NBA Multi bet of the Weekend| November 10-12

This weekend will see the second day of the NBA’s inaugural tournament take place, with Saturday (Australia time) playing host to nine games which will count towards both that tournament, and the regular season itself. Hidden in amongst those nine games are a couple of intriguing clashes and some good value, so let’s dive straight in and take a look at the best bets and a multi for this Saturday’s games. 

November 11, 11am (AEDT), Capital One Arena 

The Hornets haven’t had the start to the season they were hoping for, winning just two of their first seven games – giving them the same record as the Wizards. But while the Wizards’ 2-5 record seems about right, the Hornets should be getting better as the season goes on. The Wizards are legitimately really bad – for all that they have to offer, Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma isn’t exactly an NBA duo which will set the league alight. They might be the worst team in the league this year, while the Hornets look primed for improvement. They’ve got a talented young roster led by LaMelo Ball, and though they haven’t quite clicked yet this season, the fact remains that they are better in just about every position than their opponent in this game. Just a couple of days ago, the Wizards beat the Hornets by 16 points, but all that’s done is served to boost the Hornets’ odds beyond what they should be. They’re clearly the more talented team and should be favourites here, and the Hornets to win outright looks like great value at $2.05 with PlayUp. 

November 11, 12.40pm (AEDT), American Airlines Center 

Both these teams have fluctuated a little so far this season in terms of their points totals, but since acquiring James Harden, the Clippers have played at a very slow pace and it’s showed in their scores. Admittedly it’s only a two game sample, but in those games they’ve averaged just 97 possessions per game, which is lower than what any other team has averaged throughout the season, and the match totals in those games have been just 207 and 193 – the points total for this game is set at 231.5. That trend stretches back to the pre-Harden days too, with only one of their last five games getting near that number. The Mavericks have been a little more high scoring, but they’re hardly league-leading in that regard, with three of their last five games having surpassed that 231.5 points total. The Clippers’ slow play style and low-scoring tendencies of late don’t appear likely to be offset significantly enough by the Mavericks pass this total, meaning the under 231.5 total points at $1.90 with GetSetBet looks like a good bet. 

November 11, 12.10pm (AEDT), Toyota Center 

This is a bet based primarily on regression to the mean – it certainly isn’t one based on form. Heading into this game, the Rockets have been playing out of their skin, winning four on the trot by progressively significant margins. And they haven’t just been against anyone; they beat the Kings by 18 and then 25 points, and most recently the Lakers by a huge 34 points. The Pelicans, meanwhile, have struggled after a strong start to the season, losing their last three games by at least 18 points apiece. But while the Rockets certainly appear to have improved – as they should given their plethora of young talent – their recent run of form is an exaggeration of that improvement and there are some unsustainable numbers going on in that time. They’ve showed a huge 46% from long-range, for example, during that four-game win streak, while their opponents have shot just over 32% from distance both in that span and throughout the season. The Pelicans should be a solid playoff contender this season, and while the Rockets have reason to be optimistic about the future they won’t continue this form all season. Given they are realistically probably the better team in this game, despite recent form, the Pelicans look like good value at $2.13 with BlueBet.