The NBA season continues on Sunday with seven games spread out from the afternoon into the evening. Our betting experts have three best bets, including a prop bet, a total pick and a spread play. Find their best bets and analysis below.
NBA Odds & Picks
Nets vs. Warriors Prop
Joe Dellera: I wrote about this in my Player Props Forecast, and the block party simply won’t stop.
Today, Nic Claxton looks to extend his streak of 3+ blocks to an impressive 11 consecutive games. The 11 consecutive games tie a franchise record set by Shawn Bradley in March 1996.
Claxton has emerged as a DPOY candidate with his shot blocking prowess. He’s averaged 3.9 blocks per game over this stretch – let’s set it and forget it while rooting for history.
Nets vs. Warriors Total
Matt Moore: This number is crazy high given how good both of these teams are defensively. The Warriors are 13th in defense, while the Nets are 4th (schedule-adjusted at DunksAndThrees.com). Without Kevin Durant, the over is 2-2 in Nets games, but that's vs. a total of 228 with an actual combined average of 233.75, two full points below this total. Warriors home games this season are 13-9 to the under with an average total line of 233, also below this number by several points.
These are two switch-heavy defenses, and switching defenses also give these two offenses issues.
There will be scoring here, but this number is high enough to give value playing the under.
Pick: Under 236 |
Lakers vs. Trail Blazers Spread
Chris Baker: This is an outstanding spot for the Trail Blazers to get right. They have a one-day rest advantage over the Lakers as they haven’t played since Thursday night. In that Thursday night game, they didn’t look like themselves but were also coming off a rough loss and travel from Denver on Tuesday night.
The Trail Blazers will have no travel/rest issues here, but I expect the Lakers to look sluggish on the road. The Lakers haven’t played a road game since January 9th, and I expect them to struggle to come out with the requisite energy level especially considering they will be at a rest disadvantage.
Additionally, the Trail Blazers match up well here as they have multiple wing-defenders capable of defending LeBron James. Between Josh Hart, Jerami Grant, and Gary Payton II, I believe that they will do a great job of limiting James here.
The Lakers don’t have the talent to score with this guard tandem of Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons. With Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker out due to injury, the Lakers have been forced to distribute their guard minutes between Patrick Beverley, Dennis Schroder, Kendrick Nunn and Russell Westbrook. These players just aren’t competent enough shooters to punish this Portland defense for its mistakes.
The final reason I am on the blazers here is the return of Payton II. Through a small sample size of 192 possessions, the Blazers have an amazing 128.6 Offensive Rating with Payton II on the floor. He has a huge impact player on both ends, and I expect him to help them cover tonight. Play this up to -7.
Pick: Trail Blazers -6 |
