It’s been a rough week for my NBA best bets, so I’m looking to get back on track with three plays for Friday’s NBA slate.
I have a “get-right” moneyline parlay, a total and a prop play for Damian Lillard that makes a lot more sense once you break it down.
Let’s jump into it:
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- Three-team Moneyline parlay (-161)
- Los Angeles Lakers-Oklahoma City Thunder OVER 232.5 (-110)
- Damian Lillard UNDER 35.5 Points (-125)
Three-team Moneyline parlay (-161)
- Boston Celtics Moneyline
- Milwaukee Bucks Moneyline
- Memphis Grizzlies Moneyline
This is a parlay of three big favorites on Friday, but I love each of them to get the win.
Boston takes on a shorthanded Indiana Pacers squad that has struggled all season when Tyrese Haliburton sits. He is questionable for this game with a knee injury. The Celtics are laying 11.5 here, I’ll just take them to win.
Milwaukee is laying nine points on the road against Utah, who won’t have Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson or Collin Sexton tonight. The Bucks are the No. 2 team against the spread as a road favorite, so I love them to get the win tonight.
And lastly, the Memphis Grizzlies are 13-point favorites against a Houston Rockets team that is a horrendous 6-29 on the road this season. With Ja Morant back, the Grizz get the win.
Los Angeles Lakers-Oklahoma City Thunder OVER 232.5 (-110)
Usually I love betting the Oklahoma City Thunder as road dogs, but I’m looking at the total in their game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The first two games between the Thunder and Lakers this season finished with 263 and 240 combined points, yet the total on Friday is set at 232.5.
I think that’s a reason to take the OVER, especially since these two teams rank No. 2 (Los Angeles) and No. 3 (OKC) in the NBA in pace this season. We should see plenty of possessions on both sides regardless of who actually suits up for OKC on the second night of a back-to-back.
Not only that, but the second meeting went OVER with Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all sitting out.
AD is in the lineup for the Lakers, and SGA could still play in a crucial game for OKC. Lastly, the Thunder are 7-4 on OVERs in the second night of a back-to-back this season and 18-13 when set as road underdogs.
Let’s root for points.
Damian Lillard UNDER 35.5 Points (-125)
Damian Lillard has been on a scoring rampage this season, but I think this number if a little high against the Chicago Bulls, who rank fifth in the NBA in defensive rating this season.
Since scoring 71 points against the Houston Rockets, Lillard has cleared this total just four times in 11 games, shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from 3.
With Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant out for the Portland Trail Blazers, the Bulls can blitz and double Lillard if they so choose, and simply dare others to beat them.
Plus, Patrick Beverley will likely get the start on Lillard, and he’s held Dame to less than 36 points in 25 of their 27 career matchups against each other.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.