Thursday's NBA Games - Odds, Predictions and Picks for 2/28/19

The action continues to heat up as the race for the playoffs intensifies in the ongoing 2018-19 NBA season. Thursday night is a rather lean day with just a total of six scheduled games . We picked four meaningful games for February 28th and dissected each one for your betting reference.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Oklahoma City Thunder

The Philadelphia 76ers hit the road and take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The Sixers are 2-1 SU since the All-Star break and they are currently at 39-22 on the season, just one game behind the third seeded Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference team standings. Philadelphia is looking to win two in a row after a 111-110 squeaker over the New Orleans Pelicans last Monday.

Joel Embiid leads the Sixers with 27.3 points, 13.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Jimmy Butler is scoring 18.5 points per game while J.J. Redick is putting up 18.2 points per game as well. Newcomer Tobias Harris has played 7 games with the Sixers and he is averaging 20.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

The Sixers are the 4th highest scoring team in the NBA at 115.7 points per game. They are ranked 3rd in passing at 27.3 dimes per contest and are also 5th in rebounding at 47.0 boards grabbed per outing. The Sixers however are only just 20th in the league in scoring defense at 112.3 opponent points per game allowed.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Odds

The Thunder have slowed down after a hot streak and have lost three out of their last four games to fall to 38-22 SU on the season and remain in 4th place in the Eastern Conference teams standings at 7.5 games behind the conference leaders Golden State Warriors.

Paul George leads OKC with 28.6 points per game as well as contributing 8.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Russell Westbrook is averaging a triple-double with 22.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game while Steven Adams is having a fine year with 14.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while Dennis Schroeder is scoring 15.5 points while issuing 4.1 assists per game.

The Thunder are the 3rd best scoring team in the league at 115.9 points per game. They are also ranked 20th in assists with 23.5 dimes per contest. Oklahoma City is also the 2nd best rebounding squad in the NBA at 48.0 boards per outing. The Thunder are 14th overall in scoring defense as they are allowing 111.1 points per game this season.

The Sixers are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played and Philadelphia is 3-1 SU in its last four games on the road. The Thunder are also 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played. Oklahoma City is 4-1 SU in its last five games played at home. Head to head, the Thunder are 10-0 SU in their last 10 games against the Sixers.

Backup center Boban Marjanovic is also out for this contest after suffering a knee injury in their last game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Boban was supposed to take the place of All-Star starter Joel Embiid who has missed the last three games with a knee injury and who is likely out of this contest as well. The Sixers however are 2-1 in the three games Embiid has missed.

Philly has to gang rebound here because they’re up against the 2nd best rebounding team in the league in OKC. Remember that when the Sixers lost to the Portland Trail Blazers two games ago, they were outrebounded 42-61.The Blazers got 12 more shots from the field and they made seven more field goals which was essentially the winning margin for the Blazers.

The Sixers won’t have Embiid and Marjanovic for this game. The Thunder are going to take advantage of that vacancy in the middle. With elite scorers in George and Westbrook, they should take care of business at home and outgun the outmanned Sixers.

I’m picking the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Philadelphia 76ers on 2/28/19

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The Sixers are 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games played and 2-2 ATS in their last four road games played. The Thunder are 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games played and Oklahoma City is 3-2 ATS in its last five home games played. Head to head, the Thunder are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 meetings against the Sixers.

Philadelphia is 1-4 ATS in their last five games when their opponent scores 100 or more points in their previous game, 1-4 ATS in their last five games after a straight up victory and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. Oklahoma City is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games when their opponent scores 100 or more points in their previous game, 4-0 ATS in their last four games when playing on one day rest and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games versus the Eastern Conference. Embiid’s absence is a big blow to the Sixers, especially against a team with two All-Stars in Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

I’m picking the Oklahoma City Thunder to cover the -8 spread at home.

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The under is 7-3 in the Sixers’ last 10 games played. The total has gone under in three out of the last four games played by Philadelphia. The under is 5-2 in the Thunder’s last eight games played. Oklahoma City has seen the total go under in three out of their last five games played at home. Head to head, the under is 6-3-1 in the last 10 games between these two teams.

The total has gone under in the last four road games of the Sixers against teams with winning records. The under is also 4-1 in the Sixers’ last five road games. The Thunder have seen the under go  4-1 in their last five home games against teams with winning records and the under os 5-2 in OKC’s last seven games overall. These are two of the top scoring teams in the league but both can play defense when needed. The absence of Embiid’s 20+ points also makes me like the under in this game so yeah,

I’m picking the teams to go under the total of 239 points.

