It's time to “spread” the love for Wednesday's nine-game slate. Our top NBA picks for Wednesday are based on the best NBA odds.
Kevin Durant will debut for the Phoenix Suns, and his team is the heavy road favorite against the Charlotte Hornets. The Houston Rockets are heavy underdogs to the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, but can Houston cover? The Oklahoma City Thunder have lost four straight, but can they win and cover against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, a team missing two starters?
The game of the night will be the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Boston Celtics, but which team will prevail, and which team will cover?
Here are our NBA best bets for Wednesday (odds via BetMGM, DraftKings Sportsbook, and FanDuel Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
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Wednesday's NBA schedule and odds
(odds via DraftKings)
- Phoenix Suns (-10) at Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls (-6) at Detroit Pistons
- Cleveland Cavaliers (+5) at Boston Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets (+7.5) at New York Knicks
- Philadelphia 76ers (-2) at Miami Heat
- Memphis Grizzlies (-10) at Houston Rockets
- Orlando Magic (+7.5) at Milwaukee Bucks
- Los Angeles Lakers (+1) at Oklahoma City Thunder
- New Orleans Pelicans (+1.5) at Portland Trail Blazers
Wednesday's NBA best bets
- Spread: Suns -10 vs. Hornets (-110 via FanDuel) ???
- Spread: Cavaliers +5 vs. Celtics (-110 via DraftKings) ????
- Spread: Thunder -1.5 vs. Lakers (-105 via BetMGM) ????
- Spread: Rockets +9.5 vs. Grizzlies (-105 via BetMGM) ???
Check out our NBA Finals odds and NBA MVP odds.
NBA top picks
Hornets star LaMelo Ball fractured his right ankle Monday, and he'll miss the remainder of the season. Charlotte forward PJ Washington will be sidelined as well, leaving the Hornets in prime position to kickstart their tank. With one of the worst records in the NBA, the Hornets have done themselves a disservice by winning five straight games, so Wednesday's matchup with the new-look Suns will be a great opportunity to start a new losing streak.
Phoenix will debut Durant alongside Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton to form a lineup that should be able to go toe-to-toe with any team in the Association. Phoenix is 4-3 in games favored by at least 10 points, including one on the road. This is simply a ridiculous gap in talent, and the visiting team should have no problem winning this one by double digits.
This is sure to be the game of the night, as two healthy Eastern Conference heavyweights clash at TD Garden. After three straight losses, the Cavs got back on track Sunday with a blowout home victory over the Toronto Raptors. Conversely, Boston was cooked by New York on Monday after reeling off three straight victories.
The Cavs won and covered in both prior meetings with Boston this season. Cleveland is 8-3 straight up and 7-4 against the spread over its last 11 contests. The team is just 3-9 as the road dog this season but a healthy 19-13-3 against Eastern Conference opponents. Boston is 18-13 as the home favorite, 8-9 following a loss and just 1-2 over its last three. This game could go either way, so rather than wagering on the moneyline, we'll take Cleveland to cover this modest spread.
L.A. will be missing LeBron James and D'Angelo Russell for this one, and the Thunder have a great opportunity to get back on track in front of the home crowd. OKC is the best team ATS this season with a 35-23-3 record overall, and the team is 9-4 as the home favorite.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are among the worst teams in the league ATS, sporting a 29-32-1 record overall. That includes a 12-17-1 record as the road dog.
The Lakers are 5-10 without LeBron this season and just 1-8 on the road. Los Angeles opened at -1, but the line has quickly shifted in favor of the home team.
The Thunder will be missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but the team has played respectably when he's out, going 3-4 and playing competitively in all of the losses.
The Rockets are speeding toward a top-5 pick in this summer's NBA draft, and Houston has l ost 10 straight. Those 10 losses include the last five in a row by an average of 21.8 points. Four of those were on the road, and Houston has been much better at home than on the road, going 13-12-2 as the home dog, including 2-1 as 10-point or higher dogs at home.
After three straight losses, the Grizzlies have won their last two by an average of 15 points, but Memphis is just 9-19-1 ATS on the road and 8-11-1 as the road favorite. Grizzlies star Ja Morant famously proclaimed that he wasn't worried about any team in the West, but his squad is a paltry 13-21-1 ATS when facing Western Conference opponents. Houston isn't winning this one, but they can keep it fairly competitive and lose by less than 10 points here.
NBA best bets made 03/01/2023 at 11:35 a.m. ET.
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- DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
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