Milwaukee Bucks (16-9) at Miami Heat (14-11)
Giannis Antetokounmpo was back in the lineup on Tuesday and continued the Bucks dominance of the Cavs with an 8 point victory. He also scored 27 points on his 27th birthday! Milwaukee have now won 10 of their last 11 games and will be confident of continuing the Heat's woes.
The Heat have lost Jimmy Butler again to injury after he re-injured his tailbone in the 105-90 loss to the Grizzlies. With Adebayo sidelined for the next few months, the Heat are obviously struggling with 4 losses in their last 5 games. They also lost to this Bucks team a few days ago by 22 points.
It's hard to see how the injury-riddled Heat can compete with the Bucks at the moment. The two sides met recently and the Bucks cruised to a comfortable 22 point win.
Stadium Record
Miami have lost their last 3 home games. The Bucks are 4-2 at this venue in their last 6 games.
Head to Head Record
The Bucks beat the Heat last week 124-102 and have won 7 of the last 10 meetings.
Best Bet
Portland Trail Blazers (11-14) at Golden State Warriors (20-4)
Portland has lost their last 3 games on their home court as injuries have been tough for this team to come back from. They were missing Lillard and McCollum in their latest 102-90 loss against the Clippers. With a terrible road record (1-12) this season and injuries, this trip to San Francisco looks like a tough ask.
The red-hot Warriors come off a 126-95 thumping of the Orlando Magic after a shock 112-107 loss against the Spurs. At home this season, the Warriors are a formidable team having won 12 of 13 and the Trail Blazers are one of those teams (118-103). Steph Curry should be fresh after sitting in the 4th quarter against the Magic and he'll enjoy this matchup with the injury-ravaged Trail Blazers.
This matchup has blowout written all over it. The Trail Blazers are going to be without their 2 best players (Lillard and McCollum) and they lost by 15 points in the earlier season meeting.
Stadium Record
Golden State are 12-1 at home in their last 13. The Trail Blazers have a horrible 2-18 record on the road against the Warriors.
Head to Head Record
The Warriors have won 6 of the last 10 meetings and beat them by 15 points in late November.
Best Bet
Golden State Warriors -14.5 = $1.98
Boston Celtics (13-11) at Los Angeles Clippers (13-12)
The Celtics will be on a back to back at this venue after going down to the Lakers 117-102. After a 33 point first quarter, the offence struggled to get going in the next 3 quarters. However, Tatum continues to be consistent without Jaylen Brown on the court as he finished with 34 points / 8 rebounds against LA. They also have a good recent record against Los Angeles having covered in 4 of the last 5 meetings.
After a disappointing loss to the Kings, the Clippers got back on track with a 102-90 win over the Trail Blazers in Portland. It was an all-round team effort on offence as 4 starters scored 15 or more points. Meanwhile, their defence was great in the 4th quarter as they allowed just 16 pts. However, the Clippers have lost their last 3 games at home and they'll be eager to rebound in a tough matchup.
These two teams are fairly similar and we'd expect a close finish in this matchup. The Celtics have covered in 4 of the last 5 meetings with the Clippers and Tatum is in great shooting form.
Stadium Record
The Clippers are 1-4 in their last 5 at home. Boston holds a 2-7 road record against the Clippers.
Head to Head Record
Since 2017, the head to head is locked at 5-5.
Best Bet
