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NBA Picks: Rockets Over Thunder and 4 Upsets to Chase on Wednesday Night

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The NBA picks up the pace quite a bit on Wednesday night, as Big NBA Wednesday returns in full force with a crazy 11-game slate. We come in all smiles after a successful run on Tuesday’s slate saw us go a clean 5-0 with straight up NBA picks.

It’s going to be much more difficult to go perfect on such a busy slate, and it’s typically a good idea to corral your NBA betting on insane nights like this, too. Due to that, we’ll scale it back a bit tonight and focus only on four underdog NBA picks we really like. Let’s get to it:

Houston Rockets (+2.5) Over Oklahoma City Thunder (-2.5)

Anytime James Harden faces his former team, we need to pay attention. Harden absolutely lights these guys up, with almost 29 points per game averaged against them in his career. Last year specifically he put over over 33 points per game against OKC.

The Thunder sport the league’s 7th rated defense and obviously have a monster of their own in Russell Westbrook, but they’re only 4-3 on their home floor and they’re struggling badly (four straight losses) right now. On paper, Houston has been a little better and really pushes the envelope offensively. If Harden is on – and history suggests he will be – we love the Rockets as an upset pick.

Pick: Rockets 105, Thunder 102

Indiana Pacers (+3.5) Over Cleveland Cavaliers (-3.5)

This game is currently locked at most gambling sites like Bovada and others, as the odds will eventually be adjusted with the news that LeBron James will rest tonight:

That being said, Cleveland could still easily be viewed as the favorite with both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love still expected to suit up. The Cavs will be on the second of a back to back set, but they’re 9-1 on the year and they surely won’t want to lose.

Not wanting to lose is one thing, but no LeBron James changes things, especially with this game going down in Indy, where the Pacers are an elite 5-1 this year. They’re just mediocre overall and their defense is atrocious, but a big game out of Paul George wouldn’t be shocking. Regardless of what the final spread looks like, we’ll roll with the Pacers for the upset.

Pick: Pacers 104, Cavaliers 101

Phoenix Suns (+4.5) Over Denver Nuggets (-4.5)

This might be the funnest NBA game of the night, as the early Total reports as 221 and both teams can move the needle offensively. Vegas must be picking the Nuggets because they’re at home, but they’re actually 0-3 on their own floor so far this year and as usual, stink at defense.

The Suns can’t defend either and are a putrid 1-5 on the road, but there are going to be a lot of points here and both of these teams aren’t very good. In what amounts to a toss-up, we’ll at least take the Suns to beat the spread in what should be a shootout.

Pick: Nuggets 106, Suns 104

Philadelphia 76ers (+7.5) Over Washington Wizards (-7.5)

Our favorite upset of the night is Philly beating the spread. I doubt they go out and full blown upset the Wizards, who are without Brad Beal but still have John Wall and everyone else. The Sixers are down Joel Embiid, too, so the real goal will be just keeping this one close.

I think they can do that against the Wizards, who are just as bad at 2-7 right now and are 0-4 on the road. Their defense is trash and they’ll be without Beal and with Wall are a  minutes limit.

None of that is great news for the Wiz, but it should only aid Philly, who will shoot for their second win on the year (as well as at home). I don’t see Philly winning but, this spread is generous enough to pick them ATS.

Pick: Wizards 102, 76ers 98

2016 NBA Picks: 4 Upsets to Consider For Wednesday Night

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The NBA gets rather busy on Wednesday night, with a fully loaded 11-game slate hitting the hardwood. The stars all come out for this one, as Russell Westbrook, James Harden and many more look to get wins in the middle of the week.

With such a heavy slate, there are bound to be some killer NBA betting opportunities. Per usual, one of the best areas to target are odd upset picks that could possibly be exploited. We took a look at tonight’s NBA schedule and came away with four potential underdog picks you may want to consider betting on:

Toronto Raptors (+4) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (-4)

OKC comes into the night as -4 favorites at home against the 4-2 Toronto Raptors, a place where they haven’t lost yet this year (4-0). This could be a tough spot for Russell Westbrook and co., however, as Toronto has them beat on the defensive end and may be able to match them offensively, as well.

It can’t help that Westbrook is what makes the Thunder’s offense go, and he’ll surely be followed all night be solid point guard stopper, Kyle Lowry. This game is going to hang heavily on who can dictate the pace, as well as the status of star center Jonas Valanciunas. If Jonas V sits, the Raptors could have some trouble defensively, especially at protecting the rim and getting rebounds.

Regardless, we expect a close, hard-fought game and will take Toronto to beat the spread.