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Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets

The Utah Jazz take their act to Mile High to take on the second-best team in the Western Conference on Thursday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

The Utah Jazz continue to play good music as they hope not just to barge in the postseason but to get home court advantage as well. The Jazz are currently 6th at 33-26 on the season and just 3.5 games off the 4th ranked Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference team standings. With still enough games left to catch up, Utah is trying to make its move right now.

Second-year guard Donovan Mitchell leads the Jazz in scoring with 22.8 points per game. Rudy Gobert is Utah’s defensive anchor with 12.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Ricky Rubio leads the team in assists with 6.1 per contest while also scoring 13.3 points per game. Jae Crowder is also putting up 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Jazz.

Utah is ranked 20th in team scoring at 110.1 points per game. They are the 11th best passing team with 25.2 assists per game and are also ranked 11th off the glass with 45.7 boards per contest.  The Jazz have the 4th best scoring defense in the league at only 106.7 points per game allowed.

Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets Odds

The Denver Nuggets continue their strong play as they are 42-18 on the season and just one game behind the defending champions Golden State Warriors in the race for the top seed in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. Denver heads to this game having won five straight games. The Nuggets are also on a nine-game home winning streak.

Nikola Jokic has been spectacular for the Nuggets. Jokic is averaging 20.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.4 steals to lead Denver. Jamal Murray is also having a fine season with 18.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Veteran forward Paul Millsap is averaging 12.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game to help the cause.

Denver is ranked 13th in the NBA in team scoring at 112.3 points per game. The Nuggets are also 2nd in assists with 27.7 dimes per contest and they are 7th off the glass with 46.8 rebounds per outing. Denver has the 6th best scoring defense in the league at 106.9 points per game allowed.

Utah is 6-4 SU in its last 10 games played. The Jazz are 1-3 SU in their last four road games. Denver is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games played. The Nuggets are a spotless 5-0 SU in their last five home games. Head to head, the Nuggets are 3-1 SU in their last four games against the Jazz.

Donovan Mitchell is averaging 27.75 points per game in his last four game played while Rudy Gobert is grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking 2.2 shots per game in his last five games played as the duo look to lead the Jazz on the road against the powerhouse Denver team.

Nikola Jokic has been the real deal in this current five game winning streak as he’s averaging 24 points, 13.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists over that period. However, Paul Millsap has also stepped up his game as of late as the veteran is putting up 16.8 points and 12.4 rebounds per game in his last five games.

Utah has lost three straight games on the road and the Jazz are 14-16 SU on the road this season. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are 27-4 SU at home, the best home record in the entire league. Denver has also won 9 straight games at the Pepsi Center and are coming off a statement win over the Thunder. I like how the Nuggets are rolling now.

I’m picking the Denver Nuggets to beat the Utah Jazz on 2/28/19.

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The Jazz are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games played and 3-1 ATS in their last four road games. The Nuggets are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games and Denver is 4-1 ATS in its last five home games. Head to head, the Nuggets are 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 meetings.

Utah is 4-1 ATS in their last five road games and 5-0 ATS in their last five games overall. However, the Jazz are just 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games when playing on zero days rest. The Nuggets are 23-9 ATS in their last 32 games played, 5-1 ATS in their last six home games against teams with losing road records. Denver has been excellent in covering the spread at home. The Jazz have played well against the spread too but not when playing on back to back games.

I’m picking the Denver Nuggets to cover the -6 spread at home.

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The total has gone over in 7 out of the last 10 games played by the Jazz. The over is 3-1 in Utah’s last four road games. On the other hand, the total has gone under in six out of the last 10 games played by the Nuggets. The under is 3-2 in Denver’s last five home games. Head to head, the under is 8-2 in the last 10 encounters between these two teams.

The under is 7-1 in Utah’s last eight games against teams with a winning SU record. The under is 4-1 in the Nuggets’ last five games against teams with winning records, 4-1 in their last five against the Western Conference and 5-1 in their last six games overall. These are two Top 6 defensive teams in the NBA and I’m expecting them to try and shut down the other.

I’m picking the teams to go under the total of 224 points.

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Miami Heat vs Houston Rockets

The Miami Heat head to Space City for a Thursday showdown with the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center in Houston.

The Miami Heat are reeling with nine losses in their last 11 games. As a result, the Heat have dropped to 26-33 on the season and they are now out of the playoff picture at 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Despite that, Miami is just 1.5 games behind the 8th seeded Charlotte Hornets so all is not lost yet.

Josh Richardson is Miami’s scoring leader at 17.4 points per game. Dwyane Wade, playing in his final season, is still putting up decent numbers at 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Big man Hassan Whiteside is having a double-double year with 12.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. Justise Winslow is averaging 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Heat.

