Desperation and tough losses are powerful motivators, and that's where we'll focus our attention for Sunday's jumbo slate. Check out our top NBA picks for Sunday based on the best NBA odds.
Sunday's NBA schedule is huge, featuring 10 games. Three of them (Phoenix Suns vs. Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors vs. L.A. Lakers, and Indiana Pacers vs. Chicago Bulls) are between 1:10 and 3:30 p.m. ET., but we're looking ahead to the main slate of contests that tip off after 6.
The Portland Trail Blazers and L.A. Clippers desperately need wins, and they'll look to get them against the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies, respectively. The Milwaukee Bucks are motivated to defeat the Washington Wizards after last night's tough loss, and the Utah Jazz hope to bounce back against the Oklahoma City Thunder after the Thunder took them down by 27 points Friday.
Here are our NBA best bets for Sunday (odds via BetMGM, DraftKings Sportsbook, PointsBet, and WynnBet; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
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Sunday's NBA schedule and odds
(odds via DraftKings)
- Phoenix Suns (+1) vs. Dallas Mavericks
- Golden State Warriors (-5) vs. Los Angeles Lakers
- Indiana Pacers (+5.5) vs. Chicago Bulls
- Charlotte Hornets (+8) vs. Brooklyn Nets
- Portland Trail Blazers (+2.5) vs. Orlando Magic
- Utah Jazz (+6) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- San Antonio Spurs (+2.5) vs. Houston Rockets
- New York Knicks (+5.5) vs. Boston Celtics
- Milwaukee Bucks (-4.5) vs. Washington Wizards
- Memphis Grizzlies (+7) at Los Angeles Clippers
Sunday's NBA best bets
- Upset: Trail Blazers ML vs. Magic (+120 via DraftKings) ???
- Spread: Clippers -7 vs. Grizzlies (-105 via WynnBet) ???
- < b>Spread: Utah +5.5 vs. Thunder (-105 via BetMGM) ???
- Spread: Bucks -5 vs. Wizards (-106 via PointsBet) ????
Check out our NBA Finals odds and NBA MVP odds.
NBA top picks
The Blazers are the more talented and more desperate team in this matchup, and you get plenty of value from a moneyline wager. Portland lost three in a row and five of its last six, and is in sore need of a victory to stay in the Western Conference playoff hunt.
The Magic are one of the best teams ATS this season, and Orlando is particularly effective at home. The unit is at its best with its back against the wall, but Orlando is favored, and the Magic are just 3-4 straight up and 2-5 ATS as the home choice.
The Magic are without shooting guard Gary Har ris, and small forward Franz Wagner is questionable, so Orlando's backcourt could be dangerously undermanned. Count on Blazers point guard Damian Lillard to take advantage of their shorthanded opponent and deliver his team a much-needed win.
Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant is suspended at least two games for an incident involving a gun, power forward Brandon Clarke is out for the season, and small forward Dillon Brooks is suspended for one game after receiving his 16th technical foul. Memphis is in trouble.
The Clippers lost five in a row and failed to cover in four of them. Desperation is the name of the game, as Los Angeles needs some Ws to maintain a good position in the Western Conference standings.
L.A. is without small forward Norman Powell and potentially center Ivica Zubac, but both small forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are healthy. Just like Portland, bet on superstar s taking advantage of a shorthanded team, and take the Clippers to finally win. Los Angeles should have no problem covering this spread.
Oklahoma City had a great win Friday, defeating the Jazz by 27 with point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back in action. The teams face off again tonight, but have faith in the visitors to cover on the road.
Oklahoma City is 10-5 ATS as the home favorite, and Utah is 14-8-1 as the road underdog. The Jazz lost four games by at least 20 points this season. In their previous three contests, they came back to win twice in the following game.
By contrast, the Thunder won five matchups by at least 20 this year. They lost all four of the following games. The Jazz are without power forward Lauri Markkanen, and the team is 2-4 with him out of action this season, losing those four contests by an average of 5.4 points. Utah is surprisingly competent without its bes t player on the floor. Expect a bounce-back performance following Friday's embarrassing loss.
We rolled with the Philadelphia 76ers to defeat Milwaukee and end the team's 16-game win streak last night, and that's exactly what happened. After leading by double-digits throughout the third quarter, Milwaukee collapsed in the fourth and lost by three to the visiting Sixers. The Bucks should come out with a chip on their shoulder tonight.
Milwaukee is 7-0-1 ATS on no rest this year and an impressive 11-5-2 as the road favorite. Washington is 1-1 against Milwaukee this season, but the lone victory came in a game where power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was sidelined.
The Wizards miss starting big man Daniel Gafford, while small forwards Kyle Kuzma and Deni Avdija are questionable. The shorthanded Wizards will have a tough time keeping up with the Bucks in this one.
NBA best bets made 3/5/2023 at 11:33 a.m. ET.
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