It appears that Thursday night’s NBA schedule may not be working out quite the way the TV networks had planned.
For the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler is likely to be missing, while the Los Angeles Clippers are without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Meanwhile, we are pretty sure that Devin Booker will not be in action for the Phoenix Suns.
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Of course, we must soldier on, so here are two selections you can pair up for a nice parlay at America’s Bookie.
Here we go……
Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns Picks
Warriors vs. Suns Score Prediction
When: 10:05 PM ET (TNT)
NBA Betting Odds: Suns -1, Total 219.5
Neither of these teams has any rest from last night, when they both played and got different results. The Suns lost to Oklahoma City 102-97 despite 32 points from Chris Paul, who had to carry more of the offensive load with Devin Booker out (hamstring injury). Golden State beat Minnesota 123-111, despite Steph Curry having only 16 points.
We can tell you that if Paul is scoring instead of distributing, that is not the Phoenix club Monty Williams was envisioning. So as long as Booker’s out, they’re a little bit out of their game. Not to say there’s not a lot of chemistry, because there is. But with these Warriors, interesting things continue to happen.
James Wiseman, the #2 pick in the draft, was taken out of the starting lineup by coach Steve Kerr and asked to come off the bench. Does he sulk? No, he comes in off the pines last night and scores 25 points in 24 minutes. Kerr remarked that the kid had a “great head on his shoulders.” Curry should have a chip on his shoulder after a completely frozen first half. Kelly Oubre, who hasn’t fit in as well as the team hoped, had 20 points in spite of trade rumors that are swirling around him. And of course, there is Draymond Green, who created more of a defensive culture, with this club allowing the third lowest shooting percentage in the NBA (44.4%).
It’s all good.
The Play: GOLDEN STATE +1
LA Clippers at Miami Heat Picks
Clippers vs. Heat Score Predictions
When: 8:05 PM ET (Prime Network)
NBA Betting Odds: Heat -4, Total 215.5
Who’s out and who’s not is a very big part of looking at this game and will remain that way until the opening tip. Jimmy Butler is expected to be out for the Heat (COVID), and even if he were coming back, he’d be of limited use, having not played since January 9. Meyers Leonard is out too. Tyler Herro (neck) is questionable, as is Goran Dragic (groin), who did play in Wednesday night’s 109-82 loss to Denver.
Kendrick Nunn and KJ Okpala have been elevated into the starting lineup, and the bench strength has been sapped. This team stands a good chance at getting its ass beaten on the second unit.
That’s because a thin bench is not what you want to have against the Clippers, and we say that even with them being short-handed. As you may know, both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are sidelined with COVID-related issues, along with Patrick Beverley. Those are three All-NBA defensive team players right there.
So they have brought in people like Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard to start. What they’ve been doing is using Ivaca Zubac off the bench, along with Lou Williams and the other guys. So we envision there being sufficient offensive punch for the time being.
The Heat have scored in the 80s in three of their last four games. In between all that, they had 124 against the Brooklyn Nets, when Bam Adebayo exploded for 41 points. Here he’ll face some fresh, physical big men in Serge Ibaka and Zubac. The Clippers had a seven-game winning streak snapped against the Hawks on Tuesday (coincidence that was when Kawhi and George first sat out). But they’ve had a day of rest and can trade blows here.
The Play: CLIPPERS +4
Check out the rest of our free NBA picks for tonight.
