NBA Matchups, Odds, Analysis 12/30-12/31: Celtics @ Spurs

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NBA Matchups and Analysis 30-31 December 2018 By: Christopher B. Watford for NoLuckNeeded.com

With ESPN and other sports news sites covering the ongoing situation of LeBron recruiting Anthony Davis to the Lakers, there is never a dull moment in the NBA. Things are tough already for the few Pelican fans out there, the ongoing injuries, DeMarcus Cousins joining the Warriors, and now the possibility of Anthony Davis leaving could be a death sentence for the Pelicans as a franchise. While LeBron is attempting to build a team to beat the Warriors, let’s take a look at some of the upcoming notable matchups.

Philadelphia 76ers (23-13) @ Portland Trail Blazers (20-15) 12/30/18

The Sixers are currently in the middle of their longest road trip of the season; they played at home on Christmas day, but they won’t return to Philadelphia until January 5th. The 76ers have continued to play winning basketball, with a 6-4 record over their last ten. They’re fresh off a win against the Utah Jazz where they were able to destroy Utah with their length and defense.

The Blazers are going to be battling a little bit with fatigue in their Sunday night matchup against Philly. Portland faces off against the Warriors twice in a back-to-back. They managed to take the first game, but it’s still up in the air on who can take the second. The main players to look out for in this matchup is Portland’s back court. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum put up a combined 45 points. That’s not to mention the fact that Jusuf Nurkic had a team-high 27 points.

Another matchup to look out for is the battle of the big men down low. The last time that these two teams met up, Joel Embiid put up 29 points and 9 rebounds. Nurkic put up 21 points and 12 rebounds to solidify the win for the Blazers.

Tune in to NSPA, NSNW, or NBA League Pass this Sunday at 9:00 PM ET

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Sacramento Kings (19-16) @ Los Angeles Lakers (20-15) - 12/30/18

With the memory of Bogdonavic’s game winning three pointer still freshly burned in to the mind of Lakers fans, they need to recover quickly since they’re meeting up again shortly. The Lakers have been feeling content with their performance over the past couple of weeks. They’re sitting 5 games above .500 and just demolished the Warriors after LeBron got injured. The time table is still unclear for Bron’s return, but he won’t be traveling with his team to Sacramento, so it will be at least a couple of games until he returns.

The Lakers have enough talent to beat this King’s team without LeBron, I mean, they nearly did beat them until Bogdonavic managed to seal it with the buzzer beating three pointer. The young stars are going to be working their butts off with the absence of LeBron, and it’s necessary if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. In the last game the Kings faced off against the Lakers, Kuzma finished with 40 minutes, Ingram with 38, and ball with 37.

Keep your eye on De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield of the Sacramento Kings. Fox nearly finished with a triple double, but he was shy one assist. This Kings team is young, fast, exciting, and unexpectedly successful. The Lakers already lost once to Sacramento, will they lose again with the continued absence of LeBron? Sacramento has been of the better teams to bet on this year, with numerous upsets and odds not reflecting how good Sacramento truly is.

Watch live this Sunday on SPEC, NCSA, or NBA League Pass at 9:30 PM ET.

Boston Celtics (20-14) @ San Antonio Spurs (19-16) 12/31/18

What better way to close out the year than a battle of two elite coaches? Both teams have similar records, but the Spurs have continued to push their success and are sitting on an 8-2 record over their last ten. Boston is 9-9 on the road while San Antonio is 14-5 at home so you can expect the crowd to try and give the Spurs as big an advantage as possible.

This is one of the only times these two inter conference teams will match up this year. The Spurs have the fifth best offensive rating in the league while the Celtics have the third best defensive rating.

These two players might not be guarding each other for the majority of this match, but they’re both going to try and have big games. I’m talking about Demar Derozan and Kyrie Irving. Irving did his usual thing against the 76ers a couple days back. He hit multiple clutch shots, including a couple of huge layups to send it to overtime -- oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he had 40 points as well.

Let’s see if this San Antonio crowd is all that it’s hyped up to be this Monday at 7:00 PM ET.

(Check NBA game odds and updates at Intertops Sports Betting)

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