Andrew Ortenberg
Show Bio
The NFL playoffs are winding down and the Super Bowl is rapidly approaching, but basketball and hockey are in full swing and baseball is right around the corner. It’s a lot, and we’re grateful for it. On Friday we mostly just have NBA to pore over, but there are still some big public sides. Let’s take a look at where the public money is going as bettors once again try to beat the ‘books, with the Bulls leading the way on Friday.
NBA: Bulls -2 @ Pacers
The Bulls have been one of the best stories in the league this season, and the public has latched on to ride them to the promised land. Accordingly, Chicago is the heaviest public side among Friday’s nine NBA games. A total of 83 percent of the bets and 84 percent of the public money are taking the Bulls as a slight road favorite, per DraftKings’ internal numbers shared with us.
The Bulls are still a bit shorthanded without key guys like Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, but that isn’t enough to scare anybody off. That might have something to do with the fact that Indiana is 5-15 in their last 20 games. We’ve got a three-star best bet for this game on the total, so be sure to check out our full game preview for Bulls vs Pacers.
NBA: Hawks @ Raptors over 217.5
Nothing the public loves more than a good over. Bettors are more often than not going to want to root for points, and that’s certainly the case here for this Eastern Conference showdown. A total of 78 percent of the bets and a whopping 92 percent of the public money are coming in on the over 217.5 here for Hawks/Raptors.
Atlanta’s offense officially appears to be back on track, and they’ve put up 120+ a bunch of times recently. Toronto is coming off a game where they dropped 127 (albeit in overtime), so this one isn’t too hard to understand. We’re fading the public and going under here.
NBA: Nuggets -6 vs Pelicans
Shifting our attention to the Western Conference now. The Nuggets have been a disappointment this year as they’ve struggled with injuries, but the public is still going to jump at the opportunity to back them against one of the league’s worst teams. A total of 74 percent of the bets and 92 percent of the public money are laying the points with Denver over New Orleans.
These teams just played last week and it was a pretty close game despite the fact that the Pelicans were missing both Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas. With those guys back, I’m fading the public and going with the Pels money line as part of my Friday NBA mega parlay (+1088 odds!)
NBA: Thunder @ Trail Blazers over 212.5
Wrapping things up now with one last over. This battle between two teams in the midst of lost seasons has particularly interesting splits. A total of 77 percent of the bets but only 28 percent of the public money are on the over here. That means while that the vast majority of bets have come in on the over, the vast majority of the handle is on the under.
As such, the large volume bets have apparently been on the under. Could it be that ‘sharp’ bettors are gravitating toward the under here? Possibly, but it could also just be a whale or two that DraftKings might not necessarily respect enough to move the line based off of. Head over to our ‘NBA picks‘ tab for free picks on the side and total for every game on the hardwood tonight!
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