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The NBA has returned. We finally get back to the greatness that is pro basketball and NBA betting, as Thursday night has the NBA back in style with two solid games on the schedule. We all get blessed with a duel between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder early at 8:00 pm Eastern, while the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers close the night later in the evening.
We went into the All-Star break with a stout 450-228 season record. That included going a perfect 5-0 a Thursday ago, but we whiffed on the Bulls/Cavs Thursday night game. We’re back at it again tonight, so let’s break down both NBA contests and see who might come away with the win:
Dallas Mavericks @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Rajon Rondo should make his return from a facial injury tonight, which could mean bad news if he brings his best defense against Russell Westbrook. Westbrook has been a monster, though, and he and Kevin Durant shouldn’t be afraid of a pretty weak Dallas defense. The Thunder are also at home and got a fun new toy in rookie Mitch McGary, who has dropped two double-double efforts in his last three games. Tyson Chandler and Steven Adams are both questionable for this one, which would end up being a wash if they both sat. If Chandler plays, though, Dallas might have a tiny edge going into a hostile environment. Unfortunately, OKC is pretty hot and actually playing well, and they’ll come into tonight riding a nice three-game winning streak. Dallas has the better record and their offense is tough for anyone to deal with, but they’re on the road and the Thunder are slowly evolving back into an elite team.
Pick: Thunder 107, Mavs 105
San Antonio Spurs @ Los Angeles Clippers
San Antonio has the leg up (2-1) in the season series and I don’t know how anyone can feel great about the Clips evening it up without Blake Griffin. DeAndre Jordan has been a monster since Griffin went down with an elbow infection, but he’s going to have his hands full with Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter. Duncan has actually been relatively quiet against the Clippers this year but the matchup is obviously there for the taking with Spencer Hawes on him. I love the Spurs down low tonight, while Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard are going to have their win on the outside, as well. Tony Parker versus Chris Paul is a solid battle that actually can go either way at times, but CP3 might have the slight edge defensively. L.A. is at home and they should give a solid fight, but the Spurs are healthy and have too many advantages in this one.
Pick: Spurs 103, Clippers 98
