Below is a breakdown of our best NBA bets for tonight.
Brooklyn Nets (-5, 228) vs Chicago Bulls
The Nets have won 12 straight games and 16 of their last 17. The real key to their run, however, has been the excellent play of some of their role players, including Nicolas Claxton, Ben Simmons, and a resurgent T.J. Warren.
The Bulls beat the Nets earlier this year, but these teams are way different now. Recently, the Bulls just lost a pair of games to Cleveland and allowed the Cavs to come back from down 18 points, giving up 71 points to Donovan Mitchell.
The Bulls’ defense is bad. They have no one to stop people in the paint or anyone who can check a guard on the perimeter, either. DeMar DeRozan does everything he can, but he simply doesn’t have enough help and Chicago feels pretty overmatched here. Five points doesn’t seem like nearly enough for this game. The Nets are also 7-3 as road favorites this year, covering the spread in five of those wins.
We like the Nets -5
Milwaukee Bucks (+4.5, 226.5) vs Toronto Raptors
Milwaukee heads into this game with a win-loss record of 23-13 for the campaign. Defensively, the Bucks have forced 12.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.7 fouls. They rank 1st in the league in allowing assists to their opponents with 812 conceded this year.
When they last stepped on the court, the Raptors went home defeated by a final of 122-114 against the Pacers. Gary Trent Jr. was important for the Raptors in this contest. Trent totaled 32 points in his 40 minutes on the hardwood and added 3 assists in this game. He knocked down 11 of 18 in the matchup giving him a rate of 61.1%, and had 5 rebounds. We don’t see that happening again against the Bucks defense. As an offensive team, the Raptors are hitting on 45.2% from the floor, which ranks 27th in the league. The Raptors are ranked 10th in the league in points per game surrendered with 111.5. They are forcing their opponents into 16.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 48.9% from the floor (29th in the NBA).
We like the Under on 226.5 points.
Kevin Durant Over/Under 30 Points
The Nets have won 14 of their last 15, and 12 straight. They are hitting on all cylinders and the Bulls have a middling offense and a middling defense. All signs are pointing to this game being a competitive loss for the Bulls. The Nets current win streak has been a team effort, for the most part. In the past five games, Kevin Durant has scored under 30 points four times. Kevin Durant’s vision for this team is finally coming to fruition, and it doesn’t just rely on him scoring 40 points a game. We expect this mentality to persist against the Bulls.
We like Kevin Durant Under 30 points.