Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend. We’ve got a splendid eight-game slate coming your way on the hardwood on Saturday night, with several teams coming off back-to-backs and at least a couple of matchups that promise to impress. With so much to choose from, let’s survey DraftKings Sportsbook for some player props, totals and sides to bet. You can follow me on Twitter (@KennyDucey) for any late adds.
Here’s what jumps out to me tonight.
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I’m not exactly sure why, but the Wizards are just calling my name today. Not only are the Mavericks an awful 2-6 against the spread on the second night of back-to-backs this year, but Kristaps Porzingis’ availability has been very spotty in them. I love the way this Wizards defense is playing, despite the fact wins have been hard to come by and they’ve gone just 2-3 ATS in the past five. Over that span, Washington has ranked an impressive seventh in defensive efficiency and should be more than up to the task of slowing a Mavericks team that struggled to score on Friday against a good defense and now may be without their second-best scorer.
It hasn’t been the most fun experience betting on the Knicks lately, who have failed to cover in three straight, but I think this is where things turn around. The one consistently great spot to back the ‘Bockers has been as favorites this season, where they’re 12-6 against the spread. On the second night of back-to-backs, they’ve been a decent 5-4 ATS, which while not fantastic, gives you enough faith that the fatigue shouldn’t be too big of a concern. Detroit is coming off a nice win against Washington but, in general, lacks the frontcourt to combat Julius Randle. This defense should smother Killian Hayes in his return and get a much-needed win.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Fadeaway [100K to 1st]
Yes, only two of the past six Jazz games have gone over, but this total is too low to ignore. Utah has been on another level offensively over the past 10 games, scoring 117.8 points per 100 possessions, shooting almost 40% from three, and ranking 10th in pace. The one dip the Jazz had in offensive production came when Donovan Mitchell missed a game due to personal reasons, and aside from that, no team has been better with the ball in their hands. In a pace-up game for the Magic, who have actually shown an interest in playing uptempo since turning over their whole roster, I think enough points can be scored here to hit a low total. Utah should do most of the heavy lifting, but I think Orlando’s got enough shooting to score 90 or more points. In conjunction with a beastly offense going up against a weak Magic defense, that should be enough.
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All betting odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
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