks struggling defence.
Atlanta will be breathing a sigh of relief as Trae Young's ankle sprain will only sideline him for around 2-3 games. The injury rattled the Hawks as the Knicks stormed home to beat them in their last game, 137-127 in OT. With Young out, Brandon Goodwin will get the start at point guard. In terms of matchups, the Heat are a good overall defence so this looks like a tough outing for the undermanned Hawks.
The injury to Trae Young is a big blow for the Hawks and we can't see the Heat dropping such an important game. They'll also be extra motivated after losing to the Hawks by 14 at home in early March.
Stadium Record
The Hawks are 10-2 at home in their last 12. Miami holds a 2-4 record in Atlanta.
Head to Head Record
The two sides have met twice this season in Miami and they've split the series 1-1. Since 2018, the head to head is also 5-5 in the last 10 meetings.
Best Bet
Boston Celtics (32-27) at Brooklyn Nets (39-20)
After a disappointing defeat against the Bulls, the Celtics got right back on track with a massive 99-86 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Their defence was impressive by allowing just 86 pts in the victory and they'll look to bring the same effort against the Nets. Especially considering the Nets have scored 121 and 123 in both games against Boston this season. At this stage, the Celtics are in much better form (8-2 in their last 10 games) and should be fired up to get one over their divisional rival.
Brooklyn will be looking to bounce back on Saturday after a very disappointing 114-103 loss against the Raptors. The Nets are still missing James Harden and Kevin Durant was out as well. However, Durant is likely to return against the Celtics. But the main storyline is Kyrie Irving against his former team. He has stepped up against this season with 37 and 40 pts in the 2 meetings.
The Celtics defensive effort against the Suns should give them a lot of confidence against the Nets. Irving has crushed their defence twice this season but the Nets are missing Harden/Durant is coming back from injury. So it's hard to look past the Celtics at the underdog line in what should be a close finish.
Stadium Record
The Nets have a strong 10-1 home record in their last 11 games. Boston holds a 1-4 record in their last 5 in Brooklyn.
Head to Head Record
Brooklyn has won both meetings this season by 11+ and hold a 6-4 record in the last 10 meetings.
Best Bet
Denver Nuggets (38-20) at Golden State Warriors (29-30)
The Nuggets have won their last 4 games and there's plenty of motivation on Saturday against the Warriors. Denver recently lost to Golden State in San Francisco, 116-107 as Steph Curry dominated with 53 pts. The Nuggets front court has a good matchup against the Warriors defence that's struggled against power forwards/centres. However, the Nuggets defence will need to shutdown Curry to overturn the recent 9 point loss here.
Golden State return to their home court on Saturday after a 5 game road-trip where they won 3 of 5. They'll look to repeat their last home game performance as Curry put up 53 pts on this Nuggets defence. Curry struggled for the first time in awhile during the loss to the Wizards last time out, going 7 of 25 from the field and missed 12 threes. So he should be fired up to get his shooting form back against Denver.
Steph Curry has posted 40+ points in 4 of his last 6 games so he offers nice value at the 35 point mark. As mentioned, he scored 53 pts at home against the Nuggets recently. Denver is also without Jamal Murray and don't seem to have a defensive matchup for Curry.
Stadium Record
The Warriors have won 4 of their last 5 home games. Denver is 2-9 when they meet the Warriors on the road.
Head to Head Record
Golden State won the previous meeting 116-107 and hold a 6-4 record in the last 10.
Best Bet
