NBA Weekend Matchups: Plenty of Friday Home Dogs
Busy Nine-Game Slate in the NBA
Bettors Hoping for More Underdog Action
Home Underdogs remain the most profitable spot in the NBA this season and there are five home dogs on tonight’s nine-game slate. Let’s dive into the NBA Weekend Matchups and take a look at the best spots on offer.
The Orlando Magic are 2.0-point underdogs at home to a free-falling New Orleans Pelicans team that will continue without All-Star duo Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
The Pelicans have lost five of their last seven games and looked lifeless offensively in their last two games as they struggle to account for their two top-scorers being out of action. The Magic are 12-6 against-the-spread (ATS) this season as home underdogs and are 12-6-1 ATS against non-conference opponents.
Dallas has opened as 1.0-point underdogs at home to the Miami Heat as they try to find some consistency in their performances by snapping their three-game losing streak.
The Mavs were dealt a blow with news that Christian Wood is set to miss at least a week with a fractured thumb, but should get Tim Hardaway Jr back for this one.
The Heat are finally healthy and coming off a blowout win in New Orleans. The Mavs are a league-worst 3-12-1 ATS in non-conference matchups this season, including an outright loss as 2.5-point favorites at home to the Atlanta Hawks last time out.
‘Clippers failed to cover as 8.0-point favorites in the last meeting at this venue as they escaped with a 113-106 win back in November.’
The LA Clippers have opened as 6.5-point road favorites against the San Antonio Spurs. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are both set to return to the lineup after sitting out the teams loss in Utah, but John Wall and Luke Kennard remain out for the home side. The Clippers failed to cover as 8.0-point favorites in the last meeting at this venue as they escaped with a 113-106 win back in November.
The LA Lakers have also opened as home underdogs as they host the Memphis Grizzlies. LA are currently 7.0-point underdogs against one the of the best teams in the NBA and despite winning just one of their last five games they’re 3-1-1 ATS in that span.
Nets, Pacers Face Tough West Coast Outings
The Brooklyn Nets head to Salt Lake City for the second game of a back-to-back as they try to snap a four game losing streak. The Nets haven’t won or covered the spread since losing Kevin Durant to injury and things won’t come easy against one of the best home teams in the NBA.
Keep an eye on the NBA injury report updates for this one as there’s a real possibility that the Nets sit Kyrie Irving and/or Ben Simmons in this spot given both are playing through struggles. The Nets are currently 6.0-point underdogs but that number could move significantly depending on the availability of Brooklyn’s starters.
The Indiana Pacers are headed to Denver to take on the Nuggets, who remain atop the Western Conference standings as they ride an impressive 15-game home win streak into this one. The home team has opened as 11.0 point favorites here and are the shortest NBA odds today on the board The .
The Pacers are bottom-three in the league in Offensive Rating, points per possession, effective field goal percentage and turnover percentage over their last five games since losing Tyrese Haliburton. They’re also 0-5 straight up and 1-4 ATS in that span and clearly missing the playmaking from one of the league-leaders in NBA Player stats this season.
Hawks, Thunder Ride Hot Streaks
The Atlanta Hawks will look to keep their recent streak going when they welcome the New York Knicks to town.
The Hawks are currently 3.5-point favorites despite having Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic listed as questionable for this one. These teams have split their two meetings so far this season, but this will be the first game played in Atlanta in the season series.
The Oklahoma City Thunder head to Sacramento to take on a Kings team that has slowly crept into the top four in the Western Conference standings.
Both these teams are playing as well as any team in the West at the moment and the markets have opened the Kings as 3.0-point home favorites. Domantas Sabonis is questionable with an illness and this line will likely shift either side of the current number pending his availability.
The Warriors are currently listed as 7.0-point underdogs in Cleveland as they play their second of a road back-to-back after a tough OT loss in Boston. Steve Kerr has rested his starters in these spots this season and the market is anticipating more of the same with the current number.
That’s all for today’s NBA Weekend Matchup preview. Be sure to check back for more NBA picks and parlays.
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