NBA betting odds: Thursday’s lines
By Jeff Glauser
The Russell Westbrook Show highlights a relatively quiet evening of NBA matchups to bet on Thursday.
Westbrook is indeed having a historic season, and there is indeed a large disparity between the Oklahoma City Thunder’s and Dallas Mavericks’ win totals, but that doesn’t make this game a sure bet. Against the spread, the Thunder are just 22-23-1, while the Mavericks are slightly better at 22-22-1. Dallas is missing veterans Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews and J.J. Barea, but is also fresh off of supplying a 49-point beatdown to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are finally starting to play like their influx of young talent dictates they should. Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Wiggins and company will look for their fourth win in a row while the floundering Indiana Pacers will try to avoid losing its fourth consecutive game. The Pacers are just 6-16 on the road.
In a game that may be ultimately meaningless outside of Arizona and Colorado, the Phoenix Suns will travel to face the Denver Nuggets in the first of a home-and-home series. Although just 15-30 overall, the Suns are surprisingly impressive against the spread, at a sturdy 25-20, and even better as an underdog: 23-12. Keep your eyes peeled for future stars Eric Bledsoe and Nicola Jokic on both sides of the court.
Next: NBA weekly betting trends: Lakers not ready for showtime
The aforementioned Lakers have been having a rough go of it lately. After starting the season 7-5, they’ve dropped 28 of their following 37 games and, with D’Angelo Russell out for an extended period, it doesn’t look to get any better. Things are looking much better for the Utah Jazz, who currently sit atop the Northwest Division. Hosting the Lakers could be just the remedy for ending a two-game slide.
The following are the most updated consensus lines, courtesy of VegasInsider.com:
Thursday, January 26:
- 8:00 ET Oklahoma City (-9.5) vs. Dallas
- 8:05 ET Minnesota (-3) vs. Indiana
- 9:05 ET Denver (-7) vs. Phoenix
- 10:30 ET Utah (-13) vs. L.A. Lakers