NBA Multi bet of the Weekend| January 12

The second weekend of 2024 in Australia kicks off with a nine-game slate of NBA action, kicking off with an enthralling clash between the Sixers and the Kings and ending with a less-than-enthralling clash between the Hornets and the Spurs. Below, we take a look at the three bets from across the course of the day which make up our multi for this weekend. 

Saturday January 12, 11:40am AEDT, Little Caesars Arena 

The Rockets have not been particularly good on the road this season – in fact, they’re a woeful 3-12 away from home, in stark contrast to the 15-6 record they boast in Houston. But despite that disappointing away record, they are a hell of a lot better than the Pistons, who have fallen straight back into a hole after finally breaking their 28-game losing streak a week or so ago. They’ve lost six in a row since then – one of which was to the Rockets by 23 points – and they’ve lost their last three by at least 17 points apiece – the latest of which was a 22-point defeat at the hands of the lowly Spurs. What’s more, that game was in Detroit. Of those three games, the last two have been without Cade Cunningham and the first saw him play just 11 minutes before he got injured, so it’s safe to say that they’re struggling without him. The Rockets might not have been very good on the road so far this season but they are still a much improved team and a genuine playoff threat, and a hell of a lot better than the Spurs, so a double digit win should well and truly be on the cards. Despite that, the line for this game is set at just 7.5 by NBA betting sites, and the Rockets look like good value to cover that number. 

Saturday January, 12:10pm AEDT, FedExForum

The Memphis Grizzlies had a tough start to the season without Ja Morant, but since their star point guard returned from his extended suspension they very rapidly turned a corner. But Morant was recently announced out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, meaning the Grizzlies will likely struggle to work their way back into playoff contention like they would have hoped to with him in the team. Without him so far, they have actually been excellent, beating first the Suns and then the Mavericks with ease, but don’t expect that to last. Without Morant they still have some nice pieces, but they are a mid-tier team at best and won’t likely be any match for the rampant Clippers. With James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George all playing quality basketball and Russell Westbrook filling in nicely off the bench, the Clippers have gone from one of the most criticised teams in the league to a genuine championship threat, and over an extended period of time they have been arguably the best team in the league. They are beating virtually everyone in their wake, having won seven of their last eight with the solitary exception being a three-point loss to the Lakers. What’s more, aside from their most recent win – a six-point victory over the Raptors – they have been absolutely crushing their opposition, and have won by more than the line for this game of 7.5 points in every other game during that eight-game streak. Against the Morant-less Grizzlies, the Clippers should be able to continue that streak and cover this line. 

Saturday January 12, 11:10am AEDT, Wells Fargo Center 

Finally to the only player prop of our multi, and the leg which adds by far the most value to it. Domantas Sabonis is second to only Nikola Jokic in terms of passing ability as a big man in the league, averaging 7.7 assists per game this season. He tends to go through phases of big assist numbers and phases where those numbers aren’t so big, and he’s certainly in the former of those at the moment. He’s had a triple double in four of his last seven games and five of his last ten, with assists the only real concern in terms of achieving that feat – he scores ten points per game with ease and pretty much always backs that up with at least ten boards, too. Which means that, at close to $4 to reach a triple double in this game, he’s basically paying that amount to have ten assists, which he’s been managing more often than not of late. Adding further to the value of this bet is the fact that, in that stretch of seven games in which he’s triple doubled four times, the last two of the occasions in which he failed to get ten assists he played less than 30 minutes because the game was a blowout and he didn’t play the last quarter. With seven assists in his last game in particular – and six in the other – had he played the last quarter he may very well have clocked a TD. All of htat suggests that in the form he’s currently in, a triple double is almost more likely than not, which means that at the odds he’s paying to reach it, this looks like a seriously good value bet.