NBA Bets – The Knicks and Lakers Highlight Friday Night’s Action

With the NBA trade deadline shaking up the league as a whole this week, how will that impact your NBA Bets? Let’s take a look, as we preview two key Friday night games.

New York Knicks (29-26 SU, 33-20-2 ATS) at Cleveland Cavaliers (10-47 SU, 22-33-2 ATS)

Friday, February 25: 7:30 p.m. Live from Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH

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Betting Odds:

New York: -7 ½

Cleveland: +7 ½

Total: 219 ½

Of everything that happened in the last past week, nothing came with more pomp, circumstance and fan-fare than the Knicks acquisition of All-Star Carmelo Anthony on Monday night.

And by Wednesday he’d proven just how valuable as in his first game in a New York uniform, he led the Knicks with 27 points in a 114-108 over Milwaukee. His running mate Amare Stoudemire added 19 points and five rebounds, to make the Knicks 1-0 in the Carmelo Anthony era.

As for Cleveland, well, this is their first game in the NBA Bets without guard Mo Williams. The Cavaliers leading assist man (7.1 a game) was traded to Los Angeles, and in return the Cavaliers acquired fellow point guard Baron Davis. Davis was in the midst of a bit of a renaissance in Los Angeles this year, as he was averaging 12.8 points and seven assists per game. It is uncertain how- or if- he’ll impact Cleveland in the NBA Bets Friday night.

And really, Davis’ presence, it’s the biggest reason why we like New York here. The truth is, that while Carmelo and his 26 points per game were a warm welcome in the Big Apple, we just don’t know how Davis will impact this team. We expect it to be a struggle in his first game in the Eastern Conference, and should lead to an easy Knicks win in Friday’s NBA Bets.

NBA Bets Pick: New York -7 ½

Los Angeles Clippers (21-37 SU, 27-30-1 ATS) at Los Angeles Lakers (40-19 SU, 27-31-1 ATS)

Friday, February 25: 10:30 p.m., Live from Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA

Betting Odds:

Los Angeles Clippers: +10 ½

Los Angeles Lakers: -10 ½

Total: 194

Next up, the NBA Bets heads out to Los Angeles, where two cross-city rivals- the Lakers and Clippers- will get together.

For the Clippers, they must excited to be back in California, even if this isn’t technically a “home game.” The Clippers have played 10 straight games away from the Staples Center, with their last home game way back on February 2nd. Of those 10 games, they went just 2-8 straight up.

Meanwhile the Lakers return home after a quick trip up to Portland on Tuesday evening. In that game, they lost in overtime 106-101. Kobe Bryant had another spectacular performance, chipping in 37 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

So who do we like in the second half of the NBA Bets? Take the Clippers.

Obviously we’re not saying they’re going to win straight up, but you’ve got to expect that the Cliipers will be playing with a renewed sense of optimism back in Los Angeles. As for the Lakers, they’ve got a big game coming up against Oklahoma City on Sunday, and it seems like they’ll be looking to just get out of here with any kind of victory, no matter how pretty it is.

In the end, take the Lakers to win this game straight up. But when it comes to the NBA Bets, the Clippers are the pick to make!

NBA Bets Pick: Los Angeles Clippers +10 ½

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