Hump day has arrived and it is loaded with NBA games. There are fourteen NBA games today, which means all but two teams are playing. In fact, all ten teams that played in yesterday’s In-Season Tournament are playing again tonight. This makes navigating the sportsbooks more difficult than an average day, especially when considering there are no NBA games tomorrow. 

Today Fantasy Alarm’s NBA Best Bets focuses on a battle of ten-win teams as the Philadelphia 76ers have a second away game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The tip-off is at 8:00 PM ET and features a straight bet. Another wager is being placed on the Eastern Conference showdown of the night. Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks travel to the TD Garden and play Jayson Tatum and the first-place Boston Celtics. This too is a battle of 10+ win teams. The last best bet is a proposition bet with +340 odds in a match that could be closer than people expect. That should be enough to have everyone’s attention. Hopefully, all three hit and your wallet is as stuffed as your stomach tomorrow.

 

Bet of the Night

Minnesota Timberwolves -4.5 (-110 at BetMGM) 2 UNIT Bet

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the equivalent of the Denver Nuggets last year. A super hot team playing excellently in their second year of being together but going unnoticed because it is not a city located near a coast. The Denver Nuggets were the best team all year but still had positive odds to win the championship until game 6 of the Divisional playoffs. The Timberwolves are on a similar trajectory. Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Rudy Gobert are arguably the best trio in the NBA, and Mike Conley, Naz Reid, and Kyle Anderson are excelling as important role players. 

The Philadelphia 76ers are on the second night of back-to-back road games, after an intense In-Season Tournament loss in overtime. Philadelphia is a good basketball team, but they could have load management tonight, and the Timberwolves are simply playing much better than the 76ers. Only one team has lost by less than 14 points to the Timberwolves at the Target Center… the Boston Celtics, and they lost by 5. Put two units for Minnesota to cover the spread.

Prop Bets of the Night

Giannis Antetokounmpo OVER 10.5 Rebounds (-140 at BetMGM)

Giannis the Great is getting back into the style of play we are more familiar with. He is feeling good and at a press conference he stated …’ I’ve got that bag, and people are going to realize it after playing against me.’ That is paraphrasing it some, but the fact that he felt he had to say it indicates he was frustrated with his play earlier this season. 

The Boston Celtics are a formidable opponent, and this is almost always a competitive battle in the Giannis and Jayson Tatum era. Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics is the marquee matchup, nationally televised on ESPN with a tip-off of 7:30 PM ET. Antetokounmpo seems to elevate his amazing play in these matches and has gone over this line in seven games this season. The Boston Celtics allow 52.5 rebounds per game to opposing teams, and Giannis is the leading rebounder of his team 9 with 133 this season. This will be an exciting game to watch and Giannis should cover this line.

Aaron Gordon Double-Double (+375 at BetMGM)

Aaron Gordon is playing at an All-Star and All-NBA level. He picked up the slack Monday night with the ejection of both Head Coach M. Malone and Nikola Jokic. A. Gordon has over 10 points in all but one game this month, and he only played 18 minutes in that game. He has three double-doubles this season and could be due for another tonight. At least one Denver Nugget player has recorded a double-double in every game this season, and most games have two players with a double-double. Michael Porter Jr. has been a rebounding machine this season, but Gordon is returning to the city he was drafted, Orlando. 

The Orlando Magic are an underrated team, but Gordon knows several former teammates, courtside fans, and most importantly the court. Although all courts have the same perimeters, you develop a rhythm or ‘sweet spot’ for different courts, and everything is familiar or the same… Or to put it like Thom Yorke said “Everything in Its Right Place”. The Denver Nuggets have not played at their championship level during this road trip, but Aaron Gordon can be the catalyst of a change, particularly if he earns a double-double. 


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Thank you for reading.
Bet Smart, Be Lucky - Iggy

 

*All Bets to be placed at 1 unit unless specified otherwise