By the time many of you read this, games will be underway with the glut of MLK Day matinees. That could alter the top five and bottom five in our weekly power rankings, but here’s a quick take on where things stand as we hit the tail end of the holiday weekend.
Keeping an eye on the teams streaking – one way or the other – is a great way to help make a bet online.
Let’s check the latest NBA picks, stats, injury reports, and NBA predictions. We’ve plenty of NBA expert picks for you to consider.
Top Five
1. Boston Celtics
It seems as if the ugly 33-point loss at Oklahoma City earlier this month was a wake-up call. The Celtics looked lost in that one, getting outplayed severely by a Thunder squad missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in falling for the seventh time in 12 games.
Since then, they look like world-beaters again, winning six in a row – the last three by double digits. Boston outscored Charlotte by 20 points in the second half on the road Saturday en route to a 122-106 win despite playing without Jaylen Brown.
“I think it’s just this team’s depth,” guard Malcolm Brogdon said after scoring 30 off the bench. “We have a lot of really good players on this team and it is just a next-man-up mentality.”
The Celtics carry a four-game lead in the East into Monday’s action. They remain head and shoulders above the competition.
- +400 NBA Championship Odds
2. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets joined the Celtics in the 30-win club with a hard-fought victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday. Nikola Jokic highlighted another triple-double with a tiebreaking 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
While his teammates went batty, Jokic remained somewhat stoic. Later, he continued to display the kind of nonchalance that comes with being so dominant.
“It was a good feeling because we won the game, basically,” he said very matter-of-factly.
These things are becoming commonplace for Jokic and his Nuggets are getting used to winning games. They have won six in a row and 16 of 19. Keep an eye on those Las Vegas odds for a Celtics-Nuggets NBA Finals.
- +900 NBA Championship Odds
3. Memphis Grizzlies
The West could develop into a two-team race between the aforementioned Nuggets and the streaking Grizzlies.
Memphis has incredible star power, with Ja Morant doing all the things Ja Morant does, and the complementary pieces are gelling in a great way. Desmond Bane hits 3’s, Jaren Jackson Jr. blocks shots and Steven Adams grabs boards.
Of course, all these guys do more than that, but each has their roles and they play them well. The league’s top rebounding unit is also second in blocks and sixth in points.
- +1200 NBA Championship Odds
4. Brooklyn Nets
The Kevin Durant injury was a big blow for this squad just as it was flying up the East standings and threatening to steal the top spot from Boston. The Nets have lost two in a row – both at home – since Durant went down with a knee injury.
He will be back, however, and when Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons were together over the past few weeks this was the best team in the league. Give them a little time to figure out how to scrap together some Durant-less wins, and then watch them get hot again after the All-Star break.
A five-game road trip starts Tuesday. It could bump Brooklyn from the top five, but it’ll be back.
- +600 NBA Championship Odds
5. Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid is matching Nikola Jokic once again as the two star big men carry their respective squads. They’ve finished 1-2 in MVP voting each of the last two seasons, and Embiid is playing like he wants to get over that hump in 2022-23.
The Sixers center went for 35 points and 11 rebounds in a 113-112 win at Los Angeles on Sunday night, one night after making the game-winning shot in a one-point victory at Utah.
That’s back-to-back one-point road wins on consecutive nights, the kind of thing championship-caliber teams can pull off. It gives Philadelphia 15 wins in its last 19 games. Many NBA betting experts are climbing aboard.
- +1800 NBA Championship Odds
Bottom Five
26. Orlando Magic
They continue to flirt with jumping out of the bottom five, but we can’t send them on their way just yet. The Magic opened a five-game road trip with two wins in the first three games before dropping the final two, although they were narrow setbacks in Utah and Denver – nothing to lose sleep over.
Head coach Jamahl Mosley knows his team is showing something, even if the Ls piled up at the end of the trip.
“To be on the back end of a five-game road trip and to give that intensity and that effort, coming down the stretch, where an MVP-type player makes the MVP-type play, that’s what it came down to,” he said of Jokic’s shot that spoiled a great second-half rally for Orlando.
- +100000 NBA Championship Odds
27. San Antonio Spurs
They played in front of 68,323 fans at the Alamodome the other night but put up a dud of a performance. The 144-113 loss to Golden State was one of five straight for the Spurs, who simply cannot get stops.
After the Warriors went off, and the Sacramento Kings put up 132 points in a win over the Spurs two nights later, San Antonio’s league-worst scoring defense sat at 121.7, more than two points higher than anyone else.
The Spurs have lost 13 of 17 and their annual Rodeo Road Trip (nine games spanning the All-Star break) is on the horizon.
- +100000 NBA Championship Odds
28. Detroit Pistons
It seems like every five games or so, this team looks really good and knocks off a better squad by a wide margin. There was a runaway win in Miami last month, a rout of a rising Orlando squad, a victory in Golden State, and two triumphs over Minnesota, including one by 17 to start the current homestand.
But each time one of these wins occurs, the Pistons tack on a few more losses. They haven’t won consecutive games since before Thanksgiving.
- +100000 NBA Championship Odds
29. Charlotte Hornets
A disastrous season in Charlotte continued with a second-half collapse against the Celtics the other night. After opening up an early double-digit lead, the woeful Hornets were outscored 60-40 following the break.
They get another home date with Boston on Monday. A loss there would be the fifth straight for a team that enters the day ranked last in the NBA in 3-point percentage (32.8). They, too, haven’t had consecutive wins since November.
- +100000 NBA Championship Odds
30. Houston Rockets
The losing streak is up to 10 games after a 21-point setback at the Clippers on Sunday. The last three setbacks have come by at least 20 points. Victor Wembanyama is currently looking at Houston real estate.
- +100000 NBA Championship Odds
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