2016-17 NBA Betting Tips – Thursday, December 29th

The 2016-17 NBA season continues this week, today we take a look at the Australian televised ESPN Pacers vs Wizards as well as three other matches in our NBA Preview and Betting Tips for Thursday December 29.

Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards (Thursday 11am AEDT)

This is a big match up for the East with the Wizards and Pacers both vying for a spot in the play offs and they are separated by just one win. The Wizards have found form in recent weeks and a lot of it is to do with the improvement of Bradley Beal. The shooting guard put up 40 points against the Clippers and it is a common trend that the games he plays well in are the ones they become victorious. John Wall is obviously their best player and controller of the game but Otto Porter is proving to be one of the more underrated shooting guards in the game. He has a great pure shooting percentage while he grabs a lot of boards and is a strong defender. He will have the tough task of slowing down Paul George who is an All Star but has had a slow start to the season.

The Pacers are definitely missing George Hill as an attacking weapon as a lot of pressure is put on Paul George to not only score but facilitate. The Pacers have had slow starts to games and with one of the poorest away records in the league (4-12) we are predicting them to come out on the wrong end in a narrow one.

TIP: Wizards to Win 1-10 – $2.95 at Sportsbet

New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks (Thursday 11.30am AEDT)

This is another important match for the Eastern Conference with the Knicks and Hawks separated by just one game and in the playoff hunt.

The Hawks had a great start to the season but fell into a hole. They have managed to regroup but still have a below .500 record. The losses of Al Horford and Jeff Teague are being felt while Kyle Korver is aging and is a defensive issue while he doesn’t have as much of an impact behind the three point line. Dwight Howard had a monster game in his return from a back injury and they will need him to use his power in this game. The Knicks have been dominated by opposition centres this season and it is their real weak point.

However, the side has a lot of strength at the small forward, power forward and point guard position and Derrick Rose is continuing to improve throughout the season despite missing a handful of games due to his own back problems. He will take to the court in this one and on the back of Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks will continue to impress and earn a win.

TIP: Knicks to Win – $2.31 at Sportsbet

Los Angeles Clippers at New Orleans Pelicans (Thursday 12pm AEDT)

The Clippers ‘curse’ has continued this season and they have lost their two best starting players to injury. Blake Griffin was first to go with knee surgery and Chris Paul quickly joined him on the sidelines. To make matters worse, J.J Reddick has gone down with an injury to put the side without three of their starters. It is a lot of points and assists that need to be accounted for while Reddick is great at spreading the floor for his teammates. Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford have tried to make up for the losses but they haven’t been able to steer the team to victory.

Meanwhile the Pelicans side is beginning to put their injury woes behind them as Jrue Holiday, Tim Frazier and Tryeke Evenas have all returned to action. Anthony Davis has been in and out of the team but he will take to the court on Thursday and we are expecting a dominating performance from him. He won’t face Blake Griffin on the defensive end which will mean he will have a lot of energy to focus on offence and he could be in for another 50 point game. The Pelicans will run away with this on their home court.

TIP: Pelicans at the line (-4.5) – $1.89 at CrownBet

Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets (Thursday 1pm AEDT)

The bookmakers have surprised us with this match up as the Timberwolves are given great odds for victory and we will take advantage of it. The Timberwolves are an up and coming side that has a terrific coach and they continue to impress, however over the last quarter of the match they have shown their inexperience and this can be a weakness for them. They have been strong though over the past month and Karl Anthony-Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach Lavine have been dominant, all averaging over 20 points.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets have been very hot and cold but have improved since they put Nikola Jokic back into the starting line up. He is a strong player that can play in the low post and score while he has the ability to find his teammates. He takes the pressure off Emanual Mudiay. However, the Nuggets have been a streaky side and very hot and cold, we are predicting them to come out slow in this one and give the Timberwolves a lead that they aren’t able to pull in.

TIP: Timberwolves to Win – $2.45 at CrownBet

NOTE: TIPS IN THIS ARTICLE ARE SIMPLY THE AUTHOR’S OPINION. ALWAYS GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY