There was a ton of talk over the big time players that might be traded by Thursday's deadline, but in the end, Rajon Rondo and the rest of the Boston Celtics are still together, Dwight Howard is still with the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers never budged with either Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum.
There were some moves to discuss though, and a lot of players should be suiting up for their new teams by the time that NBA betting action on Saturday tips off.
The afternoon begins with the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers doing battle. It is the return for Derek Fisher to the Staples Center after being traded from the Lakers to Houston. It should also be the debut for Marcus Camby, who will add a heck of a lot of bulk to the inside defensively for a team that already has one great defensive center in Samuel Dalembert. Nick Young should be debuting for LA in this one as well.
The Clips are reeling, having lost five out of seven and going just 3-4 ATS in that stretch, and they are going to want to stop that in this 3:30 (ET) tip on Saturday afternoon.
Of the seven games on the docket on Saturday night, the showcase of the bunch pits the Dallas Mavericks against the San Antonio Spurs in a showdown in the Lone Star State. The Mavs are going to try to halt their five-game ATS skid in this one, though they are going to be up against it when they take on a San Antonio team that has averaged 115.0 PPG in its last five going into Friday's fight with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Spurs have covered five in a row in this series, though their four-game SU winning streak over Dallas came to a close when the Mavs won 101-100 in a great game in Big D on January 29.
San Antonio could have new acquisition Stephen Jackson in the lineup for this game, though he is going to be difficult to get into the fold, knowing that he was traded twice in a span of about 48 hours.
Tip time from American Airlines Center is set for 9:00 p.m. (ET) in a broadcast that will be available on NBA TV.
In the East, the Chicago Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers are going to match wits in a battle of two of the best defensive teams in the league. Chicago was rumored to be talking about some big time trades, but it never pulled the trigger on anything, while Philly's only move was picking up Sam Young from the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Bulls are off to a good start to this six-game home stand, going 3-1 SU and 2-2 ATS in the first four games. This is the final game of the bunch, but it won’t be easy, especially knowing that the Sixers already have one big win over the Bulls this year.
This showdown in the Windy City is set for 8:00 p.m. (ET).
There are two 7:00 (ET) games on Saturday night. The New York Knicks, playing under their new head coach, Mike Woodson are going to be at BankersLife Fieldhouse where they will take on the Indiana Pacers. The Charlotte Bobcats will also host the Toronto Raptors.
At 8:00 (ET), the New Jersey Nets should be debuting Gerald Wallace to their hometown crowd when they take on the New Orleans Hornets.
The two 9:00 (ET) tips that we have not yet discussed feature the Denver Nuggets taking on the hot Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors visiting the Utah Jazz.