Free tips and bookie bonuses for the NBA Friday multi of the week

MAN, the NBA All Star weekend feels like an eternity.

We have to wait until Friday for our NBA fix, with a week between drinks.

But that’s ok, because Friday is serving up smorgasbord of action to get right back into an intriguing season.

All the action tips off at 11am AEDT when the Portland Trailblazers visit the Orlando Magic for a rather inconsequential match up between two teams a long, long way from contending.

The same could be said the the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets, who will meet at the Palace of Auburn Hills at 11.30am.

Two games tip off at noon, with all the focus on the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans. We will get our first look at the new premier front court of Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, up against James Harden and the contending Rockets.

The New York Knicks also visit Cleveland for a spanking at the hands of the reigning champion Cavaliers.

The matinee games at 2.30pm are a double feature, with the undermanned Los Angeles Clippers making the short trip to Oakland to face title favourite Golden State and the gutted Sacramento Kings hosting the the improving Denver Nuggets.

It all amounts to a six game slate of NBA action, giving us a chance to find a nice little combo that we can turn into real dosh.

Happy punting.

Suggested NBA Friday multi selections:

Detroit Pistons to defeat the Charlotte Hornets at $1.44

Houston Rockets to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans at $1.85

Cleveland Cavaliers to defeat the New York Knicks at $1.20

Denver Nuggets to defeat the Sacramento Kings at $1.67

Four leg multi pays +433 with Sportsbet.com.au

Detroit Pistons to defeat the Charlotte Hornets at $1.44

Don’t the Charlotte Hornets stink? Once on the cusp of a playoff berth, the Hornets have dropped 11 of their past 12 games and boy, did they need the All Star break. Point guard Kemba Walker’s struggles have been a direct pointer to the Hornets horrible efforts, having seemingly lost the ability to play since he was made an All Star. Walker scored seven points in the game and finished third in the three point competition at All Star weekend and will be hoping he can use that as a springboard to the great heights he reached earlier in the season. The Pistons, meanwhile, have usurped the Hornets as the team to pluck from eighth spot by the chasing pack. They have mixed some really solid play with some horrible stuff and are still trying to figure out the whole Reggie Jackson thing, but should be able to kick off the back end of the season after the All Star break with a W here.

Houston Rockets to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans at $1.85

This is the game all eyes will be on. The Pelicans pulled of daylight robbery when they filched arguably the best big man in the game, DeMarcus Cousins from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for probable bust Buddy Hield and a couple of picks. The trade, which happened right after the All Star game, gives the Pelicans the best front court in the game, but it remains to be seen how team leader Anthony Davis and Cousins work in together. If they mesh, there is going to be so much pretty two man big play between the pair, with Cousins possessing serious inside outside skills and Davis one of the most skilled interior players in the game. But we don’t think it is going to happen straight away and the Houston Rockets, who are third in the west on the back of stellar play from our MVP pick James Harden and an eclectic host of three point specialists should have enough weapons to get the job done while the Pelicans figure it all out.

Cleveland Cavaliers to defeat the New York Knicks at $1.20

In all probability another regulation win for LeBron and company…

…

Ok, you want more? The superstar will have to do it without gun big man Kevin Love, who is set to miss up to six weeks with injury, but he has Kyrie Irving and that should be enough to get past a Knicks side that is basically in turmoil. Star player Carmelo Anthony and basketball boss Phil Jackson have spent the past couple of weeks trading public barbs and there is every chance Anthony won’t be in New York by Friday’s trade deadline. This Knicks side should already be handed over to Kristaps Porzingis anyway, but, Melo or no Melo, unless they pull of some sort of ridiculous coup, things will remain the same for the perennial losers in New York.

Denver Nuggets to defeat the Sacramento Kings at $1.67

People used to say it sucks being a Denver fan. But it doesn’t suck as much as being a Sacramento Kings supporter. Let us take you back to 2011. The building Kings had a couple of young big men in DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside. They had a versatile Rookie of the Year winner in Tyreke Evans who couldn’t shoot, but had just about every other skill you would want in a swing man. And they had a little point guard named Isaiah Thomas. They now have Evans – again – who was part of the trade the sent Cousins to the Pelicans, while Whiteside is one of the best big man defenders in the game – in Miami. Isaiah Thomas is an MVP candidate in Boston, defying his height to lead the league in fourth quarter scoring. The point guard has ice in his veins. The same cannot be said for the deplorable Kings organisation, who traded Cousins for 50 cents in the dollar and continue to be a basket case. With no Cousins, expect young star centre Nikola Jokic to have an absolute monster for the Nuggets and lead them to an easy win.