Milwaukee Bucks (11-6) at New Orleans Pelicans (6-10)
The Bucks will aim for their 12th win of the season and 3rd straight win after wins overs the Raptors and Hawks recently. In the 115-108 victory over the Raptors, Antetokounmpo and Middleton both led the way with 24 points. Brook Lopez also had one of his best outings of the season with 20 points. In this clash with the Pelicans, all eyes will be on Jrue Holiday as he faces his former team.
After 8 defeats in 9 games and 3 straight defeats, the Pelicans thrashed the Wizards by 18 points (124-106) in their most recent game. However, they'll face a much tougher task against the Bucks. But in the win over Washington, Zion and Ingram led the scoring with 32 points apiece and Steven Adams continued his good rebouding form with 18. Lonzo Ball only played 16 minutes and could be trade bait in the next few weeks so look for minutes out of Alexander-Walker off the bench.
Giannis vs Zion should be a great matchup in this one as well Holiday against his former team. Ultimately though, we can't see the out of form Pelicans pulling off an upset. The Bucks have won the last 4 meetings by an average of 13 points and the last 2 meetings in New Orleans have been a 12 and 17 point margin. So Bucks at the line here.
Stadium Record
The Pelicans have a 3-3 home record this season. Milwaukee has won 3 of the last 4 meetings at this venue.
Head to Head Record
Last February, the Bucks beat the Pelicans 120-108 at this venue and hold a 6-4 advantage since 2016.
Best Bet
Denver Nuggets (11-7) at San Antonio Spurs (10-8)
The Nuggets of last year's playoffs are definitely back after 5 straight victories and they'll aim for win number 12 of the season as they head to San Antonio. The return of Michael Porter Jr has been a major reason why the Nuggets are back and he's been great off the bench in his return from a Covid enforced break. Last time on the court, the Nuggets smashed the undermanned Heat 109-82 and it was an all-round team performance.
Meanwhile, the Spurs continue to be a hard team to read with inconsistent performances but they've won 2 straight games and should be confident on their home court. They managed to beat the Celtics by 4 points in their last game. The major key being their shooting from the field at 56.1% and Alrdridge/DeRozan both scored 20 or more.
This should be a tough game to pick a winner with both teams in good form. So we'll be looking for the Over trend to continue. The Over has saluted in 6 of the last 8 meetings and is 4-0 when they meet in San Antonio.
Stadium Record
San Antonio currently has an average home record with 4 wins in 9 games. The Nuggets are 2-2 at this venue since 2019.
Head to Head Record
Since 2019, the Nuggets have won 7 of the 10 meetings.
Best Bet
Dallas Mavericks (8-10) at Utah Jazz (14-4)
Dallas will be looking to end a 3 game losing streak as they meet the red-hot Jazz once again on Saturday. In the 116-104 loss to the Jazz a few days ago, Doncic did his best with 30 points. However, Finney-Smith and Richardson both struggled in their returns from injury. As a team, they also started poorly in the first quarter with a 32-19 scoreline and they'll be looking for a much improved start in this one.
The Jazz have now jumped into first place in the West after 10 straight victories. Gobert dominated in their recent win over Dallas with 29 points and 20 rebounds. Aussie Joe Ingles added 21 points and Clarkson was on fire off the bench with 31 points / 4 threes. So with a great defensive unit, the Jazz are looking like a real contender in the West.
After just beating the Mavericks by 12 points at home a few days ago, it's hard to see the Mavs turning around that result. They have a few guys returning from injury and the Jazz's defence is just too good at the moment. They're 7-0 ATS at home and 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games so can't see them losing by under 4 points here.
Stadium Record
Dallas holds a 1-8 record at this venue. The Jazz have a 7-2 home record this season.
Head to Head Record
The two sides met a few days ago and the Jazz won 116-104. Since 2018, they have an 8-2 record.
Best Bet
