Almost There

We are now about a month away from the NBA trade deadline (Feb 9th), which means the next few weeks of basketball will determine which teams are the serious buyers, and who needs to throw it in. True contenders have emerged, but a late-season run is still in the cards for many dark horse teams. Here's a look at a couple squads that have joined the Celtics, Bucks and Warriors as potential championship squads 👇

• Now that Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. have started to acclimate since returning from injuries, the Nuggets are humming with Jokic stringing together another MVP-worthy season. Denver has gone 10-2 in their last 12 contests

Meanwhile the Nets have been unstoppable, and are 18-2 in their last 20 games with a 12 game win streak thrown in there, anchored by the fifth best defensive rating in the league (110.6 PPG allowed) 🧱

• A huge part of Brooklyn's identity has been the absurd shotmaking ability of KD and Kyrie — the duo is combining for 55.7 PPG this season

• Speaking of the Nets' star tandem, KD left Sunday's matchup against the Heat after a right knee injury that is expected to sideline him for a month. It will be interesting to see how Brooklyn holds up while he's out

With KD's injury, the Nets are now a great value pick to win the East at +440. It's worth thinking about, especially with Milwaukee's recent struggles. Meanwhile, I think the Nuggets offer a solid opportunity for some future winnings as well at +400 to win the West. They've asserted themselves as a regular-season machine — of course this all is under the assumption Murray and MPJ can stay on the court 👀

Pelicans vs. Celtics

After some shakiness from the Celtics — namely a 150-117 blow out by the Thunder — the defending Eastern Conference champions have righted the ship. Three straight wins against the Mavericks, Spurs, and Bulls have been more indicative of what this Boston team has in store. Tonight, the Celtics, with the best record in the league at 29-12, will host the Pelicans at TD Garden, where they are 16-5 behind a lot of Tatum magic 🦄

Normally this game would have been a heavyweight match-up between two young duos, but Zion and Brandon Ingram will be absent unfortunately. Prior to going down with a hamstring injury against the Sixers earlier this month, Zion was averaging 26 PPG on nearly 61 FG% to go along with 7 RPG and 4.6 APG 😳

• The Celtics wing duo of Tatum and Brown are putting up 57.6 PPG, the highest scoring duo in the league, and will most likely continue this output against a Pelicans team that might be missing their primary wing defender in Herb Jones (he is day-to-day)

• Look for CJ McCollum to get the shot attempts necessary for a big night, although it's worth noting Boston has plenty of guard defenders to throw at him

Pelicans vs. Celtics Betting Preview (subject to change)

• Spread: Celtics -10

• Moneyline: Celtics -480 (bet $480, win $100), Pelicans +370 (bet $100, win $370)

• Over/Under: 229

For My Parlay Gurus

In a crowded night around the association with 16 teams playing, I think the Celtics will keep humming and cover the spread at home tonight against the Pelicans. The other game I like is the Knicks at home vs. the Pacers - Indiana has been better than expected, but I think New York will bounce back after a tough loss to the Bucks. Take a look 👇

• Celtics -10 vs. Pelicans: -110

• Knicks -4.5 vs. Pacers: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $264 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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