It was our aim to refer to this as ‘Dog Day’ in the NBA, but is that really going to be the case? When we look for the value, who are the teams we should move with on Saturday at America’s Bookie.
Let’s take a look:
Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers Picks
Cavaliers vs. 76ers Betting Report
Tip-off: 7:05 p.m. ET
NBA Betting Odds: Sixers – 10.5, Total 223.5
Cleveland got off to a pretty good start this season, but it’s been relatively downhill since. Such are the perils of having a number of young mistake-prone players around along with some veterans who are hoping to be dealt somewhere else (i.e., Andre Drummond). The Sixers have exceeded expectations, as it appears that the editions of executive Daryl Morey and coach Doc Rivers are positives.
Philadelphia has covered seven of its last nine at home, while the Cavaliers have dropped their last nine on the road, both straight up and against the spread.
The Play: PHILADELPHIA -10.5
Utah Jazz at Orlando Magic Picks
Tip-off: 8:05 p.m. ET
NBA Betting Odds: Jazz -10.5 (-105), Total 218
Utah lost to the Miami Heat last night, as Jimmy Butler’s 33 points trumped Donovan Mitchell’s 30. But prior to that they had won eleven out of 12, and they’ve been on a 21-4 covering run. Orlando has failed to reach 100 points in 12 of the last 25 games. They are the worst shooting team in the NBA at 42.9%.
The Play: UTAH -10.5 (-105)
Minnesota Timberwolves at Washington Wizards Picks
Timberwolves vs. Wizards Betting Report
Tip-off: 7:05 p.m. ET
NBA Betting Odds: Wizards – 4.5, Total 236
The Wizards were left for dead by many, but they have won six of their last seven games, both straight up and against the number, and now they’re just two games out of the eighth spot in the East. On this particular run they haven’t beaten pansies either, defeating the likes of Boston, Portland, the Lakers and Denver (twice).
Bradley Beal has been scoring at a league-leading pace all season long, but what they needed was for Russell Westbrook to find his place. During this string of games he’s had four triple doubles and has come either one assist or one rebound away from three others. Minnesota has made a lot of its road games close, we admit, but they are currently on a streak where they have failed to cover six consecutive games.
The Play: WASHINGTON -4.5
Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks Picks
Pacers vs. Knicks Betting Report
Tip-off: 8:05 p.m. ET
NBA Betting Odds: Pacers -1, Total 216
This season the Knicks have changed the culture completely around. Obviously you would expect that under coach Tom Thibodeau that they are going to play at a slow pace, and indeed they bring up the rear in that category, with 96.1 possessions per 48 minutes. But in their last game against Sacramento that was pushed up to 103.5, which you figured would take them out of their game, right?
Well instead, they scored 140 points in a blowout win, shooting 59% and hitting 19 triples. Of course they also allowed 49% shooting, which would be out of character for them. This season they have led the NBA in field-goal percentage defense, and have been stingiest against triples as well. To Indiana’s credit, they have been a solid 8 – 6 on the road, but that’s not enough to sway us here. So strike one for the underdogs.
The Play: NEW YORK +1
Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder Picks
Nuggets vs. Thunder Betting Report
Tip-off: 8:05 p.m. ET
NBA Betting Odds: Nuggets – 7, Total 224.5
Denver has underachieved against the number, going 13 – 19 ATS. They’ve been kind of a Jekyll-and-Hyde crew, but what’s interesting is that one of their strengths is as a road favorite, as they’ve covered 7 out of 12. For a team that was stripped of a lot of its talent, the Thunder have played well enough to be respectable, which is a feather in Mark Daigneault’s cap. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken this team under his wing, and he had 24 points in Friday night’s nine-point victory over Atlanta. The Thunder is a solid 19 – 14 against the spread. We don’t know which Denver team is going to show up, but we know the Thunder is out there playing hard every night. So we take the points.
The Play: OKLAHOMA CITY +7
Dallas Mavericks at Brooklyn Nets Picks
Mavericks vs. Nets Betting Report
Tip-off: 8:30 p.m. ET
NBA Betting Odds: Nets – 4, Total 238
The Mavericks are hoping that Kristaps Porzingis can dress and play for this one. He’s had back stiffness, which may keep him out, but when he is in the lineup he’s obviously dangerous. He averaged 23 points and 8.5 rebounds during the month of February. But every time we look out a pointspread on the Nets, we wonder who’s injured, aside from Kevin Durant, of course.
We’re not sure that the oddsmaker isn’t completely over- valuing Durant’s absenc, because this team keeps covering – they have done so in the last eight games, and recently beat Orlando by 37 points. The Nets have the top Offensive Rating in the league, with a sizzling 50.2% accuracy rate from the field. The Mavericks just don’t get there defensively, rated 26th in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions.
The Play: BROOKLYN -4
So as you can see, for the most part, it’s not really ‘Dog Day’ in the NBA. But we do have some games you can hit paydirt on!
Catch up on all of the NBA action in our NBA game recaps.
