Ricky Dimon
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Thanksgiving weekend may be defined by football, but don’t forget about the hardwood. The NBA week continues with 6 games on Saturday, headlined by Miami visiting Brooklyn, the Lakers traveling to Cleveland and the Clippers playing host to Dallas. Philadelphia, Atlanta and New Orleans are also among the teams in action.
Below is my mega parlay for Saturday, and also be sure to check out all of our NBA picks.
Thunder ML (+100)
Heat ML (+150)
Clippers ML (+144)
NBA parlay odds: +970
For this parlay we are going with 3 underdogs on the money line. Let’s break down each of the 3 legs.
Thunder ML over 76ers (+100)
Joel Embiid (hip) is a game-time decision on Saturday. Obviously, Oklahoma City has a much better chance to win this one if Embiid is out, but even if he plays, the home team should have a decent shot. After all, Philadelphia has cooled off a bit with back-to-back losses and 4 losses in its last 6 games. Without Embiid, the 76ers didn’t stand much of a chance against Minnesota on Wednesday, failing to crack the 100-point mark.
Meanwhile, the Thunder’s stellar play of late has them tied with the Timberwolves for the best record in the Western Conference at 11-4. This young squad is growing game by game, especially on defense; it has held 3 of its last 5 opponents to 102 points or fewer. The Thunder are on a roll and they won last season’s H2H meeting at the Paycom Center by 19 points. Let’s back them for another victory.
Heat ML over Nets (+150)
The Heat made a mess of last night’s game at Madison Square Garden, where they let a 21-point lead slip away in a 100-98 loss to the Knicks. Miami still has a winning record on the road this season (6-5) and now make a short trip to Brooklyn for the second leg of this back-to-back situation. The visitors should be able to take advantage of a Nets team that is struggling. The Nets are in the midst of a 3-game losing streak that has come at the hands of the Heat, 76ers and Hawks. That recent loss to the Heat came in Miami, but there is no reason why the same outcome can’t take place in Brooklyn. Ben Simmons’ absence is hurting the Nets on the defensive end and their last 3 opponents have all scored at least 120 points. I’m rolling with Miami and not even bothering with the points.
Clippers ML over Mavericks (+144)
Like the Heat, the Clippers are also on the second leg of a back-to-back after losing at home to New Orleans on Friday. The good news is that they don’t have to travel, as Saturday’s contest against Dallas is also inside Crypto.com Arena. The Clippers have played just 1 back-to-back so far this season and they lost, but it was a solid effort in an overtime setback against the in-city rival Lakers. I think they have a good opportunity to take down the Mavericks, who are not quite as on fire as they were when they started 8-2. Luka Doncic and company are 2-3 in their last 5 and they are wrapping up a stretch in which they play 6 of 7 games on the road. Los Angeles isn’t going to be the only fatigued team on the floor tonight. Dallas is dealing with a couple of injuries to its post players, too, which could be a factor on Saturday. Give me the Clippers at home.
