The NBA week begins with a small but juicy 4-game slate. There are 2 Eastern Conference showdowns tonight between the 76ers and Heat and the Celtics and Knicks. And while the other 2 matchups aren’t exactly of the marquee variety, they still hold value for his mega parlay.
Along with this mega parlay, be sure to check out our NBA picks for today.
76ers win by 11+ (+175)
Hornets -5.5 (-110)
Magic/Pelicans under 228 (-110)
Parlay odds: +902
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Philadelphia 76ers win by 11+ (+175) over Miami Heat
Things are starting to go south in South Beach. The Heat have lost 4 games in a row and are on the verge of slipping out of the playoffs. It started with a 28-point loss to the Bucks in the first game after the all-star break and got worse when they suffered a 5-point loss to the young and undisciplined Hornets. Looking at a bigger sample size, the Heat have won just 3 of their last 9 games. But digging deeper, those 3 wins came against the Pacers, Rockets and Magic — 3 teams that aren’t exactly heavy hitters. The root of their struggles is their offense, which has been one of the worst in the entire league. Miami averages the fewest points per game and has the second-worst shooting percentage of the 30 teams.
In their last 9 games they rank 28th in offensive rating and 30th in EFG%. They will be facing a Philadelphia team that just suffered a gut-wrenching loss to the Celtics and will be looking to make a statement with this game. The Heat’s offense will continue to be their Achilles’ heel, and this game should be all Philly from the start.
Charlotte Hornets -5.5 (-110) over Detroit Pistons
This matchup isn’t exactly must-see television, but there is value in the spread. These teams sit 14th and 15th in the Eastern Conference standings and have a combined 34 wins. However, one team is playing much better than the other. The Pistons have waved the white flag on the season, as they’ve lost 4 games in a row and 8 of their last 10. They have shifted their goal from winning basketball games to French-phenom Victor Wembanyama. As for the Hornets, they are buzzing in Charlotte. They snapped their 7-game losing streak and turned it into a 4-game winning streak, which includes beating the Hawks, Timberwolves and Heat — all respectable opponents.
A big reason for that is their defense, which had been laughable all season but ranks 6th in the last 4 games. There are only a few teams in the association that have a worse record than the Hornets, and fortunately for them they get 1 of the 3 teams on Monday night.
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Orlando Magic vs New Orleans Pelicans Under 228 (-110)
Points will be hard to come by in New Orleans on Monday night. Both squads have been lacking on the offensive end of the court recently which makes this high total surprising. The total has gone under in 7 of Orlando’s last 8 games and 4 of New Orleans’ last 6 games. For the Magic, they have scored 110 points or more in just 1 of their 5. Their young core of players provides a lot of energy, but also a lot of undisciplined moments.
They rank 28th in offensive rating and also 3rd in turnover rate in the last 5 games. And while the Pelicans are a much more seasoned and veteran team, they have also topped 110 points just once in their last 5. These teams rank 25th and 26th in 3-pointers made per game, which is great for the under, so until either squad shows it can score consistently I’ll back the trend and take the under.
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