NBA In-Season Tournament 2023/24, Wednesday, 15.11.2023
NBA with a touch of Champions League? If you combine these two terms and let a little magic happen, you get the new NBA In-Season Tournament, which will be held for the first time this season.
This new format is also making its debut for us betting fans! But don’t worry, our readers will receive a promising Nuggets Clippers tip as well as a brief explanation of why I am drawing a comparison with the premier league of all things
A good sports betting bonus is always the most effective way for bettors like me to make a profit. NBA officials, meanwhile, have to think of other ways to do it – and that’s where the new format called the NBA In-Season Tournament came in.
Including preliminary rounds and a subsequent knockout phase, it is very similar to what soccer fans in Europe are used to at international club level – with one difference: the games count double here.
Take, for example, the group game between the Nuggets and the Clippers! The winner of this game is credited with the victory both in the “preliminary round ranking” and in their “regular season record.”
If there’s one team I wouldn’t bet against right now and that I specifically picked to try my hand at this new format, it’s the unstoppable Nuggets.
The defending champions have stormed back to the top of the Western Conference in a very short space of time. With a record of 8-2, Denver towers over the entire conference in terms of wins.
Yesterday’s 104-107 loss to the Rockets only plays into the hands of my Nuggets-Clippers tip. Because at home, Nikola Jokic & Co want to make up for the slip-up.
About Jokic: The Serbian was not present for his countrymen’s hussar ride at the 2023 World Cup, which only came to an end in the final against Germany. He has now started the new NBA season all the more motivated after recovering from his injury.
Jokic in particular is a crucial player who could make the difference in this pairing. He demonstrated all his experience at the board against the stumbling Californians just a few weeks ago.
Clippers nightmare? The Nuggets’ center scored 40 and 25 points respectively in his last home game against Los Angeles and in the last regular season game against Lob City three weeks ago to secure the win as his team’s best player
The Clippers, on the other hand, are almost a shambles. The signing of James Harden, who was so praised at the start of the season and who wanted to make a fresh start in the City of Angels, is increasingly turning into a disaster.
It’s not Jokic that LAC fans fear at the moment, but “The Beard”. Since his arrival, the problems on and off the pitch have piled up – and the performance of former key players has also declined rapidly.
In his last three games on the court, for example, Paul George averaged just 14 points on 26% shooting from the field. The chemistry between him and Harden just doesn’t seem to be right
Not only are the Clippers traveling to Colorado in poor shape, but they also have to put up with the ad that they have already lost eight NBA games in a row.
The 116-103 win over Denver in the last preseason game in mid-October could be a small glimmer of hope, but I’m not taking it into account at all
Firstly, the game in question took place on the West Coast and not in Denver, where the difference in altitude is considerable compared to LA. Secondly, and far more importantly, Nikola Jokic was not on the floor.
However, since the defending champions will be in full gear tonight, I think the Nuggets Clippers odds of 1.42 to 2.95 on average traded by the German bookmakers are absolutely justified.
Conclusion: James Harden is the best thing that could have happened to the Nuggets in the battle for this year’s conference crown.
Because “The Beard” just doesn’t fit in with the LAC, and I think it’s only a matter of time before his adventure in the City of Angels is declared prematurely over.
Denver usually plays a tad better at home than anywhere else, partly due to the altitude difference there. In addition, Nikola Jokic is the most effective way to overwhelm “Lob City” at the center position.
My Nuggets Clippers tip: Nikola Jokic over 31.5 points
