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The San Antonio Spurs are set to take on the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Saturday. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Spurs-Nets prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.
The Spurs dropped their most recent game to the Philadelphia 76ers, 119-100. San Antonio has lost five of its last six as it enters the tail end of a brutal 7-game road stretch. The trip began with a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies followed by a heartbreaking last second loss to the lowly Detroit Pistons. The Gregg Popovich-led squad will still have one more game in New York following Saturday's meeting with Brooklyn before heading back home to San Antonio.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets are also in the midst of a slump. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks dominated them at Barclays Center with a 121-109 victory. Kevin Durant and company have lost four of their last five games. All those losses have been at home.
Here is how FanDuel has set the Spurs-Nets odds for this Sunday night NBA matchup.
San Antonio is at a major disadvantage heading into this matchup. Aside from being on this rough road trip, they are also extremely short-handed with several players out due to COVID. Among those in the healthy and safety protocols include Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Doug McDermott, Derrick White Jr., Thaddeus Young, and Tre Jones. All of them are rotation players for Gregg Popovich this season.
The good news for the Spurs is that Dejounte Murray made his return from the health and safety protocols a couple of games back. The 25-year old is having an All-Star caliber campaign. If not for San Antonio's record, he would definitely get more love to make his All-Star debut.
The Spurs are 15-23 on the season and are 8-13 on the road. Against the spread, they are much better at 21-17.
Why the Nets could cover the spread
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On paper, the Nets should have the big advantage, even if both squads are healthy. However, even if Brooklyn is already at near full strength, they seem to have some trouble lately in winning at home. As noted earlier, they have lost four straight at home. This includes a sorry loss to the likewise undermanned LA Clippers on January 1st, where they blew a double-digit lead down the stretch.
Obviously, the Nets will be without Kyrie Irving for this one, as he is only permitted to play on the road. Joe Harris is still out due to ankle surgery, while LaMarcus Aldridge is questionable with right foot soreness. Nonetheless, though those three are key rotation players, the Nets still have Kevin Durant and James Harden in the fold. Having those two alone should be an advantage in itself.
With their recent slide, Brooklyn has dropped to 24-13 on the season and now trail the Chicago Bulls for the best record in the East. They are an even 10-10 at home, and have been a much better team on the road at 14-3. Against the spread, the Nets are a dismal 14-21 on the season. This is certainly something to consider when making this bet.
Final Spurs-Nets prediction and pick
As bad as the Nets have been at home and against the spread, it's hard to bet against them in this matchup against the Spurs. Brooklyn should finally snap out of their funk at some point, and the could very well come against this depleted San Antonio squad. Also, the Spurs just have so many of their key players out that going with them against a Durant-Harden-led team doesn't seem too comforting.
Final Heat-Suns Prediction & Pick: Nets: -10 (-105)
