- The Boston Celtics are underdogs against the Miami Heat on the road.
- Barcelona has -160 odds to defeat Athletic Bilbao on the three-way moneyline.
- The Big Bash League brings two solid cricket matchups to the table in the early morning.
LAS VEGAS - Welcome to the Daily Sports Betting Preview on this excellent Wednesday.
Today’s Preview starts out with an examination of the matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. Then, in La Liga, Barcelona takes on Athletic Bilbao as a fairly serious favorite.
Finally, the Big Bash League brings two solid matches to the betting slates of cricket watchers in the early morning of Thursday.
There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started!
NBA Betting
The Boston Celtics have unfinished business with the Miami Heat after 2020’s bubble playoffs, wherein they lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Throughout the series, Boston was favored on a game to game basis, but the Heat kept pulling out wins.
Now, with the stakes lower, Boston looks to reassert themselves as a top team in the Eastern Conference.
The odds for this matchup look a lot like they did in the playoffs.
Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat
- Boston Celtics +115
- Miami Heat -135
The matchup is remarkably close, although this time the Heat are favored, due in part to home-court advantage and in part to their performance in the playoffs.
Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat
- Boston Celtics +2.5 (-110)
- Miami Heat -2.5 (-110)
The Celtics enter this matchup with a better record than the Heat, by virtue of having played more games.
Boston is 5-3, while Miami is 3-3.
Both teams have been perfectly even against the spread so far this year, with Boston at 4-4 and Miami at 3-3 ATS. It’s worth noting, however, that Boston enters this matchup on only one day of rest. In their last six games on that amount of rest, they have only covered the spread once.
Meanwhile, in Miami’s last five games as a home favorite, they have covered the spread five times, a perfect 5-0.
Now, some of these trends are using data from last season, but both teams are quite similar to what they were last season. However, there is one additional crucial factor in why the lines favor Miami: injuries.
#NEBHInjuryReport vs. Miami:
Javonte Green (Health and Saftey protocol) - OUT
Romeo Langford (right wrist surgery) - OUT
Marcus Smart (right thumb sprain) - QUESTIONABLE
Jeff Teague (left ankle sprain) - QUESTIONABLE
Kemba Walker (left knee injury recovery) - OUT— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 5, 2021
Boston will be without Kemba Walker, and possibly also without Marcus Smart and Jeff Teague, which puts a lot of pressure on their wings, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, to create their own shots.
Brown and Tatum have been great so far this season, but going up against a team as complete as the Heat without multiple starters is definitely a big ask.
NBA bettors will have to weigh the injury problems that Boston has been having against how good Tatum and Brown have been this year in order to find a satisfactory wager on this matchup.
La Liga Betting
Barcelona have been having a tough year so far, as a club. In the offseason, Lionel Messi attempted to leave the club, and only returned so as not to get involved in legal issues with his own team.
This move was a reaction to Barcelona’s lack of true competitiveness in European competition, a trend that has now come home to roost. Right now, Barcelona is sitting in fifth place in La Liga, ten points behind league leaders Atletico Madrid and eight points behind rivals Real Madrid.
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The club is not in a good spot, and a poor performance this season all but guarantees a Messi exit at the end of it.
Barcelona’s record in their last five domestic games is fairly solid - they’ve racked up three wins and two draws.
However, they need to make up ground on teams like Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, who have been roughly as good or better than that over their recent games.
At this point, it seems as though every game is a must-win game for Barcelona, including Wednesday’s game against Athletic Bilbao.
Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao
- Athletic Bilbao +450
- Barcelona -160
- Draw +310
Barcelona sit as significant favorites on the three-way moneyline, meaning that a Barcelona win is the most likely outcome by far.
Bilbao are a reasonable team in La Liga, sitting in ninth place, seven points behind Barcelona.
Make no mistake - even though Barcelona is having a down year, they are still at worst the third-best team in this league.
The no draw line makes the expected result for this matchup quite clear.
Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao - No Draw
- Athletic Bilbao +290
- Barcelona -450
In the absence of a possible draw, Barcelona moves from -160 to -450, demonstrating that a lot of the value in the -160 is because of the possibility of a draw making it a riskier wager.
This matchup should be an interesting one from the perspective of a soccer bettor forced to choose between the three-way moneyline and the no draw moneyline.
Big Bash League Betting
The Big Bash League takes place in Australia, and consists of Twenty20 cricket matches.
Twenty20 cricket is designed to be condensed and more watchable, making it a solid introduction to the larger game for those unfamiliar with the sport.
There are two matchups in the Big Bash League in the early hours of Thursday morning, meaning that bettors in the US might want to get in on that action today.
Nobody wants to stay up until 2:10 a.m. EST in the morning to watch their cricket wagers pay off - hopefully.
The first match is between the Hobart Hurricanes and the Sydney Thunder, the third and second-ranked teams in the league respectively.
Hobart Hurricanes vs. Sydney Thunder
- Hobart Hurricanes -110
- Sydney Thunder -110
The Hurricanes are 5-3 with 18 points so far in the league, while the Thunder edge them by one point, and have a record of 5-2. However, net run rate has the Thunder as the best team in the Big Bash League, by far. They are the only team in the league with a NRR above 1.0.
Given this, the even odds at online sportsbooks on the matchup might make the Thunder a solid play for cricket bettors.
The second match is between the Brisbane Heat and the Melbourne Stars, who are the seventh and fifth-ranked teams in the league.
Brisbane Heat vs. Melbourne Stars
- Brisbane Heat +120
- Melbourne Stars -145
The Stars may be fifth in the league, but they have a negative net run rate. Meanwhile, the Heat are under .500, but they have a positive net run rate.
Now, net run rate isn’t everything - it’s similar to goal differential in soccer - but it can be an important statistical indicator.
Cricket bettors can look at various indicators when placing their bets, but it must be mentioned that net run rate favors the underdogs in this matchup.
Maxwell joined the USAOnlineSportsbooks team in 2019. He focuses on creating sports betting content that informs and educates. He focuses on the NBA, the NFL, College Football and Basketball, and whatever else comes across his desk.
