Serge Ibaka (PF, Orlando Magic)
Serge Ibaka has been averaging 14.8 points with 47.9% from the field and 6.8 rebounds this season. He is currently 2nd best scorer for his team, right after Fournier with 17.3ppg. Looking at last 3 games played, Ibaka has been very active in scoring department. He has averaged 19ppg; 19 against Washington and Milwaukee and 18 points against San Antonio. For the upcoming game Orlando Magic will be travelling to Memphis to face off against Grizzlies. Betting on Ibaka scoring less than 15 points tonight might come off as a surprise at first, due to his spectacular performances recently, but there is one crucial thing to keep in mind. Grizzlies are a strong defensive team. In their last 7 home games only 2 teams managed to score more than 100 points. On average they are only letting the opponent score 98.5 points. So it’s safe to assume Magic will not get their points easily and the same goes for Ibaka. Betting on Ibaka to not pass the 15 points mark gives us a good value and that’s why I’ll take the bet.
Prediction: Serge Ibaka Under 15.5 points
Odds: 1.83 Bet365
LeBron James (F/SG, Cleveland Cavaliers)
A very well known player, who has achieved more than most of the players in NBA throughout his career, but he is getting old and with that his performance is slowly dropping, at least scoring wise. This season he has averaged 23.5ppg, 8.1 rebounds and 9.3 assists. His ppg are lower than those of his career average (27.1), whereas the assist count is higher. So it seems like he has focused more on helping the team and opening the space for other players instead of scoring by himself. LeBron James still should not be underestimated, as he is still capable to score 20+ points on regular basis. The average points in his last 3 games played were 22.3 (19 against Dallas, 26 against Philadelphia and 22 against Milwaukee). Tonight Cleveland Cavaliers will host LA Clippers and will be hoping they will bounce back after losing their last game against Milwaukee (118:101), which ended their 4 game winning run. It will be an interesting match to see, as both teams need a win. Clippers are coming into this match after losing their last 3 games. Prior to that bad run LA Clippers had only 2 defeats in 16 games, so a win is crucial to get back on track. Clippers are currently 2nd best defensive team in the NBA, letting their opponents score only 98.9 points on average with 43.2%. Despite their bad run recently, LA Clippers still know how to defend their rim and in my opinion they do the job good enough to prevent LeBron James to pass the 25.5 point mark.
Prediction: LeBron James Under 25.5 points
Odds: 1.83 Bet365
That’s all for tonight. Good luck!
