Miami Heat (2-1) at Brooklyn Nets (2-2)
The Heat will be looking for their first road victory of the season after 2 dominant wins on home court and a 102-91 loss to the Pacers in Indiana. In positive lineup news, Kyle Lowry looks to be injury-free after struggling in the early season with an ankle injury. So outside of the injured Victor Oladipo, the Heat are looking injury-free for an important matchup with the Nets in terms of the East standings.
The Nets come off an impressive 104-90 win over the Wizards, mainly thanks to Durant and Patty Mills. The Aussie nailed 5 threes and scored 21 points off the bench, proving he'll be a bench asset when the playoffs roll around. Without Kyrie Irving, Durant continues to enjoy heavy usage in this offence and that won't change against the Heat.
This should be a close contest between two similar teams in the East that will likely be around the top teams in the East. Overall, both teams are playing good defence and we like the Under as a result. The Under also has a 5-1 record in the Nets last 6 games.
Stadium Record
The Nets have a 21-4 record in their last 25 home games. Miami has lost 4 of their last 5 at this venue.
Head to Head Record
Miami beat the Nets by 2 points in April. Since 2018, the head to head is locked at 5-5.
Best Bet
Atlanta Hawks (2-1) at New Orleans Pelicans (1-3)
The Hawks will have some extra motivation on the road this Thursday after going down to the Cavs 101-95 in their first road game of the season. They come into this matchup on the back of a 122-104 over the Pistons as Trae Young dominated with 32 points / 9 assists. However, they still have injury issues with Danilo Gallinari out and De'Andre Hunter listed as day to day. So that opens more minutes for the likes of Reddish and Huerter.
New Orleans earned their first win of the season over the Timberwolves 107-98. Despite the Pelicans early-season struggles, Brandon Ingram has been red-hot without Zion on the court. He's averaging 27 points per game and will be the key against the Hawks. Jonas Valanciunas has also been a solid pickup from the Grizzlies and he's coming off back to back 20+ point outings.
Hard to see the Hawks dropping this matchup against a Zion-less Pelicans lineup. Atlanta also has a 5-0 ATS record on the road against the Pelicans.
Stadium Record
The Pelicans are a poor 2-6 at home. Atlanta has won 4 of their last 5 in New Orleans.
Head to Head Record
The Hawks have dominated this matchup with an 8-2 record since 2015.
Best Bet
Memphis Grizzlies (2-1) at Portland Trail Blazers (1-2)
Ja Morant and the Grizzlies will be hurting after a heartbreaking 3 point loss against the Lakers last time out. However, Morant has been on fire this season and his matchup with Lillard will be one to watch. They'll still be missing Dillon Brooks but De'Anthony Melton has stepped up in his absence.
Portland were simply outmatched by the Clippers in their last game, going down 116-86. It was a disappointing result after thrashing the Suns 134-105 previously. So consistency is the key for this Trail Blazers team. Defensively in this matchup, they'll need to lock down on Morant otherwise he could take over this contest.
We have two high scoring teams involved in this matchup and that leads us towards the Over. The Over has saluted in 4 of the last 5 games involving the Trail Blazers and it's also 6-1 at this venue.
Stadium Record
The Trail Blazers are 6-3 in their last 9 home games. The Grizzlies hold a 2-5 record at this venue.
Head to Head Record
Portland smashed the Grizzlies 1301-09 in April. But since 2018, the head to head is square at 5-5.
Best Bet
