NBA Best Bets of the Day (1/24)

Welcome to Hoops with Noops! The NBA loves their imbalanced schedules, and with 14 games on deck for Saturday, we have just three matchups to enjoy Friday. The Philadelphia 76ers, without Joel Embiid, host the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are double-digit favorites despite missing Evan Mobley Cleveland should win the game comfortably, but their last game was a loss to the Rockets in Houston and their next game is at home against the same Rockets. Will the Cavaliers be locked in, or could they be distracted by going home after a road trip for a chance to avenge their recent loss?

It should be an interesting game, along with the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies. The Pelicans are rounding into form and have won seven of their last ten games while the Grizzlies have been one of the better teams in the Western Conference all season.

I’m excited to watch both of those games, but I don’t see any value in betting either. Instead, I see a good angle for us to attack in the third game. Here’s my best bet of the night.

NBA Best Bet for Friday

Portland Trail Blazers at Charlotte Hornets

Current Line – Hornets -5.5, 222
My Projection – Hornets 113, Trail Blazers 106
Key Injuries – Deandre Ayton and Brandon Miller are out. LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and Kris Murray are questionable.

The Hornets weren’t expected to be great this season, but with LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller they had a core of three skilled players. Bridges and Miller are good defenders who can shoot well, and LaMelo is a one-man offense. Mark Williams would finally be healthy, and maybe we’d get a peak at the team’s potential. Unfortunately, things have not gone as planned. Ball and Bridges have missed about 25% of the season, Williams has missed about half the season, and Miller tore a ligament in his hand and will miss the rest of the season. The Hornets have one of the five worst records in the league and should be tanking yet again. There is still some potential if Ball, Bridges and Williams can stay on the floor. That seems in jeopardy here with the latter two listed as questionable. Charlotte has won four of their last six games, which is likely more wins than they wanted in that stretch. If the Hornets want to get “back on track” sitting Ball and Bridges would be a good start. The market has them favored, which tells me they are more likely to play than not, but until their status is certain, I can’t bet on the Hornets.

Luckily, not being able to lay the points with Charlotte doesn’t mean we can’t fade the Trail Blazers. They are playing their fifth game in seven nights, their second in two, and are finishing a three-game road trip of Florida and North Carolina, which is about as far from Portland as an NBA opponent can be. The Blazers should be tanking but they keep winning games. Teams know the upcoming draft is full of talent and to have the best chance to get the best player, they need to finish with one of three worst records in the NBA. Portland has won their last three games by an average of 14 points per game despite being underdogs in every matchup. The Blazers shouldn’t be fully focused on winning and even if they are, this is a brutal travel and rest spot for Portland. I expect them to struggle to be efficient on offense and possessions should be limited since both the Blazers and Hornets are among the league’s slowest teams. I project Portland’s points at 106 and their team total currently sits at 108.5. This looks like a great spot to play that team total under and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Bet

Portland Trail Blazers Team Total Under 108.5 (-110, FanDuel Sportsbook)

If you have any questions about other games, drop them in the #nba-betting channel of the FTN Discord and tag me @noopschristenson. I’ll be sure to get back to you ASAP.