Filip Tomic
Show Bio
We are expecting fireworks tonight in the Association as the Emirates NBA Cup resumes. The biggest game is undoubtedly in Boston where the Celtics look to end the Cavs historic 15-0 run. Check out our NBA Picks page to see who we like in that game , I’ve come up with my 3 best bets for this evening combining them into an NBA mega parlay. Let’s take a closer look!
Cavaliers ML (+172)
Grizzlies -4 (-110)
Pelicans +11.5 (-110)
NBA parlay odds: +891
You can find the best odds on our NBA parlay picks for today over at Caesars Sportsbook, where new users can click here to sign up and get up to $1,000 in first-bet protection!
Cleveland Cavaliers ML over Boston Celtics (+172)
People are quick to jump all over the Celtics in this game, as if they are not playing a team that’s 15-0 on the season. This will be only the 3rd time this season that the Cavaliers are underdogs in a game, but that shouldn’t discourage anyone from backing them to continue their historic run. At 11-4 ATS, the Cavs have been one of the most reliable teams in the league this season and they also have a really solid ATS record in head-to-head meetings against Boston at 8-4 in the last 12 games. This will undoubtedly be their biggest test of the season, but this team has proven to me they are battle-tested and ready to reach heights we haven’t seen since the days LeBron James was on the roster.
Boston has also been spectacular to start their campaign, but in 2 of their last 3 games, they lost to Atlanta and needed overtime to beat a pretty bad Toronto Raptors team. They could also be without the reliable Payton Pritchard, who is one of the most productive bench players in the NBA. With the Cavs improving their already impressive three-point shooting numbers to 44.2% in their last 3 games, I really believe they have a chance to escape Boston with a victory here.
Memphis Grizzlies -4 over Denver Nuggets (-110)
The Nuggets have been a flat-out disaster without Nikola Jokic in their last 2 games, failing to even sniff the 100-point mark against the Pelicans and Grizzlies. With the big fella once again questionable to play here due to personal reasons, I feel like this is a good spot to back a pretty solid Memphis team that’s 5-2 at home this season. They too are missing some important pieces in Zach Edey, Ja Morant and potentially Marcus Smart, but unlike Denver, the Grizzlies are pretty much used to not having starters available on a regular basis.
Memphis has covered the spread in 7 of 8 meetings at FedExForum, plus they enter tonight’s game on a 6-0 ATS run. Again, it all depends on whether or not Jokic plays here, but if you take him away then the Nuggets are a lottery team. These 2 teams just played each other on Sunday and the Grizzlies won easily by 15 points at home, holding Denver to just 41% shooting from the field and dishing out 8 more assists. With not much changing in these 2 days, I’m backing Memphis to come out on top once again.
New Orleans Pelicans +11.5 over Dallas Mavericks (-110)
Despite being down several key players, the New Orleans Pelicans have shown they still have a lot of character in them and have been in games lately. They even beat the Denver Nuggets a couple of days ago, although they were without Jokic. They’re double-digit underdogs against Dallas here as they look to win their 2nd Emirates NBA Cup game in a row. This team has started to gel together, as the replacements are finally getting used to playing each other. They just pushed the Lakers to the brink, losing by just 5 points.
After 4 consecutive losses by 1 possession, the Mavericks finally bounced back with back-to-back wins over San Antonio and Oklahoma City. The win over the Thunder was particularly impressive as they did it without Luka Doncic. He is once again questionable here with a knee problem and although they just beat OKC, the Mavs were just 4-8 without Doncic last season. New Orleans might not have the flashy names on paper right now, but they are showing a lot more passion than some other teams are, playing as underdogs on a nightly basis. If they can keep the pace somewhat slow here, I give them a chance to keep things close.
Read our full New Orleans Pelicans vs Dallas Mavericks prediction
