NBA betting tips: Kings to punish toothless Timberwolves, Pistons to rattle Raptors
The broom was out and our pockets were full after last week’s NBA column, where George Dempsey swept up with a trio of tasty winners on his Sports News Blitz debut.
No one is saying there’s any pressure in the office to follow suit this week, but the fate of several children’s Christmas funds rests squarely on his shoulders.
Let’s see if we can make another pretty penny on Friday night…
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Sacramento Kings
The Timberwolves, who are 6-6 on the season and 2-4 on the road, travel West to face the Sacramento Kings, who are 7-5 and 3-2 on home court.
Perhaps the most significant match is the one Minnesota won in Sacramento on the season's opening night. The Kings are out for revenge, and we think they’ll get it.
This Wolves team is taking time to adjust to the off-season changes and it hasn’t clicked on the court, as they’re fresh off of back-to-back losses to the Portland Trailblazers.
The Timberwolves have shown they have some solid defensive pieces as they rank sixth in points allowed, but the cohesion on offence is yet to show itself regularly.
On the other hand, the Kings just made light work of the revenge factor as they dropped 127 on the Phoenix Suns for the second time in four days.
De’Aaron Fox played a starring role (29 points, 10 assists) and was ably supported by Kevin Huerter (22 points) to help mitigate the absence of their influential sixth man Malik Monk.
Our projections make Sacramento a four-point winner in this contest so we’ll happily take a shot given it’s essentially a pick 'em.
Suggested bet: Sacramento Kings -1
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Detroit Pistons @ Toronto Raptors
We’re going to play on a very profitable system that continued to work well last season.
When two teams winning 40% or fewer of their games meet, and the line is 4.5 points or less either way, the road team is on a 71-48 winning run.
Playing the system blind would have produced a solid profit last season with the ATS mark matching the win rate at around 60%.
The Detroit Pistons look the perfect candidate to test it out on this season as they visit the Toronto Raptors, a 2-10SU side with a mountain of injuries.
Kelly Olynk, Bruce Brown, Scottie Barnes, Ja’Kobe Walter and Immanuel Quickley have spent an extended time on the sidelines this month.
They shot just 34.9% from the field in a 15-point loss to the Bucks this week, who themselves are struggling at 3-8.
The Pistons made a winning start in the NBA Cup by beating the Miami Heat last time out, and there’s a lot to like about this young and hungry team at present.
They’ve won five of eight despite coming up against some stiff competition. Cade Cunningham has stood out again, but the difference this season is he has been ably supported by four team-mates averaging double digits.
The Raptors, who have been outscored 112.5 to 99.5 in their last four contests, can only dream of such productivity until they get everyone healthy and back on the floor.
Suggested bet: Detroit Pistons +2.5
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