NBA Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saturday (3/15)
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has eight games scheduled for Saturday. The New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors meet at 8:30 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco at ABC/ESPN+.
Let’s pick some winners to kick off our weekend. Enjoy our best NBA picks for Saturday, March 15th.
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Saturday’s Best NBA Picks
NBA odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All picks are for 1 unit
Miami Heat (+250) at Memphis Grizzlies (-310) | O/U 228 (-110/-110)
The Heat (29-37) and the Grizzlies (42-25) square off at FedEx Forum in Memphis on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Miami suffered a 103-91 loss at home against the Boston Celtics on Friday night. It faces a quick turnaround, losing an hour traveling to the Central Time Zone, too.
The Heat is skidding hard, falling in six straight games, while failing to cover the past four outings. When playing on no rest, the Heat lost 114-109 at home to the Chicago Bulls outright as a 5-point favorite. Miami is 1-3 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) in the past four games when playing on no rest.
As far as the totals, Miami has hit the under at a 6-1 clip in the past seven games dating back to March 3rd. The under has hit in the past two games on the road, too, with the under holding a 3-2 edge in the past five tries against Western Conference opponents.
The Grizzlies fell 133-124 against the Cleveland Cavaliers last time out on Friday. While Memphis is also playing a back-to-back, it didn’t have to travel. Sleeping in your bed and playing on your home floor is a major difference.
Memphis is 4-1 SU in the past five games, but it also failed to cover the past four games, while going a dismal 1-12-1 ATS in the past 14 games. The under is 5-1 in the past six games, too.
Looking at the spread, let’s lay the Heat catching four buckets on the road. With the trends for both sides, we’ll lean toward the under, which is an awfully big number for two teams playing on no rest.
Picks: Heat +8 (-108) & Under 228 Points (-110)
New York Knicks (+220) at Golden State Warriors (-270) | O/U 229 (-110/-110)
The Knicks (42-23) and Warriors (38-28) tangle at Chase Center on ABC/ESPN+ at 8:30 p.m. ET.
In their first meeting on March 4th at Madison Square Garden, the Warriors came away with a 114-102 victory as a 1-point underdog as the under (227) connected.
Golden State hit 48.9% (43-of-88) from the field in that road victory, while going 35.1% (13-of-37) from behind the three-point line and 78.9% (15-of-19) from the free-throw line. Steph Curry led the way with 28 points, including five three-pointers, while adding nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals with a stellar +23 rating. Jimmy Butler was good for 19 points, four boards and four dimes, while Brandin Podziemski also added 19 points with five rebounds, four assists and a steal in 32 minutes. Buddy Hield checked in with 15 points off the bench, too.
New York was 44.6% (41-of-92) from the field, but just 24.2% (8-of-33) from downtown. That was the difference. New York had two more turnovers in that home loss, too. OG Anunoby went for a game-high 29 points on an efficient 11-of-19 from the field, while hitting 4-of-9 from behind the arc. He and Jalen Brunson, who had 25 points, were the only consistent offensive threats. Josh Hart was 1-of-8 from the field to finish with just two points, although he salvaged the line with eight boards and three assists.
After losing the first two games against the two Los Angeles teams on the five-game West Coast swing, New York won 133-104 in Sacramento on Monday as a 1.5-point favorite as the over (223.5) cashed, while edging Portland 114-113 in overtime, failing to cover a 4-point spread as the under (227.5) just hung on.
The Knicks are 1-5 ATS in the past six games and 2-10 ATS across the past 12 games, while the under is 4-1 in the past five games. New York is 2-6 ATS in the past eight games against Western Conference foes.
The Warriors have won six in a row while going 3-2-1 ATS in the streak. Golden State is 8-3-1 ATS in the past 12 games since February 13th, too, while the over has a 3-1 edge in the past four games.
Let’s roll with the Warriors laying the points at home and we’ll play the under based on the results of the first meeting.
Picks: Warriors -6.5 (-112) & Under 229 Points (-110)