Denver Nuggets (9-10) at Miami Heat (13-7)
Without Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets have struggled during a 6 game losing streak. It's also been a tough run away from Denver with a 2-6 record. So a trip to Miami is less than ideal with so many injury issues to their starting lineup. They'll just need to get better on defence as they kick off this 7 game road trip. Once again, Jokic is considered questionable with his ongoing wrist issue.
Miami has a 13-7 record and that sees them placed nicely in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. They've been strong at home this season with a 6-1 record and they would expect that to continue against the injury-riddled Nuggets. However, the Heat could be missing important 6th man Tyler Herro to illness. But Gabe Vincent filled the void in their win over the Bulls with 20 points in 31 minutes.
Unless Jokic can make an incredible comeback from injury, this matchup is all about the Heat. They've been a tough team to beat at home and shouldn't have much trouble against the Nuggets under-strength lineup. There's also going to be some extra motivation for the Heat after a very controversial first meeting of the season between the two teams.
Stadium Record
The Heat are 6-1 in their last 7 home games. Denver has covered in 4 of their last 5 in Miami.
Head to Head Record
Denver has dominated this matchup with an 8-2 record since 2017 and won the earlier season meeting 113-96.
Best Bet
Charlotte Hornets (13-9) at Chicago Bulls (13-8)
The Hornets will be looking for a bounce-back performance after a disappointing OT loss against the struggling Rockets. However, the Hornets have won 8 of their last 10 games and should be confident of an expected close contest with a fairly similar team. Some of their best players are in good form as well. Terry Rozier comes off 31 pts and LaMelo Ball recorded a triple-double against the Rockets. In terms of injuries, Mason Plumlee has missed the last few games and it would be nice to have him against Vucevic.
It's a similar story for the Bulls after a close 3 point loss against the Heat. One of the areas of improvement would be turnovers as they committed 23 in the loss. However, DeMar DeRozan continued his good form with 28 pts and Alex Caruso added 22 pts. They've also welcomed Nikola Vucevic back from a Covid layoff and he should enjoy a good matchup here. There's also the battle of the Ball's as Lonzo takes on younger brother LaMelo.
The Hornets will look to focus on their defence after conceding 146 pts against the Rockets. So we do like the chances of the Under. In 4 of the last 5 meetings at this venue, the Under is 4-1 and the Bulls are 13-5 against the Under in Chicago.
Stadium Record
The Bulls are 8-4 in their last 12 home games. Charlotte has only covered in 2 of their last 7 games in Chicago.
Head to Head Record
Since 2018, the head to head is locked at 5-5. In the last meeting, the Bulls crushed the Hornets 120-99.
Best Bet
Portland Trail Blazers (10-10) at Utah Jazz (13-7)
The Trail Blazers road woes continued in San Francisco as they were outmatched by the Warriors 118-103. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum couldn't get going for most of the game, finishing a combined 11 of 32. However, Simons was impressive off the bench with 19 points. Although, they will need a big game from Lillard or McCollum to get past the Jazz.
After a shock 1 point loss to the Pelicans, the Jazz took out some frustration in a rare back to back rematch on Sunday as they smashed New Orleans 127-105. They were up by 40 points in the 4th quarter and that afforded their starters some rest time for this matchup. The Jazz come into this game on the back of hitting 20 three-pointers as Mitchell, Conley and Clarkson all scored 20+ points.
Portland have a woeful 1-11 ATS record on the road in their last 12 games and until they can fix that up, we'll continue to back the home team against them. The Jazz have also won 8 of their last 11 at home against the Trail Blazers.
Stadium Record
The Jazz have a strong 16-7 home record in their last 23 games. Portland has lost 8 of their last 11 at this venue.
Head to Head Record
Portland won the last meeting 105-98 but the Jazz have won 6 of the last 10 meetings.
Best Bet
