NBA Weekend Betting: Celtics are really getting a head of steam

Basketball / Nick Shiambouros / 05 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

Nick Shiambouros looks back on recent action in the US and at the weekend's big ones in the NBA with recommended bets for two match-ups.

The Boston Celtics made it 10 winning games in a row on Wednesday night with a resounding 114-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers in front of a packed and very raucous home crowd. The home support for the Celtics is worth at least five points in my opinion - there were moments in this game where the Pacers could not hear themselves think.

Last season the critics were saying that the Celtics could not lift the trophy with Rajon Rondo in the team, but this young man was on fire against the Pacers with superb ball distribution and threw in a triple-double for good measure. As I have said before this team looks almost unbeatable at home and the intimidation factor is now huge.

My team to follow in recent games was the Orlando Magic and they managed to win eight from the last 10 games. But even they were thrashed by Boston on Monday night, going down 108-77. The Magic have been playing very well over the last couple of weeks and are only 3.5 games behind the Celtics in the Eastern Conference.

Over in the Western Conference things are a little tighter with the Los Angeles Lakers holding a 2.5 game lead over Portland Trail Blazerswith the rejuvenated Denver Nuggets just three games back in third.

The Houston Rockets are in fourth place in the west and face the Golden State Warriors at home on Friday night. I will be taking the 9.5 handicap points and the Rockets in this one. Simply nothing is going right for the Warriors and they lost a heartbreaker against Miami in overtime 130-129 on Monday night. They have been beaten in the last seven games and face a tough Houston team who beat the LA Clippers 103-96 on Wednesday night.

Ron Artest and the Rockets are one of the most resilient teams in the NBA now and it is very important for them to keep pace with the Lakers. As previously mentioned in a recent article Artest has energy and passion to spare and is a huge addition to this Rocket team.

The total point market in this game is interesting as I think the Houston defence will be very tough against the Warriors and I will also be backing the under 208.5 on Friday.

On Saturday night I will be having my first wager of the season on the Clippers against the Minnesota Timberwolves.The Clippers showed some signs of life against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night when they were leading by 10 points late in the game. Needless to sat they blew the lead and lost 98-100 but they did play well and Marcus Camby scored 15 points in a tough loss.

Minnesota has a better record than the Clippers but 4-13 is nothing to write home about. The Timberwolves are a team that has lost its way since the departure of Kevin Garnett and even at this stage of the season they have little left to play for.

As for "Clipper Nation" they have shown me enough this week to believe they can at least win with the handicap points but I will also be having a small outright wager in this Western Conference match-up.

Recommended Wagers:

Saturday, Back Los Angeles Clippers with advertised handicap and back outright market