NBA Monday March 13th - Best Bets & Betting Odds
All odds provided by Betway.
New Orleans Pelicans Moneyline (+110) vs. ORL
The Orlando Magic were supposed to go on a run when they got healthy, but instead, they’re going through a bit of a rough patch with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner back in the mix. They’ve now lost six of their last seven, and they were favored in half of those losses. They have not been good as favorites of late, and though betting sites have them giving only 1.5 points here, the point still stands: they struggle when they’re supposed to win games.
They are 3-9 in their last 12 as a favorite of under 10 points. And that’s not point spread, that’s straight up. New Orleans, meanwhile, is finding their footing. They’re 6-6 in their last 12, which is pretty solid considering they’d lost 10 straight before that. They’re coming off an impressive 127-120 win over the Clippers on Tuesday in which three guys went for 20+, and we like them to keep rolling against the floundering Magic.
Detroit Pistons Alternative -13.5 Point Spread (-140) vs. WAS
J.B. Bickerstaff (not Chauncey Billups as some thought) has these Pistons playing their best basketball in maybe a decade. They’re in a tie for fourth place in the East now thanks to 12 wins in their last 15 outings. And in case you were wondering, they’re covering that spread too. They’re 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games as the favorite.
They are so good that they’re now seeing double-digit spreads—as favorites. That hasn’t happened in god knows how long. And they’re paying it off too. They have covered three straight spreads of 10+ points, winning all of them by 20+. One of those came on Tuesday against this same sorry Wizards team. They also beat the Wizards by 20 earlier this year. Back Cade and company.
NO-ORL Total Points Under 217.5 (-110)
We hate to have to do it, but NBA sportsbooks set their over/under lines knowing that the vast majority of people will be betting on the over. For that reason, they jack that number up a smidge. That’s why betting the under, as hateful as it may be, is often the smart call. That’s the situation in New Orleans on Thursday, too.
The Magic allow the fewest points per game in the league, at just over 106. They are one of two teams in the league hitting unders at a rate of 60 percent or more. Surprisingly enough, they’ve been especially stingy against the West, as the under has gone 16-6 in those inter-conference games.
Orlando is a young, energetic, and feisty team, which is what makes them so good defensively. When they have an extra day or two to rest, they’re even more of what they are. They’ll come into this one after two days off charging their batteries, and when they have 2-3 days off, the under is a sparkling 7-1 this year.
