NBA Daily Tip Sheet - Best Bets

Michael Crosson is back to provide his best bets, predictions and odds for NBA matchups on Thursday, November 17th.

NBA Best Bets for Thursday, November 17

• Portland Trail Blazers -2.5 (-110) vs. BKN
• Domantas Sabonis (SAC) Over 19.5 Points (-115)
• Los Angeles Clippers -9.5 (-110) vs. DET

Portland Trail Blazers -2.5 vs. BKN

The Nets have arguably been the biggest disappointment in basketball through the first month of the season, as Brooklyn currently sits 12^th in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 6-9, despite opening the year with a lofty win total line of OU 50.5.

Things appeared to be headed south quickly too, as Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons both flirted with extended absences following the Nets’ rocky 1-5 start. However, they’ve played relatively pedestrian basketball since that opening stretch, highlighted by Brooklyn’s 5-4 record across their last nine games.

Unfortunately, pedestrian basketball hasn’t been enough to outlast Portland this season, as the Blazers currently sit atop the Western Conference standings with a record of 10-4, with their only losses coming in tough matchups against the Heat, Grizzlies, Suns, and Mavs.

I’ll back Portland here, as the Nets can get away with beating teams like the Hornets and Pacers without Irving on the floor, however, it’s almost impossible to trust this squad in matchups against good teams until he returns to action.

Domantas Sabonis (SAC) Over 19.5 Points

Domantas Sabonis stumbled out to a surprisingly slow start in his first full campaign with Sacramento, as the former Pacer scored 13 PTS or less in four-of-six contests to open the season, which was somewhat jarring after seeing him average 18.5+ PPG in three straight campaigns prior to this year.

However, he’s cranked up the heat since that opening stretch, as Sabonis has now scored 21+ PTS in five of his last seven outings (21.6 PPG), with two of those performances coming in at 25+ PTS.

So, I’ll back Sabonis to have another solid night on the scoreboard in Thursday night’s matchup against a Spurs squad that’s currently playing at the seventh-fastest pace in the league (101.8 PACE).

Los Angeles Clippers -9.5 vs. DET

The Pistons were expected to build upon their 23-59 record from last year after surrounding Cade Cunningham with a pair of lottery picks in Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, however, they’ve performed at a very similar level to open this season, as Detroit currently owns the worst record in the NBA at 3-12, with all but three of those losses coming by a margin of 9+ points.

The Clippers, on the other hand, haven’t exactly dominated the early stages of the season, but they’ve played increasingly well as of late, as Tyronn Lue’s squad followed up a 2-4 start with a 6-3 run across their latest nine-game stretch, despite ranking 29^th in the league in offensive rating (106.4 ORtg).

Both of these squads have been terrible at the offensive end so far this season, however, the Pistons also rank dead-last in the league in most defensive categories (118.4 DRtg). So, I’ll opt to lay the points with a Clippers squad that currently ranks second in the league in defensive rating (108.4 DRtg).