NBA Live Betting: Carmelo Versus Durant Highlights Weekend Action
by Bovada Sportsbook Staff | Feb. 7, 2014
The biggest NBA superstars generally only get truly fired up for a handful of games each season. Expect the Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony and the Thunder’s Kevin Durant, certainly two of the league’s biggest names, to each play with a chip on his shoulder Sunday afternoon when they face off. The nationally televised 1 PM ET tip-off in Oklahoma City will have Live Betting at Bovada and the slumping Knicks will be sizable underdogs to the Western Conference’s best team.
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Things are not going well for the Knicks right now and probably no team is more streaky. Starting January 5 in Dallas, the Knicks won five straight games, including a 10-point victory over Miami. After that: five straight losses, including blowouts against the Clippers and Nets and a home defeat to dreadful Philadelphia. No problem, the Knicks followed that with four straight wins, albeit all at home and against teams with losing records.
Finally, last Saturday the Knicks were blown out at the Garden by Miami and have followed with losses at Milwaukee – the NBA’s worst team – and Wednesday at home to Portland. There is now talk again that coach Mike Woodson could be fired, perhaps by the February 20 trade deadline. Woodson was met in his office following Wednesday’s defeat by owner James Dolan, and that’s never a good thing. Dolan actually thought his team could win the NBA title this season, which tells you all you need to know about his objectivity.
The Knicks enter Friday’s game 11 games under .500 and would miss the playoffs even in the weak Eastern Conference. New York is -175 to miss the playoffs and +125 to make it. The Knicks have been lousy at home with an 11-17 record, so maybe it’s a good thing Sunday’s matchup is in OKC – the Knicks are 8-13 on the road, but 11-10 ATS.
The lone bright spot this season for New York has been Anthony, who is averaging 27.3 points per game, No. 2 in the NBA. There has been scuttlebutt that Melo could be dealt by the trade deadline – to the Bulls, potentially – because he will opt out of his contract this summer and become a free agent. The Knicks can pay him $30 million more than any team, however.
Anthony won the 2012-13 scoring title at 28.7 points per game, ending Durant’s three-season reign in that spot. He finished a close second at 28.1 ppg. Thus Durant might want to make a statement to Melo in this one and vice versa.
This season’s scoring race won’t be close as Durant is averaging a career-high 31.0 points. He averaged 35.9 points in January when he had 12 straight games of at least 30 and four games with at least 41. Durant is averaging "only" 27.7 points this month entering the weekend. The Thunder have won nine of their past 10 games (7-3 ATS) and have taken control of the top seed in the West. All this without Russell Westbrook, who is hoping to return from injury by February 20. OKC is the 3/2 favorite to win the West.
Oklahoma City visited New York on Christmas and blasted the Knicks 123-94 as a 10.5-point favorite. Westbrook was still playing then, and he had a triple-double, while Durant had 29 points. Anthony missed the game due to a sprained left ankle so perhaps the blowout wasn’t a big surprise.
Other Live Betting games this weekend: Heat at Jazz on Saturday, and Bulls at Lakers, Mavericks at Celtics, and 76ers at Clippers on Sunday. So that’s four games matching likely playoff teams against four of the worst clubs in the NBA. Sounds like a parlay opportunity.
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