Tonight’s seven-game slate has a couple of rematches from last week, including Bucks-Hornets and Sixers-Rockets. Five of the contests this evening feature teams from opposing conferences, so while there’s not much NBA betting data in the current season to draw from, there are some good plays on the board if you dig deep into the numbers.
Philadelphia 76ers at Houston Rockets
Best Bet: 76ers -8 / -110 (WynnBet)
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) dunks the ball past San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl (25) during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
When these two teams last met a week ago today, Philadelphia came away with a 20-point victory. The 76ers shouldn’t have much of a problem covering the spread in this one, especially facing a Houston team that gave up 141 points to the Minnesota Timberwolves last night.
Shake Milton (back) and Tyrese Maxey (health and safety protocols) both figure to miss their third game in a row, but even without either of their true point guards at their disposal, the Sixers have still managed to put up a total of 235 points in their last two outings.
Joel Embiid and Co. are 5-0 straight up and 4-1 ATS in their last five road games, with an average margin of victory of 9.8 PPG. Conversely, the Rockets haven’t notched a home win in more than a month, and are 1-5-1 against the spread with no rest.
Brooklyn Nets at Portland Trail Blazers
Best Bet: Brooklyn -12 / -110 (WynnBet)
Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden (13) drives in for a layup in the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Barclays Center. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Both the Nets and Trail Blazers come into this evening with no rest, and Brooklyn is also fresh off a cross country flight after outlasting the San Antonio Spurs yesterday. However, Steve Nash has a wild card of sorts in his back pocket: Given that tonight’s game is in Portland, Kyrie Irving is eligible to play just his second game of the season.
Brooklyn is 14-3 away from the Barclays Center this year and 10-7 against the spread – win/loss totals that only figure to improve now that they have a full roster. The Nets scored 129 points in Irving’s debut on Wednesday, marking the first time they had reached that figure in eight games.
It’s a big number for the Nets to cover, but it’s not completely unwarranted: Entering Sunday, the Trail Blazers were 1-5 against the spread this season as a home underdog. Portland is going to have their work cut for them now that their top three scorers – Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Norman Powell – will all be out of action for the foreseeable future with various ailments.
Milwaukee Bucks at Charlotte Hornets
Best Bet: Under 235 / -110 (FanDuel)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives to the basket against Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) during the second half at the Spectrum Center. Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
With Jrue Holiday (ankle) sitting for the third straight game, the under is the play in tonight’s rematch between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Charlotte Hornets. The total for this past Saturday’s game between the two was 235.5, and the 114-106 final came in well under the number.
If you’re a fan of trends, then this game has plenty of numbers that you’ll love. The under is 6-2 in Charlotte’s last eight games, and is 3-1 in Milwaukee’s last four. Both of these teams (obviously) come into this game with equal rest, and in those situations, the under is 14-6 in Bucks’ games this season.
The implied total for the Bucks in this game is around 119 points, a figure they’ve only hit once since New Year’s Day. The Hornets and Bucks boast top-3 offenses, but even if both teams hit their season average on Monday, they’ll still come in several points below the over/under total.
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