The 2022 NBA season has less than 20 games until it reaches its regular-season conclusion and welcomes in the postseason.
The Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls have taken a slide recently. Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets are starting to fly high. Wednesday night’s slate of action presents 12 games with huge opportunities for teams and bettors alike.
Here are the best games to pick from the loaded schedule:
Chicago Bulls vs Detroit Pistons +5
The Detroit Pistons were the bottomfeeders for the entire pre-All-Star break portion of the regular season. Recently, they have flipped the script entirely, winning six of their last eight games. Rookie Cade Cunningham is continuing to adapt to the league. He is now playing like a franchise player, which is a major part of the team’s turnaround.
Chicago, on the other hand, has lost five straight games after once occupying the top spot in the East; they played a bunch of championship contenders during their recent losing stretch and will be salivating at the opportunity to play an inferior opponent, but they are unlikely to completely shut down a young team with momentum like the Pistons have. Chicago could very well win this contest, but Detroit should keep it close.
Denver Nuggets -5 vs Sacramento Kings
The Denver Nuggets have gone on a run recently, winning nine of their last 10. Their only defeat was a 12-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic has recorded consecutive triple-doubles in his last two outings, bolstering his case for the league’s highest individual honor once again, while Denver has successfully created space between themselves and the Minnesota Timberwolves, currently the last team in the play-in tournament.
Sacramento made a shock move at the deadline by trading Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield for Domantas Sabonis, along with other pieces, in what was labeled a “win now” deal.
The Kings have gone 3-10 since they made this trade. They have become all too familiar with being blown out by their opponents. When the Kings played a two-0 game series against the Nuggets a couple of weeks ago, Denver won by 18 points before beating them by five a couple of days later.
Los Angeles Lakers ML vs Houston Rockets
It would help if LeBron James could score 56 points every night, just as he did against the Golden State Warriors a few days ago, but the Lakers should be able to defeat the lowly Houston Rockets with or without a historic performance from “The King.”
The only reason that this pick is on the moneyline instead of the -5 spread is that LeBron sat out of LA’s last game due to knee soreness. This has been a recurring issue this season and could force him to miss the battle in Houston.
Even if he does not play, the Lakers’ supporting cast has enough talent and showed enough fight against the San Antonio Spurs Monday to snag a W.
Houston was always going to struggle this season because of their youth and inexperience. Almost the entire roster is full of ascending players who are inconsistent and still improving.
Chrisitan Wood is the main exception to this rule and should feast on the shaky interior defense of the purple and gold, but it would be a shock if the Rockets manage to take down the Lakers.
