Happy Australia Day from The Big Dog! After a shaky start to 2016, a winning day today will see overall profit for January, on the back of five successful days in a row. To get there, The Big Dog has three big tips from Tuesday’s 9-game card, with the highlight coming in the last of the day. Can the 38-6 Spurs beat the 40-4 Warriors? Read on.
Houston Rockets @ New Orleans Pelicans
Don’t look now… but the Pelicans might be getting their act together. They’ve won five of their last six, including their last four at home. Today they host the Rockets, who produced a 65-46 second half in a 115-104 win over Dallas, last night. A key to the improvement in the play of the Pelicans has been the strength of their starts. Over the last six games, New Orleans have lead at halftime five times (three times by 8 or more). Over the same period, the Rockets have found themselves behind at the main break four times (all by at least 5). They suffered from a slow start the last time these two teams met, as well. Playing at home, the Rockets allowed New Orleans to skip out to a 29-17 first-quarter lead and trailed 50-48 at the half, before eventually rallying to win, 108-101. The Pelicans are in much better form now and Houston have struggled for consistency all season. New Orleans deserve to be favourites at home but the most likely event is that they will hold a lead after two quarters. The line for that result is a gentle -2.5 and this is how The Big Dog is aiming to kick of a big day, on a winning note.
Selection
New Orleans Pelicans -2.5 (1st Half Line) @ $1.91 (William Hill/Luxbet)
Atlanta Hawks @ Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets host the Atlanta Hawks in the final game of an eight-match homestand. They have performed well overall, winning four of seven but have been an unbeaten 7-0 against the spread. No game in that time has had a final margin of more than six points. The Hawks welcome Paul Millsap back from personal leave for this game and his inclusion couldn’t come at a more crucial time. Atlanta have dropped to a game below .500 on the road, losing four of their last five and have not beaten the Nuggets in Denver in almost a decade. Even with Millsap returning, The Big Dog gives the Nuggets a huge chance of winning this game. The spread is just big enough to make it relevant and the record with the assistance of the points is enough to get this one over the line.
Selection
Denver Nuggets +4.5 @ $1.95 (William Hill)
San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors
It’s the game the world has been waiting for. The first clash of the best offense and defence in the history of the NBA. The defending NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors, lead the league in scoring (114.7 points per game) and the San Antonio Spurs have been equally dominant on the defensive end (89.8 points allowed per game). Home court advantage belongs to the Warriors, who are 20-0 at Oracle Arena. The Spurs are the only team with a better home record (24-0) but their road record (14-6) is second only to the Warriors (20-4). Statistically, this game has all the makings of an instant classic. The key for San Antonio is going to be finding a way to limit the devastating impact of Stephen Curry, who is without question the best player in basketball, at the moment. This immense task is something the Spurs have done to great effect. Curry is 3-13 overall, against the Spurs which is his worst record against any franchise. He’s also been restricted to 18.6 points per game (his second-worst mark) and 43.9 percent shooting (third-worst). It’s also worth noting that the Spurs were the first team to beat the Warriors at home, last season (113-100). Even with Tim Duncan ruled out with knee soreness, San Antonio will feel confident of ending Golden State’s 38-game regular season home winning streak and in the process extending their NBA-best active winning streak, to 14 games. The Big Dog is foaming at the mouth in anticipation of this match and is backing the experienced and unflappable Spurs to do what no team has been able to, since January 27th last year… and beat the Warriors at Oracle Arena. They are simply superb value.
Selection
San Antonio Spurs @ $2.70 (Luxbet)
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