NBA: Hornets (+3) @ Pacers $
I like this Hornets team, at least in the regular season. They have a nice blend of young talent and leadership. The bench is deep and there are no notable holes at any position. They should be good value most of the season and I will looking to back them whenever possible, particularly as underdogs.
The Pacers are possibly the most boring team in the league. Sabonis is a stud, but there is little else of real interest on this team. They are not likely to be serious playoff contenders so I will not be backing them often this season. There should be little doubt as to who the better team is in this matchup so I am happy taking the bonus (+3) points.
NBA: Jazz (-7) @ Blazers $
This picks just stays with my recent strategy of betting against teams decimated by quarantines. This strategy has been successful but honestly I am hoping all this nonsense will be over and I can go back to just straight handicapping.
The Trail Blazers currently have 7 players listed as in quarantine. They do have 3 regular starters available tonight including lillard, but the bench is quite depleted. What I am seeing is these teams with depleted benches start games quite normally, but tend to fade in the second half and particularly in the 4th quarter. If you are looking at second half lines, there are some potentially good opportunities there.
The Jazz are mostly healthy with the notable exception of Donavan Mitchell who is out with a back injury. Utah has a deep bench however and Joe Ingles is a decent replacement at PG. I am a little concerned about the high spread here, but the Jazz should win this game and cover at least half the time.
It has been a nice 11-4 start for my NBA picks this season. Be sure to check back to my Daily Picks page regularly for all my NBA/NFL picks posted every day for free.
