Friday’s Best Bets: NBA, College Basketball & NHL (3/10)
No matter your sport of choice, there’s always sports betting action to be had. We’ll have you covered each and every day with our daily best bets. Here are all of our best bets across each major sport in action today.
Today’s Best Bets
Here are today’s best NBA bets.
NBA Best Bets
NBA Game Picks
Toronto Raptors vs. Los Angeles Lakers
We head West for our final bet of the night as the Raptors visit the Lakers for the first time this year. Without LeBron on the floor, the Lakers have actually been playing an inspired brand of basketball, coming into this contest having now won (and covered) seven of their past 10.
Currently sitting just inside of the play-in tournament, I like for their run to continue, as they now draw a flailing Raptors team that has won just one game in regulation since February 25th.
Bet: Lakers +1.5 (-110)
- Johnny Perun
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First Basket Scorer
Brooklyn Nets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
It's been an underwhelming season for Timberwolves, who are in a position to go to back-to-back Play-In Tournaments. The absence of Karl-Anthony Towns has impacted their offense as they sit near the middle, and the defense isn't any better.
The Nets went from championship contenders to rebuild in a matter of days during the trade deadline. They now sit just outside the Play-In Tournament, and a bad final stretch could cause them to miss the playoffs entirely.
The T-Wolves are excellent at first baskets having the third-best percentage and are ninth in tip win percentage. Anthony Edwards leads the team in first baskets, and Brooklyn is allowed the most first baskets to shooting guards.
Pick: Anthony Edwards (+390)
- John Supowitz
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NBA Prop Bets
Pascal Siakam Over 30.5 Pts + Reb (-110 BetMGM)
Siakam has surprisingly become an elite member of the "making me money" club due to his recent play. I will say he has been going under his season averages recently, averaging 20 points per game in the last two weeks despite averaging nearly 25 on the season while averaging 4.7 boards in the last week despite that number sitting at 7.6 on the season.
He will regress positively. The Lakers are the best opponent for him to do just that. With the second-fastest pace in the nation, there will be plenty of possessions tonight in Los Angeles. Going up against a below-average defense bodes well for Siakam to get back on track as well.
This number really should be closer to 33 or 34. To get this at -110 feels like a steal, so I'll be putting down 1.5 units on this prop bet.
- Ryan Coleman
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College Basketball Best Bets
UConn vs. Marquette
UConn is coming off a game where they looked like a national title contender for about 35 minutes, while Marquette is coming off a near loss in overtime to St. Johns.
If we look a bit beyond yesterday's play, since February 1, UConn is the second-best team in the nation, per Bart Torvik. Marquette, meanwhile, ranks 40th. Connecticut is riding a six-game winning streak and has a double-digit win under its belt against Marquette already.
The Golden Eagles are one of the worst rebounding teams in the nation, ranking outside the top 300 in defensive rebound rate. This does not bode well for facing UConn, a team that leads the nation in offensive rebound rate. Marquette won't draw contact near the hoop, but they do shoot well from the mid-range.
The Huskies are a team that has dominated in neutral court play, and based on recent play, they have a chance of doing the same to Marquette tonight.
Play: UConn -3.5 (-102)
- Ryan Coleman
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NHL Best Bets
Anaheim Ducks (+265) @ Calgary Flames (-345) | O/U 6 (-124/+102)
The other game on Friday’s slate is a Pacific Division tilt with the fifth-place Calgary Flames hosting the seventh-place Anaheim Ducks. Simply put, Calgary is better than Anaheim in almost every aspect of this game.
At 5-on-5, the Flames rank much higher than the Ducks in both xGF/60 and xGA/60. Additionally, goaltender Jacob Markstrom is finally starting to turn the corner this season.
Over his last four starts, Markstrom boasts a .936 save percentage (SV%) and 2.21 goals against average (GAA). This strong play is likely to continue against Anaheim, a team he has dominated over the last two seasons.
Across his last three starts against the Ducks, Markstrom is 3-0 with a .924 SV% and 1.98 GAA. Across the ice, goaltender John Gibson is slated to start between the pipes for Anaheim.
While Gibson’s job is made virtually impossible due to the lineup in front of him, he is still 13-23-7 this season with a .903 SV% and 3.89 GAA. Calgary has won each of the last four meetings and seven of the last between these two teams, a trend likely to continue on Friday night.
Best Bet: Flames -1.5 (-134)
- Tony Sartori
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