The Heat have the 4th lowest scoring average in the league at 105.1 points per game. Miami is ranked 19th in assists with 23.9 dimes per contest. They are also the 9th top rebounding team with 46.3 boards hauled per outing. The Heat have the 3rd best scoring defense in the NBA as they allow their opponents just 106.2 points per game.

Miami Heat vs Houston Rockets

James Harden’s historic 30 point streak finally ended at 32 and at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Despite that, the Rockets won the game 119-111 and improved their record to 35-25 on the season. Houston currently sits at the fifth spot in the West and they are just three games behind third place Oklahoma City.

Harden is the league’s top scorer at 36.3 points per game but the Beard isn’t just scoring, he’s doing other things like grabbing 6.6 rebounds, issuing 7.1 assists as well as getting 2.1 takeaways per contest. Chris Paul is averaging 16.1 points and 8.3 assists per game while Eric Gordon is contributing 16.3 points per game. Clint Capela is averaging 17.1 points and 12.5  rebounds per game for Houston.

The Rockets rank 11th in the league in team scoring at 113.2 points per game. Houston is also 13th in scoring defense at 111.1 points per game allowed. However, Houston is next to last in passing at only 20.9 assists per game. They are also just 27th off the glass with a total of 41.6 boards per contest.

The Heat are 2-8 SU in their last 10 games played and are 2-4 SU in their last six road games. The Rockets are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games and Houston is 2-1 in their last three games at home. Head to head, the Rockets have won two out of the last three meetings versus the Heat.

The Miami Heat should be in panic mode right now because while the other teams are solidifying their playoff positions, the Heat have  regressed and are now in danger of missing the playoff bus. Good thing that Miami has gotten Goran Dragic back. Although he’s still struggling to find form, Dragic could be key in Miami getting back in the playoff race.

Likewise, the Rockets have gotten Clint Capela back after missing a couple of weeks due to injury. Houston had gotten excellent mileage from Kenneth Faried while Capela was hurt and now with Capela back, Faried becomes a big bonus for them. Injuries have hampered the Rockets’ progress this season but they hope to get their act together just in time for the Big Dance.

The Heat are a solid 15-15 SU on the road this season but we know they’ve fallen out of playoff position with their current skid.  The Rockets are 21-9 SU at home and have won back to back games heading to Wednesday’s games. After his streak ended, you bet Harden wants a bounce back game. I like Houston’s chances to win here.

I’m picking the Houston Rockets to beat the Miami Heat on 2/28/19.

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The Heat are 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games played and Miami is 4-2 ATS in their last six road games played. The Rockets are also just 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games played and Houston is 1-2 ATS in their last three home games played. Head to head, the Heat are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 meetings against the Rockets.

Miami is 20-6 in its last 26 games against the Southwest Division, 23-10-1 ATS in its last 34 games when playing on zero days rest and 5-2 ATS in its last seven games played on the road. Houston is 0-4 ATS in its last four games against the Southeast Division, 1-6 ATS in its last seven against the Eastern Conference and 5-12 in their last 17 meetings with Miami. Houston’s last four games have been decided by fewer than nine points each and the Rockets are 5-9 ATS this season when they are favorites of by seven or more points.

Houston is going to win this game outright but I’m not eating the +9.5 chalk here. I’m picking the Miami Heat to cover the +9.5 spread against the Houston Rockets.

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The total has gone over in six out of the last 10 games played by the Heat. The under is 16-13 in Miami’s 29 road games this season. The over is 5-4-1 in the Rockets’ last 10 games played and 2-0-1 in their last three games played at the Toyota Center.

The over is 13-4 in the Heat’s last 17 games when playing on zero days rest and the over is also 5-2 in their last seven games against the Western Conference. The over is 7-3 in the Rockets’ last 10 games against the Southeast Division and the over is also 9-3 in their last dozen meetings in Houston. The Heat have given up an average of 115 points per game in their last five games while the Rockets have scored an average of 117.4 points per game in their last 10 games. I think the Rockets will try to outscore the Heat and Miami is going to oblige especially with Goran Dragic back.

I’m going to pick the over 218.5 for this game.

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Minnesota Timberwolves vs Indiana Pacers

The Minnesota Timberwolves travel to Hoosier state to take on the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indiana.

Minnesota entered Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks with a 29-31 record which put them in 10th place in the loaded Western Conference team standings. Despite being out of the playoff picture for now, the Wolves find themselves just three games behind the San Antonio Spurs who currently occupy the final playoff seat with their 33-29 record.

