January 22, 2023 17:00:00
Dallas Mavericks – Los Angeles Clippers 8:30 pm
The match day begins immediately with a tight and unpredictable match, both teams going through a weaker period and it is a great mystery which of them will be able to recover from this soon. Dallas is still in the playoffs, but they’ve only won four out of ten games, and only two of their last five, but they recently managed to snap a three-game losing streak by defeating Miami. The home team, who previously struggled with minor injuries, may flex from time to time, but Christian Wood is unlikely to play today either, although against the Clippers, who are known to be short on tall men, it doesn’t mean much. than losing against any other team. The Clippers are not in a better position than today’s opponent either, as the guests have also won only two meetings in the last five matches, and the team is trying to improve its position with the return of Paul George after a longer period without results. With both of their stars said fit to play, LAC will just have to deal with injuries to Luke Kennard and John Wall. Dallas’ primary goal now is to catch the sinking Pelicans for fourth in the West, which will almost certainly require a win today, while the Clippers are still battling for sixth. It is difficult to predict anything about the match: since we will see a fight between equal forces, the individual additions of the stars will be the difference between the two teams. The two teams have already played against each other twice before, and so far their tally is one-on-one there, and they had two close matches back then, and there’s every chance of that even today.
Miami Heat – New Orleans Pelicans 9:30 p.m (Live – Sport 1)
The Pelicans are still expecting Brandon Ingram to be their savior, according to the news, he was supposed to return, but that still awaits him today, and his full recovery still takes a while. Without him and Zion, the team can only function in a limited way, they have lost seven times in their last ten games and have won only one of their last five. The Heat, on the other hand, are starting to find themselves, after managing to win three out of five games to reach sixth place in the East, the Butlers benefited greatly from the Pacers’ decline. The Heat’s injury list is always one of the longest before games, but now they’re facing a team that’s more affected than they are in this regard. The last time the two teams met three days ago, Miami held their opponent under 100 points and won easily, we’d be surprised if this match turned out differently now, maybe McCollum’s better day will improve the chances of the guests.
Toronto Raptors – New York Knicks 00:00
This may be the eastern version of the Dallas Clippers game, and neither team is in their best form, but both are fighting for the playoffs or places to play, so from this point of view they have an important meeting. After a short better streak, the Raptors fell into a hole again, and now they only managed to win one out of five, let’s say they just won against the Knicks, and then the Canadian team defeated today’s opponent in overtime. New York also had better days during the season, and now they are traveling to Toronto after three straight losses, and are tied for sixth and seventh in the East, so success will be very important in order to overtake or at least keep up the pace. with Miami. All players are expected to be available for the Raptors, Fred VanVleet may also return after a lost game, and the team may stand a chance against the Nicks, who are also in their ups and downs, with a full team at home, who will have to deal with Mitchell Robinson’s finger injury in the coming weeks. There is no clear winner in the game, there are arguments and counterarguments for both teams, Toronto’s back-to-back appearances and fatigue can be a factor, the Knicks are better than the Canadiens at home, but Toronto can play with a perfectly healthy lineup – so it’s hard to predict anything.
Denver Nuggets – Oklahoma City Thunder 02:00
Denver can be mentioned in the same sentence as the Boston team, which is considered the best team in the league, and the home team is in great shape and shows no signs of slowing down. Like the leader in the Eastern List, the former in the West has a nine-game winning streak and has every chance of extending this to ten matches now, as chances are once again for Jokic. However, they can’t take this game seriously, because the Thunder are having their best days, they’ve won seven times out of ten, it’s already around 50% and they’re in a great fight for the Western Playoffs – maybe no one expected this, one of the biggest positive upsets in the game. The season is their turn. However, they are not the favorites for today’s match, they go home to Denver, who managed to overtake Boston in offense after a long run, so they already have the best result in the league. The Jokics bring in absolute MVP numbers, have tripled four times in their last five games (even then only lost one rebound), its hard for anyone to do anything with, we just don’t see OKC can work this out. The home team has a very long list of injuries, for example Jokic and Murray’s play is questionable, but we would be surprised if they both miss the match. The reasons are in favor of the home team, but that would also require the Serbian quarterback to play, though the team easily won their previous win over Indiana without him. OKC has already caused so many upsets during the season that we wouldn’t rule out the possibility of that happening now either, Gilgeous-Alexander’s great game might suffice for anything, but an away hit won’t be a reality this time, they just might be. Able to calculate in advance with this defeat in Oklahoma.
Phoenix Suns – Memphis Grizzlies 02:00
The last time the Grizzlies lost to the Lakers in a condensed game after 11 wins, they failed to break the record for the team’s longest unbeaten streak. Now, however, they can improve immediately, because the Suns have been one of the weakest teams in the league in recent weeks, and that may remain the case until the injured recovers. Monty Williams’ team has surprisingly won their last two games against the Nets and the Pacers, who are also seriously ill for one reason or another. Now, however, they can get back on the field without a day of rest, without Booker, Paul, Chamett, Cam Paine, Cam Johnson (although Paul, Chamett, and Johnson day in and day out), and a sleazy team can feel more relaxed. Second consecutive match. The two teams met about a week ago, and the Grizzlies dictated the format very smoothly. Guests can line up a whole team, they played great basketball all season, it’s hard to imagine that the home team, without so many important players, especially in attack, will be able to compete with Memphis, which is the absolute leader in the league in defense.
Golden State Warriors – Brooklyn Nets 02:30
This pairing can be seen as a boost, GSW is starting to get back on the road to victory, even if they haven’t been able to put together a long undefeated streak lately. Recently, the Currys have completed a five-match away run in which they have managed to win three times, alternating between wins and losses, and this is considered particularly good based on their away record to date, at least it was enough for them to finish sixth with their record by 50%. The Nets are having a hard time right now, they’ve only won one game since Durant’s injury, when Kyrie Irving needed 48 points to win at Utah. Although the defending champions were without all their key players in the previous match, now everyone can be used except Iguodala Wiseman. In principle, it will be very difficult for the guests to replace one of the best players in the league. The last time the two teams played each other was before Christmas when Brooklyn, at full strength, crushed Curry-less GSW to the ground by scoring 140+ points – but now the Nets have to be without their star player, which could fundamentally determine the balance of power.
Portland Trail Blazers – Los Angeles Lakers 03:00
The two sides are separated by only half a game under the Western line of play, so this meeting will be particularly important for both teams, and a match with a strong scent is expected. After a not-so-steel first half of the season, the Blazers have recently sunk deeper, winning only three of their last ten meetings and slowly dropping out of the top ten teams in the West. Despite Lillard’s impressive form in recent weeks, he was also defeated in the games against Denver and Philly, even though they were not the favorites in either meeting. It is difficult to say anything about Los Angeles, although their results are half as good, but there is no big problem in the game, they have held out against much stronger teams even without Davis. Most recently, to the point where they beat the Western leader Grizzlies with a huge move, and Schroeder stole the clutch and 2+1, breaking the Memphis Eleven’s undefeated streak. The recovery of the injured key players is also progressing at a good pace, according to the latest news, we can see Anthony Davis return to the field within a week, but today, even in addition to his star, Austin Reeves and Looney Walker IV can not be counted on, but soon the three will be healthy good. At the moment, even LeBron James entering the field is questionable, however, we’d be surprised if the superstar was injured in such a hugely important game – as it would be a boost for both sides in terms of getting into playing spots. . The balance can tilt to either side, the question is what the Lakers perimeter defense can do against Lillard, overall there is potential for a playoff mood.
