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The Scout: Thursday NBA Best Bets

Posted on | Posted by The Scout

Washington Wizards @ Charlotte Hornets

The Washington Wizards (10-3) are on top of the Eastern Conference and come into this match on a five-game win streak. The Charlotte Hornets (8-7) are currently in the playoff picture thanks to winning three matches in a row.

No one predicted the Wizards to be good following the departure of Russell Westbrook and the arrival of a bunch of unproven role players. Surprisingly things have clicked and the combination of Spencer Dinwiddie, Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell are dominating.

To add to their firepower is shooting guard Bradley Beal who has been inactive in the Wizards past two games. Beal has been confirmed to play against Charlotte which adds a massive scoring threat to Washington’s line-up and adds more depth to an already deadly starting five.

It’s surprisingly the Hornets are favourites against a red-hot Wizards team and despite their current win streak, the Wizards are still clearly the better side. The Hornets have plenty of firepower but lack any defensive stoppers for Beal and Co. I expect this match to be a shootout with plenty of coast-to-coast action, the Wizards with Beal playing will have too many weapons and outgun the host team.

Suggested Bet: Wizards Win @ $2.20*

Boston Celtics @ Atlanta Hawks

This match features two struggling Eastern Conference rivals as the Boston Celtics (7-7) take on the Atlanta Hawks (6-9) at the State Farm Arena.

Both sides are playing well below par, but the Hawks have clearly underperformed so far this season. Having reached the Eastern Conference finals last season, many believed Atlanta’s trajectory was only going up however things just simply have not clicked early for the young Hawks.

The Hawks have just started to bounce back after an incredibly tough six-game stretch that saw them lose to the Nuggets, Warriors, Suns, Nets and Jazz twice. After this horrendous run, Atlanta is back playing their usual basketball and have won two on the trot.

Trae Young has been the reason for the Hawks resurgence as the star point-guard is finally finding his range and is coming into this match in great form after a 42 point performance against the Bucks. Alongside Young is John Collins who has also stepped up during this purple patch, Collings size and athleticism will be crucial against Boston.

Boston will once again be without Jaylen Brown and will rely heavily on Jayson Tatum as their main scoring contributor. Tatum is immensely talented and will score points but his surrounding support cast really drop off offensively. Young will match Tatum’s output while John Collins will be the difference maker, his size and mobility will be too much for Celtics big men.

Suggested Bet: Hawks -3.5 (Line) @ $1.91*

Chicago Bulls @ Portland Trail Blazers

The Chicago Bulls (10-4) after fast becoming a threat in the Eastern Conference and have won four of their last five games with big wins over the Lakers, Clippers, Mavericks and Nets. The Portland Trailblazers (7-8) have not started the season as well as they would have hoped and have only managed two wins in their last five.

DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine are working perfectly together right now for Chicago as the duo are both in the top 10 for scoring in the league. DeRozan has flourished at his new home and comes into this match off the back of back-to-back games scoring 35 points or more.

Lonzo Ball has been the perfect addition to work alongside DeRozan and LaVine as he is an excellent defender and does not need many touches to be effective. This is much the same for Alex Caruso who is another high-level perimeter defender and is ranked in the top 5 for steals per game.

The elite perimeter defense that the Bulls have created is perfect when coming up against a guard-dominant team like the Trailblazers. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are the two main contributors for their team and a big reason for Portland’s struggles so far this season is poor performances from Lillard.

With Lillard already playing well below his potential and the added defensive pressure that Caruso and Ball will add the pressure falls heavily on the supporting cast of Portland. The Bulls will have far too many scoring options for Portland to keep up.

Suggested Bet: Bulls Win @ $2.10*

*Odds correct as at 10am, 17th November 2021.

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