The NBA regular season continues with an excellent seven-game slate on Saturday, March 9 — with two nationally televised matchups on-tap spread throughout the day as Bulls vs Clippers tips off the early window at 4:00 p.m. ET on NBA TV, and then Celtics vs Suns takes center stage at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Our NBA betting experts are ready with five NBA best bets for tonight's action.
For tonight’s NBA expert picks, we have five player props and one pick against the first half spread spanning Saturday's slate.
Find our best NBA bets for today below.
NBA Best Bets | Expert Predictions, NBA Bets for Saturday
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 4:00 p.m. | |
  | 7:00 p.m. | |
  | 7:00 p.m. | |
  | 8:30 p.m. | |
  | 10:00 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NBA Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Bulls vs. Clippers
Here is a little trick I like to play when multiple players are on the injury report for one team: choose the player with the strongest matchup advantage and play his points prop over before the news fully breaks.
With the Clippers listing all three of their stars healthy, it seems at least one of them may sit. If Kawhi Leonard plays with Harden or George sitting, his prop will clearly gain closing line value.
If it ends up being Kawhi to miss, his bet is voided and refunded. If all three play, then the prop is currently fairly priced and still holds a strong matchup advantage.
The matchup advantage comes from the Bulls playing DeRozan as a primary power forward now.
Pick: Kawhi Leonard Over 25.5 Points (-112)
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Mavericks vs. Pistons
By Joe Dellera
The Pistons take on the Mavericks on Saturday and Jalen Duren should continue to smash.
Duren has recorded 34 double doubles in 46 starts. Every game he has secured 10 rebounds he has reached a double double with points. This gives me greater confidence than betting his rebounds prop straight which is set at 11.5.
From a matchup perspective, Dallas allows the third-most rebounds per game as a team. They’ve surrendered double doubles to both Pascal Siakam and Domantas Sabonis in the last few weeks as well.
Duren is one of the league’s best rebounding threats, and his floor as a scorer is incredibly high. He has scored 10+ points in 87% of games while averaging 13.9 points per game and 11.8 rebounds per game.
If you don’t have the double double market, 10.5 rebounds is an okay pivot but I like him to record a double double tonight.
Pick: Jalen Duren Double Double (-130)
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Nets vs. Hornets
I know, I'm nervous about him going off against Charlotte just a touch, but I like this bet for multiple reasons.
One, Bridges hasn't been great lately — at all.
After scoring 21 in his first game after the All-Star break, he's hit this over just once in the eight games since, and that was nearly a 40-burger.
Even with that, Bridges has averaged 16.2 points per game since the break on 38/29/66 shooting splits. Moreover, Cam Thomas is probable to return to the lineup tonight, and that dude isn't coming back to not shoot.
I'll bet Bridges struggles to continue, or at the very least, he scores less than 20 points yet again.
Pick: Mikal Bridges Under 19.5 Points (-106)
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Celtics vs. Suns
The Celtics are coming off a high profile road loss to the Nuggets on Thursday and now find themselves on the road in Phoenix facing a less formidable Western Conference contender. Devin Booker was upgraded to questionable ahead of Saturday's game, but even if he plays I like Boston to cover the first half tonight.
When teams get a high usage player like Booker back in the lineup after an extended absence, the re-integration isn't always seamless, so I wouldn't be phased by his return, especially since the line will move to a more favorable number for Boston.
On the flip side, we have some injury speculation for Boston. Both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are at risk of missing the game tonight, but Tatum is probable and Brown — while he'll certainly be missed — won't leave the Celtics high and dry by missing one game.
Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis will get the usage and we'll get an even more motivated Boston team that should already be coming out of the gate hot after Thursday's loss. They'll also be looking to get revenge on the Suns who beat them in the most recent meeting.
And while that was from last season, the Joe Mazzulla Celtics don't take kindly to losing. Since he took over as head coach, the Celtics are 21-11 ATS in the first half when losing the previous head-to-head matchup, including 9-3 this season.
I'd wait until injuries are officially announced and we know who's playing, but in most scenarios, I'm betting on the Celtics to come out firing in the first half regardless of who's in or out. I just want to get an appropriate number once we have all the injury information rather than take a gamble on who I think will play or sit.
Pick: Celtics 1H -3 (-110)
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Raptors vs. Trail Blazers
By Joe Dellera
Immanuel Quickley has been incredible in an increased role without Scottie Barnes.
In his last three games without Barnes, Quickley has recorded the following stat lines:
21 points/ 9 rebounds / 18 assists
17 points / 7 rebounds / 7 assists
22 points / 7 rebounds / 11 assists
He is contributing in a multitude of ways with averages of 20 points, 12 assists, and 7.7 rebounds.
Tonight, he gets a matchup against the hapless Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers allow the ninth-most rebounds per game and the 11th-most assists per game to their opponents. Their defense has been a bit better since the All-Star Break but the usage Quickley will have tonight is significant.
I expect Quickley to exceed 13.5 REB + AST at -115, and I also don’t mind rolling the dice on a double double (+165 DK) and triple double (+2200 DK).
Pick: Immanuel Quickley Over 13.5 REB + AST (-115)
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