Phil Agius
Show Bio
Good morning, Pickswise Nation, and welcome to another tremendous Thursday of sports. We finally have a really juicy NFL Thursday Night Football matchup tonight, and there’s also NBA, NHL, college football, college basketball and golf on the schedule, so let’s get straight to making your next bet better.
About Last Night
- It was a great night for our NBA handicappers, as we went 7-3 with our Wednesday picks and 2-1 on NBA player props. The Celtics beat the 76ers 117-107 to improve to 9-2, while Devin Booker returned from injury with a 31-point game as the Suns beat the Timberwolves 133-115.
- Our NHL team had an even higher strike rate with a 5-1 night of hockey picks. The Avalanche beat the Ducks 8-2 while the Canucks improved to 12-3-1 with a 4-3 overtime win over the Islanders.
- We had a perfect night of college football picks, going 2-0 and cashing a best bet with Miami (Ohio) -9 as the RedHawks beat Buffalo 23-10. We also parlayed that with Ohio -9.5 to hit our NCAAF parlay as the Bobcats beat Central Michigan 34-20.
Today’s Slate
- We have NFL picks for tonight’s TNF game between the Bengals and Ravens at 8:15 pm ET on Amazon Prime.
- There are just 2 NBA games tonight, but NBA TV is showing both the Nets vs Heat matchup at 7:30 pm ET and Thunder vs Warriors at 10:00 pm ET. Read our NBA predictions.
- We have 7 NHL games today, including some afternoon action as the Red Wings tackle the Senators on NHL Network at 2:00 pm ET in Stockholm, Sweden. Check out today’s NHL picks.
- There is also college football action with Boston College vs Pittsburgh at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN. You can read all our NCAAF predictions for the Week 12 games.
- We also have some interesting neutral-site college basketball games including some early action with Dayton vs LSU at 4:00 pm ET on ESPN2. Read today’s college basketball picks.
- The final event of the PGA Tour season, the RSM Classic, starts today and you can read our golf predictions for the event from our expert Diane Knox Balas.
Best Bet of the Day
NBA: Golden State Warriors ML over Oklahoma City Thunder (+128, FanDuel)
10:00 pm ET, NBA TV
Golden State will be without the suspended Draymond Green while Stephen Curry will miss another game with his knee injury, but I expect the Warriors to rise to the challenge tonight. Golden State is 10-1 SU in the teams’ last 11 meetings, outscoring the Thunder by almost 14 points on average during that run. They’re shooting over 51% from the field in those games. Thompson also got ejected early in the game against Minnesota, so he should at least be fresh for this one. The Thunder have covered the spread just 3 times in the last 13 meetings, and they’re 0-6 ATS in their last 6 at Chase Center. It’s not often you can get the Warriors at plus-money odds in a home game. Read our full Thunder vs Warriors predictions.
Must-read
- All our Thursday Night Football content is available via our TNF NFL Betting Guide including a Bengals vs Ravens Same Game Parlay and our favorite TD scorer predictions for the game.
- You can also check out our NFL power rankings
- Our NBA mega parlay for tonight is ready to read
- We have a Red Wings vs Senators Same Game Parlay for this afternoon’s NHL game
- And you can also check out our Boston College vs Pittsburgh Same Game Parlay for tonight’s college football
Read all of our sports betting articles as they arrive throughout the morning and afternoon on the Analysis tab.
NFL news: Deshaun Watson out for the season
There was some major NFL news on Tuesday when it was revealed that Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of the season due to requiring surgery on a shoulder injury. Watson had led the Browns to a big road win in Baltimore on Sunday. Head coach Kevin Stefanski announced that rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson will start against Pittsburgh this week, but the Browns have moved from 4-point favorites for that game to 1-point underdogs.
Stat of the Day
The Warriors have won 10 of their last 11 meetings with the Thunder.
Quote of the Day
“It’s very tough. I’m still in disbelief. I felt like we were turning a corner to really make a run and believe we still will with the guys in this locker room.”
— Deshaun Watson is coming to terms with the sudden end to his season with the Browns.
