NBA Betting Tips: Three picks for Friday’s action
A decent return of three-from-five when predicting the NBA Christmas Day fixtures last time out, and we've got a 10-game slate to enjoy on Friday evening.
There's belters pencilled in, too - the highlight being the showdown between two European superstars in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic in the Lakers versus the Bucks. Read on for my NBA betting tips for Friday, January 9.
NBA Betting Tips - Friday, January 9
- Boston Celtics -9.5 (vs Toronto Raptors) @ 1/1
- Phoenix Suns on money line (vs New York Knicks) @ 1/1
- Los Angeles Lakers -3.5 (vs Milwaukee Bucks) @ 20/23
*odds correct at time of publication
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Boston Celtics -9.5 (vs Toronto Raptors) @ 1/1
An all-Eastern Conference match-up is where we begin as the Boston Celtics host the Toronto Raptors at the TD Garden.
These two are third and fourth in the conference, respectively, although Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram are expected to miss out for Toronto here.
The Celtics had a game to forget against Denver, who were without star man Nikola Jokic, but they're 8-2 in their last 10 matches, suggesting the defeat against the Nuggets could have just been a blip.
If the Raptors are missing Barnes and Ingram, then Boston could cruise to victory here, hence why I'm taking them on the spread.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Phoenix Suns on money line (vs New York Knicks) @ 1/1
Next, I'm taking a look at what should be a competitive contest between Phoenix and New York.
The Knicks got back in the win column last time out, defeating the Clippers, but they've suffered a dip in form recently, losing their previous four prior to the victory over LA. However, they remain one of the best attacking teams in the league, averaging 119.7 points per game, which ranks fifth in the NBA.
Phoenix have slowly been going about their business, and have even slipped under the radar in my opinion. The Suns have got a respectable record of 22-15, Devin Booker is scoring at will - producing an average of 25.4 points a game - and they're 12-5 at home.
I do think this will be close, but with Phoenix even money to win on the money line, I'm going to have to side with the hosts here.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Los Angeles Lakers -3.5 (vs Milwaukee Bucks) @ 20/23
Finally, I'm focusing on the game of the night as the LA Lakers welcome the Milwaukee Bucks to the Crypto.com Arena.
Antetokounmpo has done much of the heavy lifting for the Bucks recently, and he scored 34 points, 10 rebounds in a 120-113 loss against the Golden State Warriors last time out.
The Lakers were comfortably beaten by the San Antonio Spurs in their most recent outing, although LeBron James missed out, and the 41-year-old should return here. Despite his age, James continues to have a huge impact on this Lakers team.
Doncic put up 38 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in that aforementioned defeat against the Spurs, and the Slovenian is averaging 33.7 points per game, so I think they should have enough firepower to cover at home.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
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