Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
No NBA games were played last night as a result of the NCAA Championship thriller where Kansas overcame a disastrous first half to capture the title against UNC.
Tonight there are 12 NBA games on the schedule, and we will only be taking a look at games where there will be at least some competition. Many in the last few weeks of the regular season are between losing teams. For the most part, we will be staying away from those and looking at more serious matchups between playoff-bound NBA teams. The only exception to that is a Nets-Rockets game with some exploitable betting lines. Let’s dive in.
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Best Bets of the Night
Game 1: Memphis Grizzlies at Utah Jazz
The Grizzlies remain the best team against the spread this season. Tonight, they visit the Utah Jazz and have to keep it to a five-point loss at a maximum. The Grizzlies have won more than 20 games this season without Ja Morant, which is absolutely phenomenal as it means the Grizzlies have only lost a handful of games without him in the rotation. The Grizzlies went ahead and defeated the Phoenix Suns last night, on the road. This team continues to impress, and honestly has a great chance of winning this game outright tonight. Let’s play it safe and take the Grizzlies to cover the spread, which for them, is synonymous with taking care of business.
The Pick: Memphis Grizzlies +5.5
Game 2: Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls +5
The Chicago Bulls have rallied in the east this season to a respectable 45-23 record. They lost their last game in a blowout on homecourt to the Miami Heat. Now they will be hosting the roaring Milwaukee Bucks, but the Bulls have defeated the Bucks earlier this season and can beat them again. I expect them to defend their home floor after a bad 127-109 defeat to the Miami Heat on Saturday. The Bulls will also be hosting the Celtics Wednesday and the Hornets Friday night, all winnable for them. If things go according to plan, Chicago can capture the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. Both the Bucks and the 76ers are 3.0 games ahead of the Bulls with a record of 48-30. Finally, the Bulls are the team in the Eastern Conference with the best home record with 27 wins and 11 losses at home this season. The East is highly contested this season, and the battle between the Bucks, the 76ers, the Bulls, and the Raptors (who also share a record of 45-33) will perhaps make for some of the most exciting basketball as we wind down the regular season.
The Pick: Chicago Bulls ML +180
Game 3: Houston Rockets at Brooklyn Nets
There are a few reasons for which the Rockets and the Nets will not be totaling 245 points this evening. The first half will likely be a disaster for the Rockets at the Barclays Center. I think we’ll see the Nets with ferocious offense from the get-go, and a destabilized Rockets team by the end of the first quarter. If a blowout scenario takes place, the Nets could score up to 130 points tonight while the Rockets score 100. The Nets will be without Seth Curry tonight, but Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Bruce Brown Jr. are ready to suit up. Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets have shut down Eric Gordon and Christian Wood for the season. It is improbable that they score more than 110 points tonight. The Brooklyn Nets are the ninth-highest scoring team in the league (averaging 112.5 PPG) while Houston ranks 17th (109.7 PPG). The Over/Under for tonight’s game is more than 20 points more than what these two teams have combined scoring per game through the 2021 season. To me, this pick seems like a no-brainer, but so did the over at 152.5 last night for the championship game.
The Pick: Total Under 244.5 Points
Same Game Parlay of the Night
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Game: Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls
Leg 1: Brook Lopez, Over 10.5 Points
Lopez has averaged 10.3 PPG over the last nine games he's played. It's important to recognize that through this stretch (being nine of his first ten games of the season), Lopez has only averaged 21.8 minutes per contest. In his last game, Lopez scored 14 points (6-13 FG) knocking down two three-pointers in only 22 minutes. I think there is a good chance we see Brook play 25-30 minutes tonight since he played well against the Mavericks on Sunday, and scores at least 11 points.
Leg 2: Jrue Holiday, Over 18.5 Points
Jrue Holiday knocked down five ultimately scoring 20 points (7-12 FG) against the Mavericks on Sunday. He's averaging 18.7 PPG this season for his second NBA season shooting over 50% from the field. Holiday seems to be heating up right now when it matters most. Solely based on how hot he shot the ball Sunday, I like him tonight to score at least 19 points.
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