Pick: Thunder 104, Raptors 101

Houston Rockets (8+) @ San Antonio Spurs (-8)

The battle for first in the Southwest Division starts tonight, as the Rockets hit up San Antonio for their first clash of the year with the Spurs. James Harden and Kawhi Leonard are both worthy MVP candidates, but it will be very interesting to see what prevails: the Spurs elite defense (allowing just over 97 points per game), or Houston’s high-flying offense (108 points per game).

It might not even be as simple as that, as Harden is running the point so well that no defense has really had much of an impact on him. San Antonio will want to glue Kawhi to Harden in this one, but even if they do, it might not keep the Rockets from making this a game. Houston coming in and handing San Antonio their second home loss of the young season feels like a reach, but they’ll make the Spurs run and at least hang around in this one.

Pick: Spurs 108, Rockets 104

Portland Trail Blazers (+10) @ Los Angeles Clippers (-10)

Portland and L.A. do not like each other and when two rivals clash, anything goes. That wasn’t quite the case when they met up earlier this year, when we got about three good quarters of action before the Clippers pulled away with a win. That was in Portland, too, while this showdown drops down in the Staples Center, where the Clips are 3-1 on the year.

Los Angeles has looked like a true title contender in the early going, thanks to a strong offense and the league’s best defense (allowing just 89 points per game!). Still, the first meeting was fairly hard fought and only decided by eight points. With Damian Lillard and co. naturally wanting a little revenge, we need to make some room for a great back and forth contest tonight.

Look for Portland to give the Clips a solid fight and beat the spread.

Pick: Clippers 107, Blazers 102

Philadelphia 76ers (+11.5) @ Indiana Pacers (-11.5)

This is our first true upset pick of the night. It’s understandably safer to just pick the Sixers to beat the spread here, but the Pacers have a lot of issues they need to iron out and this feels like a fantastic spot to target Philly’s first win of the young season.

The Sixers still don’t defend and they won’t have Joel Embiid (rest) in this one, but Indy has even worse defensively (yep, it’s possible), giving up an astonishing 113 points per contest. Paul George isn’t playing elite ball, Rodney Stuckey is hurt and newcomers Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young have struggled with their consistency in their new surroundings.

We can safely expect the Pacers to put up a fight at home against probably the worst team in the league, but their defense and chemistry is just so bad right now. They’ll figure it out eventually, but it may take a bad loss to the Sixers before they wake up.

Pick: Sixers 104, Pacers 101

4 NBA Upset Picks For Friday Night’s Games

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The NBA gives us a full, meaty slate again on Friday night, with a jam-packed 9-game schedule coming our way. It’s a star-studded affair, too, with the likes of John Wall, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin and so many others gracing the hardwood in some big games tonight.

We could hand out our regular NBA picks for this slate, but with so many games, this feels like a good spot to concentrate more on the upset specials that could be worth betting on. Here are our favorite underdog NBA picks for Friday night:

Memphis Grizzlies (+6) Over Los Angeles Clippers (-6)

The Clippers have honestly looked fantastic for much of the young NBA season, but they finally slipped up the other night in a loss to the Thunder. Losing to Memphis tonight certainly isn’t in their plans, but Memphis has rebounded from a slow start and can be tough at home.

If we’re betting straight up, the Clippers are still our pick, but Memphis isn’t even 100% healthy and will want to fight a rival tooth and nail in this one. Tony Allen is also back, so hitting outside shots could get a little more difficult for the Clips tonight. Brace for a slower-paced game and Memphis beating the spread.

Pick: Clippers 98, Grizz 95

Brooklyn Nets (+7) Over Charlotte Hornets (-7)

The Brooklyn Nets have been an odd team, as a few times now they’ve been on fire from outside and in just about every game they’ve really struggled on the defensive end. With Jeremy Lin sidelined with an injury, we can expect the latter to continue and the former to possibly be put on hold.

That being said, the Nets are at home and Charlotte can be a very hot and cold team. If Brooklyn doesn’t rest Brook Lopez, he could have a big game and the Nets could keep it close at the Barclays Center.

Pick: Hornets 104, Nets 101

Miami Heat (+7) Over Toronto Raptors (-7)

Miami is our first straight up upset pick of this grouping, as Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside headline a fairly underrated team that can dictate the pace of games. Toronto can, too, but the only guy really firing on all cylinders for them at the moment is DeMar DeRozan. With Justise Winslow potentially locking him down defensively, this could be a great spot for Miami to stage a nice road upset.

Pick: Heat 97, Raptors 96

New York Knicks (+8) Over Chicago Bulls (-8)

It’s the Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah revenge game we’ve all been waiting for. It’s easy to see the allure of this matchup, as Chicago’s prodigal son returns home and after a “meh” start to the year, could be ready for his first true breakout game.