Karl Anthony Towns leads the Timberwolves with 23.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Andrew Wiggins is helping out his buddy with 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. Jeff Teague leads Minnesota with 8.1 assists aside from scoring 11.9 points per game. But the big story in Minnesota this season other than the Jimmy Butler trade is the resurrection of Derrick Rose’s career. The 2011 NBA MVP is averaging 18.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in his best season in a long, long time.

The Timberwolves rank 14th in the NBA in team scoring at 112.2 points per game. They are 15th in the league in passing with 24.5 assists per game and are also 16th in rebounding at 45.0 boards grabbed per outing. Minnesota ranks 18th overall in scoring defense as they allow their opponents to score an average of 111.9 points per game.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are proving a lot of people wrong. After losing Victor Oladipo to a season-ending knee injury, many though Indiana would just fade away. However, this young group has proven that they can win even without their leader. The Pacers lost four in a row after ‘Dipo went down but since then, they have won eight out of their last 10 games to keep the 3rd spot in the East with their 40-21 record.

Bojan Bogdanovic has taken over as the team’s top scorer with his 17.0 points per game average. Domantas Sabonis is having an excellent year with 14.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while Darren Collison is leading the team in assists with 6.0 dimes per contest while also scoring 10.8 points per game.Myles Turner is helping out with 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while Thaddeus Young is scoring 12.7 points and grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game.

The Pacers have the 9th lowest scoring average in the league at 108.6 points per game. However, the own the NBA’s top rated scoring defense at 103.3 opponent points per game allowed. Indiana is also ranked 7th in passing with 26.1 assists per game and they are 24th off the glass with 43.4 rebounds per contest.

The Timberwolves are 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played and Minnesota is 1-4 SU in its last five road games. The Pacers are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games played. Indiana is 5-1 SU in its last six home games. Head to head, the Wolves are 3-1 SU in their last four games against the Pacers.

The total has gone over in six out of the last 10 games played by the Timberwolves. The over is 4-1 in Minnesota’s last five road games. The Pacers have seen the total go under in six out of their last 10 games played. The under is 4-2 in the Pacers’ last six home games. Head to head, the total has gone over in 8 out of the Timberwolves’ last 11 road games against the Pacers. The over is also 15-8 in the last 23 overall meetings between these two teams.

Despite all their struggles this season, the Timberwolves have managed to stay within striking distance of the playoffs. The question now is who is going to lead the team to the next level. We’ve seen Karl Anthony Towns dominate games recently and we’ve also seen Derrick Rose rise above his injuries this season. KAT is averaging 26.9 points and 12.4 rebounds in his last 10 games played while Rose has scored 20 or more points in four out of his last five games played and is averaging 19.4 points during that stretch where the Wolves went 4-1 SU.

The Pacers meanwhile have won 8 out of their last 10 games to put the entire league on notice that they aren’t going away even without Oladipo. Indiana has gotten a big lift from Wesley Matthews whose 13.6 points per game scoring average is mitigating the damage of Oladipo’s injury.

Minnesota played without Robert Covington and Jeff Teague on Wednesday but the Pacers were also without Domantas Sabonis and Tyreke Evans. The Pacers are a very balanced team who have plenty of scoring options when other players are available. I expect the rest of the team to pick up the slack again if Sabonis and Evans won’t be playing on Thursday. Indiana’s also a stout home team while the Timberwolves have won just nine road games this season.

I’m picking the Indiana Pacers to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves on 2/28/19.

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The Wolves are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games played. Minnesota is 3-2 ATS in their last five road games played. Indiana is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games played and 5-1 ATS in their last five home games. Head to head, the Timberwolves are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 meetings against the Pacers. Minnesota is also 4-1 ATS in their last five road games against Indiana.

Minnesota is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 Thursday games while the Pacers are 6-0 ATS in their last six home games against teams with a road winning percentage of below .400. Indiana is also 6-0 ATS in their last six home games against opponents with a losing road record and the Pacers are also 5-1 ATS in their last six games played. Indiana has one of the best home records in the league and they have played well there against losing teams.

I’m picking the Indiana Pacers to win this game outright and cover the -3.5 spread.

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The total has gone over in all of Minnesota’s last six games. The over is 4-1 in their last five game on the road. The under is 8-4 in the Pacers’ last dozen games The total has gone over in 15 out of the last 23 games between these two teams and the over is also 8-3 in their last 11 games played in Indiana.

The trends point to the over but only two out of the last 10 Indiana games have netted a total higher than 221.5 points. That’s because Indiana is the top defensive team in the league in terms of scoring defense. I expect the Pacers to drag the Timberwolves to their style of play and that should result in a low scoring affair.

I’m picking the teams to go under the total of 221.5 points.

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