The NBA picture will change dramatically over the next couple of days. Actually, it already has with the reported Kyrie Irving move to Dallas. That’s the first big deal in what figures to be plenty heading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, which will expose several teams as either rebuilders or all-in for 2022-23.
Let’s take an early look at how the situation relates to our weekly power rankings, with a focus on online gambling. Let’s check the latest NBA news, stats, injury report, and NBA lines. We’ve got plenty of NBA picks for you to consider.
Top Five
1. Boston Celtics
They remain the top team by virtue of their record, but their hold on this spot has gotten shakier every week for the past month or so. Consider the four-game homestand the Celtics just had and ask yourself whether this is a team that has any sense of who it is at this time.
The Celtics opened the homestand with an overtime loss in which they had to rally late to force the extra session. They then had an overtime win in which the referees helped to force the extra session. Then came a 43-point win over the Brooklyn Nets, in which they led by 30 after just one quarter. Then there was a 12-point loss to the Phoenix Suns in which they scored 45 fewer points than their previous game.
Up, down, up, down. It all adds up to a 2-2 homestand and a 2-4 record since their recent nine-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks are charging fast in the East and host Boston on Valentine’s Day in a game that will impact that race for the No. 1 seed.
- +400 NBA Championship Odds
2. Milwaukee Bucks
Their win streak is at seven and they’ve won nine of 10, with the lone loss coming on the road against Cleveland on Jan. 21. Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing his best ball since entering the league, perhaps, and is a solid bet online for MVP.
Giannis had a triple-double in this weekend’s win over the Miami Heat and Khris Middleton added 24 points off the bench. All the other pieces were in place for this finally healthy crew that could leapfrog the Celtics before the All-Star break, although the immediate road ahead isn’t easy.
Milwaukee begins a three-game trip Monday before that return date against the Celtics. If the Bucks put up three or four wins in that stretch, they’ll be atop the rankings again, just as they were early on.
- +700 NBA Championship Odds
3. Denver Nuggets
They dropped recent head-to-heads with fellow Top 5ers Milwaukee and Philadelphia and are coming off a 30-point setback at Minnesota on Sunday. It’s all enough to drop the Nuggets one spot, although the loss to the Timberwolves came without four starters – including Nikola Jokic – in the second half of a back-to-back.
Like a lot of teams, Denver is playing the long game. It knows it has the ability to win it all, but getting to April with everyone healthy and in rhythm is not easy. So you have nights like Sunday and hope that it all comes together the next time out with everyone rested.
After a rematch with Minnesota at home, the Nuggets begin a stretch in which they play 12-of-18 on the road. They are 25-4 at home and 12-13 on the road, so you can expect them to drop a spot or two. But they’ll line everything up for when it really counts.
- +800 NBA Championship Odds
4. Philadelphia 76ers
Finally, a couple of bumps in the road, a home loss to Orlando, and a road loss at New York. Nothing that will throw an NBA betting expert off, though, as this crew is largely healthy and will be streaking again soon.
Head coach Doc Rivers has seemed to isolate a current flaw he hopes to fix.
“I thought our second unit came in and struggled,” he said after the Sixers blew a 21-point lead at Madison Square Garden. “This is the second time that has happened. The same thing happened (against) Orlando. Both times, we were scoring too easy. The second group comes in and thinks this is an offensive game and they didn’t see the reason the first group got the lead was because of defense.”
The schedule sets up well for them to make a statement in the coming weeks. They get a shot at the Celtics on the road Wednesday night and then play six of the next seven at home, including a rematch with Boston.
21 -> 12 pic.twitter.com/EXuJ78clgQ
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 6, 2023
- +700 NBA Championship Odds
5. Brooklyn Nets
They may plummet from this spot without Kyrie Irving, but they may not. Before we write their obituary, consider that many teammates and coaches might be energized without Irving in their midst. His Nets tenure was loaded with distractions, and having that out of the way can be a liberating transition.
As for the on-court situation, Brooklyn parted ways with a dynamic talent. But Spencer Dinwiddie is nothing to sneeze at. He has had some good times with the Nets and expressed pleasure at hearing he was “going home” to Brooklyn. Dorian Finney-Smith brings a quality “three-and-D” player that Kevin Durant reportedly likes.
Oh, and Durant. He’ll be back soon for what seems like the one-millionth iteration of the Brooklyn Nets in the past few years. This is an interesting one that could become hard to beat after a few weeks of gelling.
All this is relevant if, in fact, the Nets are done dealing. Some reports have them shopping KD. As we said, the whole picture can change.
- +1100 NBA Championship Odds
Bottom Five
26. Orlando Magic
That win over Philadelphia was the latest example of the Magic’s rise. This team ain’t tankin’, going 17-12 over their last 29 games, and they’ll be better off for it. The young talent will play in meaningful games deep into the season and possibly even into May with a first-round upset. They’ll learn the rigors of the NBA slate and be better prepared to go a step further in 2023-24.
Orlando completed a 3-1 road trip with a 119-113 win at Charlotte on Sunday. They enter Monday just three games out of a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference and are on the verge of catapulting out of our bottom five.
- +100000 NBA Championship Odds
27. Detroit Pistons
They still haven’t won two in a row since Thanksgiving. It might not happen anytime soon, with two of their next six games against the Celtics and two others involving trips to Cleveland and Orlando.
However, the Pistons did show us a little something, which is why they moved up a spot this week. After getting stuck in Texas for several days due to weather and plane-related issues, which forced the postponement of one game, they returned to the court Friday to knock off the Hornets.
“Winning this game is a testament to everyone involved in this team — the players, the coaches and the staff,” Saddiq Bey said after the 118-112 win. “We were pretty much stuck on a plane for three days, but we found a way to stay ready and come back here to get the win.”
- +100000 NBA Championship Odds
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🔹@IveyJaden: 24 PTS / 7 AST / 1 BLK / 8-11 FG
🔹@SaddiqBey: 22 PTS / 8 REB
🔹Bojan Bogdanović: 21 PTS / 1 STL / 8-14 FG
🔹@AlecBurks10: 16 PTS / 6 REB
🔹@JalenDuren: 13 PTS / 13 REB / 1 STL / 1 BLK#Pistons | #Ad pic.twitter.com/YdzfMdhKSP— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) February 4, 2023
28. Charlotte Hornets
This team has teased us a handful of times, putting up an impressive win in which LaMelo Ball orchestrated something pretty nice. Then the losses pile up again, with the current slide at four games, the last three against sub-.500 teams.
There are some veterans and contracts that figure to be swept away in the coming days. We’ll likely have a different roster to look at this time next week, but unless something dramatic occurs, it’ll still be a bottom-five team.
- +100000 NBA Championship Odds
29. San Antonio Spurs
Here we go! A team in the midst of an eight-game losing streak is embarking on a nine-game road trip that – combined with the All-Star break – keeps them away from home for a month.
That’s not exactly the best recipe for success, but maybe it’ll help this young, developing squad to figure a few things out that’ll pay off in the long run.
- +100000 NBA Championship Odds
30. Houston Rockets
Between San Antonio’s long trip and Houston’s recent success (3-4 in their last seven), the Rockets should be out of the cellar soon. For now, however, they still hold the worst record in the NBA and gave us no reason to move them up to 29th with an embarrassing 153-121 setback at Oklahoma City on Saturday.
It was the eighth time in franchise history that Houston has allowed at least 150 points. The Thunder had 39 assists, a season-high for a Rockets opponent. The lead was 45 at one point.
There’s work to be done. Some of it may come from the front office this week.
- +100000 NBA Championship Odds