Even if Rose doesn’t blast off in his first trip back to the United Center, perhaps Chicago finally goes completely cold from the floor. They’ve gotten by on jumpers thus far, but still will need to prove the oddsmakers wrong for a while before we fully buy into them as a high end playoff contender.

Look for Rose to get his revenge and the Knicks to get the upset road win.

Pick: Knicks 101, Bulls 99

That does it for our Friday night NBA upset picks. We’ve got two teams beating the spread and two flat out pulling off upsets. Bet at your own risk, but regardless the path you take, we wish you luck in your NBA betting endeavors tonight.

2016 NBA Picks: 4 Upsets to Target on Wednesday Night

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Tuesday night provided a relatively chalky slate for NBA betting, but regardless, we had ourselves a day when it came to our NBA picks.

When it was all said and done, we were a solid 6-3, despite calling our picks ahead of news that both Marc Gasol and Mike Conley would sit for the Grizzlies. Oh, and no one saw the Jazz beating the Spurs in San Antonio.

Needless to say, on a night that saw a few crazy NBA upsets, we thought we’d switch things up with our picks on Wednesday night. With tonight’s slate (10 games) even bigger than last night, there are undoubtedly going to be some fun NBA underdog picks to consider. Let’s take a look at our favorite four:

New Orleans Pelicans (+6.5) @ Memphis Grizzlies (-6.5)

This is a good spot to say two things: our mentioning of these upset picks to target doesn’t necessarily mean we think these teams will win. It’s up to you where to bet, how much and what the precise bet will be.

That being said, the 0-4 Pelicans need to win eventually and while I doubt they’ll actually get the job done on the road against the Grizz, I do think they have a decent chance of keeping it close. The reality is this team is ravaged by injuries and they are just not good right now, but a massive performance by Anthony Davis could at least give them a chance to hang around late.

Memphis hasn’t been some world beater, either. They’re just 2-2 on the year and got absolutely smoked last night while they rested Mike Conley and Marc Gasol. They’re good at home and should be pretty fresh even coming off a back to back, but New Orleans has somehow remained very competitive (four of five losses coming by 8 points or less).

I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Pellies hang tight in another loss.

Pick: Grizzlies 108, Pelicans 102

Oklahoma City Thunder (+7.5) @ Los Angeles Clippers (-7.5)

This is probably my favorite upset pick of the night, as Russell Westbrook is going bonkers right now (averaging a ridiculous 38.7-12.3-11.7 line) en route to a perfect 3-0 start for the Thunder. This is a very interesting spot for OKC, as we’ll finally learn if they’ve been merely playing down to their weak competition, or if they just are a one-man show without much substance.

Facing the Clippers on the road should tell us a whole heck of a lot, seeing as Los Angeles is sporting a strong defense (allowing just 93 points per game) and is also perfect at 3-0. Conventional wisdom says the Clippers stay hot on their home floor, but with this spread, OKC is the bet. You could go for a total upset, but at a minimum betting the spread makes good sense here. I still think the Clips win to flex their muscle a bit and show the Thunder what’s up, but this game should be close and very high-scoring.

Pick: Clippers 106, Thunder 101

Los Angeles Lakers (+12.5) @ Atlanta Hawks (-12.5)

The Lakers are probably not winning this game, let’s get that out of the way. That being said, Atlanta has not been tested at all en route to a 3-0 start and it’s very possible this could end up being a trap game with a showdown with the Wizards lying ahead for the Hawks.

The key here would be Atlanta losing focus and D’Angelo Russell coming out and having a huge game. I sincerely doubt it and it’s tough to even have the Lakers hanging here, but this is a huge spread and the logic isn’t awful.

Ultimately, we still like the Hawks all-around tonight.

Pick: Hawks 107, Lakers 94

Philadelphia 76ers (+12.5) Over Charlotte Hornets (-12.5)

The deal is similar here, as the Hornets get a tasty home matchup with a Sixers team they’ll naturally overlook. Philly is winless and doesn’t have a ton of (healthy) talent, so naturally the Hornets could yawn at this one and expect it to be a little easier than it might end up being.

This could truly be a tougher game than the Hornets anticipate, as Philly has been surprisingly competitive this year, with strong efforts against the Thunder and Magic in two close losses. They’ll be without Joel Embiid and probably won’t actually beat the spread, but a gaudy spread like this always needs to be considered.

This could be a sneaky play, but ultimately we’d favor the Hornets, overall.

Pick: Hornets 105, Sixers 90

These are probably the four best NBA upset picks for tonight based on either the spread or actual logic. Of the four, we love OKC to beat the spread and maybe even push for the win, while we also would not be shocked to see The Brow beast in a close contest in Memphis.

Hopefully any upset picks you shoot for work out. Regardless of how you bet tonight, good luck!