Filip Tomic
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The Thanksgiving festivities are over, and the NBA In-Season Tournament is back. A total of 10 games are coming our way this Friday, along with an ESPN doubleheader tipping off at 7:30pm ET. I’ve picked out 3 Western Conference games for tonight’s NBA mega parlay, which you can read below.
Don’t forget to check our NBA predictions for Friday’s action. Let’s dive into it now:
Nuggets -3 (-112)
Timberwolves -4 (-112)
Pelicans ML (+180)
Parlay odds: +903
Nuggets -3 (-112)
It’s been a rather disappointing road trip so far for the defending champion Denver Nuggets, with a 1-3 SU record in 4 games. Before returning home they’ll face the Houston Rockets once again, looking to get revenge for a 3-point loss which started the mini crisis they’re in. With just 2 wins in 6 games, they’ve dropped to 3rd in the Western Conference standings, however they can still win their In-Season Tournament group if they beat the Rockets tonight and the Pelicans slip up against the Clippers.
Despite the struggles, Nikola Jokic has continued to play well. He had a 30-point triple-double in the loss to Orlando, and I’m sure he will be extra motivated to get his team back on track. Houston has had a positive start to the season, but the Rockets have been dominated by the Nuggets lately, winning just 2 of their last 10 meetings. They have won their last 7 home games, but it’s time someone finally showed them they’re not as invincible as they think they are.
Timberwolves -4 (-112)
It’s a battle of two Western Conference juggernauts tonight in Minnesota with the Sacramento Kings coming to town. The Timberwolves are off to their best start in franchise history with 11 wins in 14 games, surpassing their record from the early 2000s when Kevin Garnett was still on the team. They just beat the Knicks and Sixers by double digits at home, and at 7-0 they are one of 3 remaining unbeaten home teams in the NBA. Anthony Edwards is on a roll and he loves playing against the Kings. In the last 5 meetings he has averaged 27.4 points per game, while in the last 2 meetings at Target Center he’s scored 30+ points on over 50% shooting.
The Kings will conclude a 6-game road trip with tonight’s game, after starting it with 3 wins in a row they’ve been cooled off by the New Orleans Pelicans with back-to-back defeats. They’ll be down a very important rotation player in Keegan Murray, who has had at least 17 points in 3 of his last 6 outings. Sacramento has struggled in the teams’ head-to-head meetings, going just 2-5 ATS/SU in the last 7. In order to beat the Timberwolves you need to be at full strength and the Kings just aren’t at the moment. Minnesota has won 8 of 9 games this season when entering the game as the favorite. The T-Wolves have also covered in all 7 games at Target Center. Look for those trends to continue.
Check out our Heat vs Knicks Same Game Parlay
Pelicans ML (+180)
Lastly we have the New Orleans Pelicans beating the LA Clippers on the road. Moving Russell Westbrook to the bench appears to have fixed all the problems the Clippers were having, as they’ve won their last 3 games. However, 2 of those were against the San Antonio Spurs,which isn’t exactly a good measuring stick. They failed to cover the spread in the 7-point win over San Antonio on Wednesday, and will need a lot more time for everything to settle into place before we can start backing them on a consistent basis.
Speaking of consistency, the Pelicans have had that in the teams’ head-to-head meetings, winning 9 of the last 10. They’ve also covered the spread in 10 of the last 11 against LA, and in 5 of their last 6 visits to Crypto.com Arena. So even though they are 5.5 point underdogs, I wouldn’t be discouraged by that number. C.J. McCollum remains out, but this team has managed to record 4 wins in 5 games, while covering the spread in all 5 of them. Brandon Ingram in particular enjoys playing against them and has scored 30+ points in 3 straight meetings. I think the Pels are more than capable of causing a shock, so I’ll back them on the money line.
