Best bets for NBA, NHL, college basketball games on Thursday, Jan. 15
It has been almost nine years since the Atlanta Hawks posted a victory in Portland. Head coach Quin Snyder hopes this is the year the drought ends.
The Hawks (20-22) conclude their four-game road trip when they visit the Moda Center to take on the Portland Trail Blazers (19-22) at 10 pm ET on Thursday. Atlanta has lost its last eight games in “The City of Roses,” last winning when it beat the Trail Blazers 109-104 in overtime on Feb. 13, 2017.
After starting their trip with wins over the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors, the Hawks lost 141-116 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. Portland is looking to avoid a third straight setback after losing to the New York Knicks 123-114 at home on Sunday and the Warriors 119-97 on the road two days later.
Seven more games are on Thursday night’s NBA schedule, one of which is a matchup between the Boston Celtics (24-15) and the Miami Heat (21-19) at 7:30 pm ET at the Kaseya Center. The Celtics have won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams, including a 129-116 home win last month, and four straight in Miami.
There are 10 games on the NHL slate, one pitting the Vancouver Canucks (16-25-5) against the Columbus Blue Jackets (20-19-7) at 7 pm ET at Nationwide Arena. The Canucks, who defeated the Blue Jackets 4-3 at home earlier this season, are looking to end their eight-game losing streak (0-6-2) as they complete a six-game road trip.
Thursday’s busy college basketball schedule includes a Conference USA clash between UTEP (5-11) and Delaware (5-11) at 7 pm ET at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del. The Miners and Fightin’ Blue Hens are both struggling as each team has lost four of their last five contests.
The Hawks are 3.5-point favorites over the Trail Blazers in the NBA’s latest sweepstakes, while the Celtics are 2.5-point favorites over the Heat. The Blue Jackets are 168 on the money line against the Canucks and Delaware is a 1.5-point favorite against UTEP.
Below is a summary of what to watch and bet on Thursday, Jan. 15. All Eastern times
The best NBA betting, where to watch
Celtics at Heat
Time: 7:30 p.m Location: Miami | TV: NBA League Pass | Broadcast: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine Choice — Model: Celtics -143 | The expert: Derrick White Over 9.5 rebounds + assists (-128, Mike Barner)
The Celtics began a four-game road trip Monday with their third loss in four games, a 98-96 setback against the Indiana Pacers. But Boston has won eight of its past 10 away games, while the Heat lost three straight and four of five before edging the Phoenix Suns 127-121 on Tuesday. The SportsLine Projection Model sees the Celtics extending their winning streak in Miami to five games as they emerge victorious with 55% of predictions. SportsLine NBA expert Mike Barner believes Boston guard Derrick White will be a factor on the boards and setting up his teammates as he has averaged five rebounds and five assists in his last 13 games, including at least 10 times in that span.
Hawks at Trail Blazers
Time: 10 p.m Location: Portland | TV: NBA League Pass | Broadcast: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine Choice — Model: Trail Blazers +3.5 (-107) | The expert: Nickeil Alexander-Walker Over 20.5 points (-118, Mike Barner)
The Trail Blazers have split 20 of their home games this season but had good success at the Moda Center before Sunday’s loss to New York, winning five straight at home. Several of those wins have come against major rivals, as they beat Boston by six points in late December and beat the Houston Rockets twice in a three-day span last week. They may not hand Atlanta its ninth straight loss in Portland, but the SportsLine Projection Model feels the Trail Blazers will keep it close as their simulations cover the spread 56% of the time. Barner thinks Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker will continue to produce offensively, as the 27-year-old has stepped up in the absences of Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles) and Zaccharie Risacher (knee) by scoring at least 22 points in each of Atlanta’s last three games.
The best NHL betting, where to watch
Canucks at Blue Jackets
Time: 7 p.m Location: Columbus, Ohio | TV: ESPN+ | Broadcast: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine Selection — Model: Under 6.5 (+104) | The expert: Green Jackets -1 (-111, Matt Severance)
The Canucks are one of the lowest scoring teams in the NHL, tied for 28th with 125 goals. They’ve struggled to convert late, tallying a total of five tallies in their last four games and scoring more than once in one of those contests. With that in mind, the SportsLine Projection Model thinks the goals will be relatively high on Thursday as the Under hits more than 60% of its predictions. SportsLine expert Matt Severance (26-12-1, +1023.5 in his last 39 picks including Columbus) expects the Blue Jackets to close out the spread as the Canucks look to finish their six-game road trip unscathed as the eight-game homestand awaits.
Best bet for CBB, where to watch
UTEP in Delaware
Time: 7 p.m Location: Newark, Del. | TV: ESPN+ | Broadcast: Fubo (Try it for free)
SportsLine Selection — Model: Above 127.5 (-107) | The expert: Delaware -1.5 (-110, Larry Hartstein)
Neither team is strong offensively as both are in the bottom three in scoring in Conference USA. Both also gave up a fair amount of points, with the Miners allowing an average of 72.6 and the Fightin’ Blue Hens allowing 70.8 per contest. The SportsLine Projection Model doesn’t see either team shutting down the other in this matchup as its projection has the Over hitting 85.5% of the time. SportsLine expert Larry Hartstein (6-0 in his last six ATS picks including UTEP) supports Delaware’s coverage as the Miners are 0-6 away from home and have lost their last three conference games by double digits.
