Daily Odds Boost check for Friday, July 31

This is a great time to be a sports bettor. As sports betting becomes legal in more and more locations, the various sportsbooks are all vying for your business.

Targeting daily odds boosts bets can be one of the best ways to take advantage.

Four days a week, I’ll be highlighting some of the best odds boosts and where you can find them.

Today’s odds boost piece will focus primarily on the NBA, which is back in full swing Friday. There are six games on the docket, starting with the Magic vs. the Nets at 2:30 p.m. ET. We’ll also take a look at a “Crowd Booster” for Saturday’s UFC card.

If you’re looking for more value, make sure to subscribe for our platinum Fade the Noise Bets packages for the NFL, NBA, MLB, and whatever other sports you’re interested in betting on.

Let’s dive in.

NBA Odds Boost

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Memphis Grizzlies (4 p.m. ET start)

Boosted bet: Damian Lillard to score at least 30 points and the Blazers to win: +500 on William Hill (was +400)

This matchup may not jump off the page on Friday’s NBA slate, but it could have massive playoff implications. The Grizzlies currently own a 3.5-game lead over the Blazers for the No. 8 spot in the West, so a win would put them in the driver’s seat. If the Grizzlies can finish 4.5 games ahead of the No. 9 seed, they would avoid the dreaded play-in series for the final playoff spot.

That said, the Blazers are actually slight three-point favorites in this contest. They did get slightly healthier during the restart, getting Jusuf Nurkic back from an extended injury, but Trevor Ariza did choose to opt out.

If you believe in the Blazers, why not take a look at this interesting odds boost on William Hill? Lillard is very much the engine that drives the Blazers, so they will likely need a big game from him if they’re going to win.

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics (6:30 p.m. ET start)

Boosted bet: Celtics to win: +200 on FanDuel (was +164)

The Bucks and Celtics headline Friday’s NBA card in a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview. The Bucks have dominated all season — they were on pace for 67 wins prior to the shutdown — so they have essentially already clinched the top spot in the East. If they win just three of their eight “regular season” games, no one will be able to catch them.

While that’s great for the Bucks, it means we may not see their stars for a full complement of minutes in Orlando. Eric Bledsoe has already been ruled out, and guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton could be somewhat limited.

That makes the Celtics an interesting team to target, especially given their success against the Bucks this year. They’ve split their two previous matchups, and they actually own a slight scoring advantage in those contests (119.5 points per game vs. 116.5 points per game).

Dallas Mavericks vs. Houston Rockets (9 p.m. ET start)

Boosted bet: Rockets to win and Harden to score at least 40 points: +400 on DraftKings (was +300)

Harden is the league’s preeminent scoring force. He leads all players with an average of 34.4 points per game, and he’s scored at least 40 points in 19 of his 61 games this season (31.15%). Unsurprisingly, the Rockets have fared well in those contests, posting a record of 17-2.

That makes this a very interesting correlated parlay. The Rockets clearly need Harden to score the ball in order to win, so the odds of winning one part of this bet increases the odds of winning the second.

Harden should also see a bump in scoring value today with Eric Gordon out of the lineup. Harden has increased his usage rate by +1.8% in games without Gordon and Clint Capela this season, resulting in an average of 37.3 points per 36 minutes.

Whether you’re interested in DFS or betting, we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know for Friday’s NBA slate.

UFC Odds Boost

Fight Night 175 (9 p.m. ET Saturday main card start)

Boosted bet: Edmen Shahbazyan and Joanne Calderwood both to win: +125 (and dropping) on PointsBet

This parlay is one of PointsBet’s “Crowd Boosters.” That means that the line will drop leading up to the start of the fights, and everyone who places a bet will get the benefit of the improved line regardless of when you placed your wager.

This bet will allow you to take Shahbazyan — who is a massive -335 favorite — and parlay him with another favorite for a better than even-money payout. Calderwood’s odds aren’t nearly as strong — she’s listed at -162 vs. Jennifer Maia — but that still results in nice value for this bet. The true odds on a parlay for fighters with those odds is approximately +110, so +125 is already better than expected. If the line moves even further in your direction, that’s just gravy.

If you’re looking for more betting value for UFC 175, make sure to check out Jonah Shiffman’s betting breakdown.