It’s one of the biggest days of the regular season calendar, Christmas Day NBA. For us Australians it actually falls on Boxing Day and no doubt NBA fans will be tuned in from the first game at 4am AEST, all the way to the final whistle at about some 13 hours later. Some of the best match ups we’ll see all year here, each with their own point of interest
Current Bank: 101.35 Units (+1.35 U) Max outlay on any event is 3 units.
New Orleans Pelicans v Miami Heat
4:05 am Sat 26 Dec AEST
Differing starts for these two teams in the first games. The Pelicans after a very shaky first half came home with a wet sail against the Toronto Raptors to record a strong 14 point win, whereas the defending Eastern Conference champion Heat played extremely below themselves in Orlando to go down to a rock solid Magic team. The Pelicans are a team that struggle for consistency and the Heat will be looking to get right back at home. The Heat should do just enough to cover the 4.5 point head start
BACK: Miami Heat -4.5 at $1.92 for 1 unit
Golden State Warriors v Milwaukee Bucks
6:35 am Sat 26 Dec AEST
Of the Boxing Day slate, this is probably the game most fans will be jumping back in for bed for. The Warriors sure do have their injury woes but Milwaukee themselves were horrific for three quarters before a late final quarter rally left them 1 point short in their match up against the Celtics. The Warriors never gave a yelp against a strong Nets team, but they shot poorly and the Bucks aren’t a much easier defensive prospect. The Bucks are correctly priced as a -9.5 favourite, they should win well, but it’s not a game with any edge on that kind of spread
No bet
Brooklyn Nets v Boston Celtics
9:05 am Sat 26 Dec AEST
This is the game with most likely the most interest of the days slate. The Brooklyn Nets go to their star player Kyrie Irvings old team, and this time he brings a superstar in Kevin Durant who looked as good as he could’ve after an 18 month lay off in the opener. The Nets as a whole were completely dominant and cashed in our first play with ease, however the young star line up Boston Celtics are absolutely a different bucket of fish to the Warriors from days ago. This should be a cracking game between two beats of the Eastern conference, and as impressive as the Nets were, they are sharply up in class to use a racing term and we’ll watch and see if they’re the real deal for the rest of the season
No Bet
Dallas Mavericks v LA Lakers
12:05 pm Sat 26 Dec AEST
Both these teams had disappointing starts to the season, with the Lakers going down by a whopping 20 points, somehow tying the game up in the 3rd, and then a Paul George clinic put them down early into the last quarter, albeit with Lebron playing limited minutes and Anthony Davis not being his usual dominant self. The Mavericks on the other hand looked completely at sea against a just okay Phoenix team, and the Lakers here prove an absolute nightmare matchup with big man Porzingis to miss and no genuine matchup for Lebron. The Lakers will be looking to bounce back hard in prime time, and this one shouldn’t be close
BACK: LA Lakers -6 at $1.92 for 2.15 units
LA Clippers v Denver Nuggets
2:35 pm Sat 26 Dec AEST
Super interesting matchup here, these two meet again for the first time since the Nuggets upstaged the Clippers in the bubble, but the teams do look a bit different this time around. Denver are coming off a shock defeat at home against the Sacramento Kings in OT (A -7.5 favourite) whereas the Clippers are coming off a kind of shock win (how dominant the end margin was) against the Lakers. The Clippers looked slick in the opening game, Paul George was electric and Kawhi did his usual thing, whereas Denver were inefficient and lethargic for much of their match up against the weak Kings. The Clippers prove a small amount of value here, but am wary of a Denver side looking to make up for a poor opening game.
BACK: LA Clippers Win at $1.87 for 0.5 units