Can the Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics cover huge home spreads? Check out our top NBA picks for Wednesday based on the best NBA odds.
The Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns are huge home favorites against the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively. One team looks quite comfortable to cover, while the other will likely play in a closer contest.
Can the New Orleans Pelicans upset the visiting Dallas Mavericks, and can the Toronto Raptors' Jakob Poeltl deliver strong offense against the Los Angeles Clippers?
Here are our NBA best bets for Wednesday (odds via Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, PointsBet; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Check out our NBA picks and our best NBA betting sites.
Wednesday's NBA schedule and odds
(odds via DraftKings)
- Atlanta Hawks (-3.5) vs. Washington Wizards
- Cleveland Cavaliers (-2.5) vs. Miami Heat
- Portland Trail Blazers (+9.5) vs. Boston Celtics
- Dallas Mavericks (-2) vs. New Orleans Pelicans
- Chicago Bulls (+8) vs. Denver Nuggets
- Oklahoma City Thunder (+12.5) vs. Phoenix Suns
- Toronto Raptors (+3.5) vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Wednesday's NBA best bets
- Upset: Pelicans ML vs. Mavericks (+110 via DraftKings) ???
- Spread: Trail Blazers +9.5 vs. Celtics (-105 via PointsBet) ???
- Spread: Suns -12.5 vs. Thunder (-110 via Caesars) ????
- Prop: Jakob Poeltl Over 14.5 points (+140 via DraftKings) ???
Check out our NBA Finals odds and NBA MVP odds.
NBA top picks
Dallas got some much-needed firepower at the trade deadline by adding star guard Kyrie Irving, but the team has still struggled to cover the spread. The Mavs are 2-3 straight up and 1-4 against the spread across their last five games, and the team is 4-10 ATS and 7-7 SU as the road favorite this season. Dallas beat New Orleans in two of three season matchups, but the lone loss came on the road.
The Pels have only won and covered in one of their last seven outings, but it's crunch time for a team that once sat atop the Western Conference standings. New Orleans has a 5-5 record straight up as the home dog, and the team has covered in six of those 10 contests. Sitting at No. 10 in the West, the Pelicans are tied with No. 11 Oklahoma City and No. 12 Portland with 31-34 records , and New Orleans is just half a game ahead of the Utah Jazz. Every win matters, so we'd expect plenty of urgency from the home team.
Boston has lost three in a row and four of its last five, dropping its last two in close, OT matches with Eastern Conference contenders. The Trail Blazers are not on the same level as the New York Knicks or Cleveland Cavaliers, but Portland is competent, and the Celtics have struggled.
The Blazers are 3-2 in games in which they've been 9.5-point or higher underdogs this season, while the Celtics are just 8-6 when favored by at least that many points at home. Portland has won two in a row and comes into this one as the No. 12 seed in the West, desperately scraping for a spot in the playoffs. We're expecting Damian Lillard to keep his team competitive against a Celtics team that has played a lot of close games recently. Take the Blazers and the points.
Phoenix at home: check. Oklahoma City playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams: that's another check. Phoenix rolling with Kevin Durant in the lineup: you get the idea. This is a one-sided matchup that could get ugly quickly.
Oklahoma City sports the best ATS record in the NBA this season, and while this is a monster spread, we can't take the Thunder to cover in good conscience. In three games with KD in the Suns' lineup, the team is 3-0 with two wins by 14 points or more. The Suns defeated the Thunder 124-115 on Feb. 24 without SGA, but OKC had Williams, and Phoenix didn't yet have Durant. The Suns are far more talented than the Thunder, and we'll take the home team to cover and dominate.
Poeltl's points prop (try saying that five times fast) is set at 13.5 across all of our featured books, but we can get it at 14.5 for some juicy plus-money odds. This one comes in at +115 on FanDuel and +120 on PointsBet, but the best odds are a tasty +140 at DraftKings.
Poeltl has scored at least 13 points in five straight and at least 14 in four straight while averaging 16.4 points in that span. He's eclipsed 15 points in two of his last three, and he gets a great matchup with a Clippers team that's been poor defensively.
Los Angeles has allowed at least 124 points in three of its last five contests, including its last two. The Clippers are middle-of-the-pack in points allowed in the paint overall and more generous at home than on the road. Clips stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard should provide key defense on Toronto's top scorers, leaving Poeltl available to operate effectively under the basket.
NBA best bets made 3/8/2023 at 7:25 a.m. ET.
Here are our best NBA betting sites:
- FanDuel: No Sweat First Bet up to $1,000 | Read our FanDuel Review
- Caesars: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Review
- DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
- PointsBet: Earn Five Second-Chance Bets Up to $50 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
(21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER)
* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.
Related pages
- Best Online Sportsbooks | Best Sportsbook Promos (U.S. only)