Portland Trail Blazers @ Toronto Raptors (ESPN)
In easily the best match-up of a six-game Saturday, the Blazers (38-23) head to Canada to face the Raptors (45-17) to open ESPN’s double-header.
Portland head into the contest on a season-best five-game winning streak, after moving to 4-0 on their seven-game Eastern trip with a win over Boston on Thursday (AEDT).
Toronto picked up a win over Boston earlier in the week, and have won eight of their past nine matches as they continue to bridge the gap between themselves and the third-seeded Indiana Pacers.
The Raptors are currently 2.5 games back from the Bucks in top spot of the East, as the two sides look almost locked in to the top two with six weeks to play.
Portland will miss recent recruit Enes Kanter for the contest as he won’t travel due to immigration issues, which is a big blow for the Blazers.
Jusuf Nurkic will need to shoulder the load in his absence, with Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol a formidable frontcourt presence for the home side.
Regardless of personnel this contest should live up to the hype, with the Raptors boasting a 26-6 home record, while the Blazers are 18-4 overall against teams from the Eastern Conference.
Portland won their first meeting back in December, although the Raptors should have enough talent to even the series on Saturday.
Tip: Toronto -5.5 @ $2.00
Washington Wizards @ Boston Celtics
This contest is huge for Boston (37-25) more so than Washington (25-36), with the Celtics currently in their worst slump of the season.
Boston lost all three games of their recent road trip to Milwaukee, Chicago and Toronto before returning home and dropping a game to Portland on Thursday, as their four-game losing skid is their worst of the season to date.
Due to the All-Star break, the Celtics haven’t won a game since February 14, and are in need of a positive result to keep their top four chances alive.
They currently sit in fifth in the Eastern Conference, and have now slipped to three games behind the Pacers in third, although they do have a 5.5 game advantage over the Brooklyn Nets in sixth.
Washington are three games outside the playoffs although their road form has been terrible, winning just eight of their 32 road matches so far this season.
Despite their current skid, the Celtics should have enough talent to add to the Wizards’ road woes.
Tip: Boston -8.5 @ $1.87
Milwaukee Bucks @ Los Angeles Lakers (ESPN)
In a marquee match-up involving two of the NBA’s stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks (47-14) visits Lebron James’ Los Angeles Lakers (20-21) at the Staples Center.
Both stars lead their side in points, rebounds and assists per game, as the Greek Freak is putting up MVP numbers with 27.0ppg, 12.6rpg and 5.9apg.
James is close by with 26.9ppg, 8.7rpg and 7.8apg, although the Lakers simply haven’t been good enough this season for James to be in the MVP conversation.
The Bucks enter the clash on a six-game winning streak, while the Lakers have lost six of their past 10 matches.
Milwaukee have been using Antetokounmpo on a minutes restriction as of late, although even with their star man not at 100%, the Bucks should be able to defeat the Lakers in this clash.
Tip: Milwaukee @ $1.54
