Friday’s Best Bets: NBA, College Basketball, NHL & Super Bowl LVII
No matter your sport of choice, there’s always sports betting action to be had. We’ll have you covered each and every day with our daily best bets. Here are all of our best bets across each major sport in action today.
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Today’s Best Bets
Here are today’s best NBA bets.
NBA Best Bets
NBA Same Game Parlay Picks
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Kawhi Leonard is one of the best players in the NBA when healthy. Staying healthy has been a struggle for Leonard most of this year, but he is back and looking like his dominant self. He averages 22.0 points per game on 49.8% shooting. That means Leonard makes the most of his shooting opportunities.
Giannis is one of the most exciting players to watch. He averages 32.2 points per game. Tonight he is playing the 10th-best defense in the NBA. That defense will limit his scoring. The Clippers will primarily focus on stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo from getting to the basket.
The Clippers will focus on slowing down Antetokounmpo. That will open up another player to score for the Bucks. That player is Khris Middleton. Middle has averaged 20 points per game the last three years but is working his way back from a knee injury. He has a minute restriction, but the increased opportunities will offset that limited number of minutes.
Parlay Odds: +617 @ FanDuel
- Ryan Coleman
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NBA Game Picks
New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Compared to expectations, the Knicks have been largely mediocre this season, but the road has proven their favorite place to play. Coming into this one in Philly, the 29-25-2 ATS Knicks are 18-9 ATS away from home, and I like them in this spot getting points.
Winners of three of their past four, the Knicks knocked off this 76ers team just a few days ago at home, winning 108-97 as 4.5-point underdogs. Philly also comes in on somewhat of a slide, having lost two straight and three of five as they encounter their first slump of the year.
With the 76ers’ big man Joel Embiid questionable with a foot injury, I like these two familiar teams to play a closely fought game.
Bet: Knicks +5.5 (-110)
- Johnny Perun
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First Basket Scorer
Phoenix Suns vs. Indiana Pacers
The Suns travel to Indiana in an ultimate battle of First Basket strength against First Basket weakness. With Deandre Ayton at center court, the Suns are winning over 60% of their tips and subsequently scoring the first field goal in over 50% of games. The Pacers are on the other end of the spectrum with less than a 40% success rate at scoring the first field goal.
One glaring defensive weakness when it comes to First Baskets is the center position. Indiana is giving up 27% of first field goals to opposing centers, by far the most of any position. This plays right into Phoenix's strength with Deandre Ayton.
Ayton leads the team in first team field goals and trails only recently traded Mikal Bridges in first game field goals. The difference between first team field goals and first game field goals is partially a product of luck. Friday night’s lineup is up in the air with the blockbuster trade to add Kevin Durant, but Ayton should still be in play, so I feel really good about playing him in this spot against a team that struggles to prevent centers from scoring early.
Pick: 0.25u on Deandre Ayton (+300)
- Ryan Rodeman
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NBA Prop Bets
Gordon Hayward Over 13.5 points (-108)
Finally, I'm taking a prop that is too low based on the defense that Charlotte will face tonight.
The Celtics are already playing shorthanded and Jayson Tatum is currently questionable tonight with an illness. This is a solid spot for Charlotte to overperform. The go-to is LaMelo Ball, but his points prop is already high enough. Next up, Hayward.
The Celtics’ defense not only won't be as strong, but Hayward has reached double-digit points in six of his last eight games, and he is more than capable of doing that again tonight. I'm putting a single unit on this bet.
- Ryan Coleman
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We round out the day with our top college basketball bets.
College Basketball Best Bets
College Basketball Game Picks
Saint Louis vs. Dayton
I'll start by saying that Malachi Smith is questionable tonight for Dayton with an ankle injury so the Flyers might be down. But Smith has only played in 10 games this year and they're coming off a victory over VCU without him.
The battle for the top of the A10 is vicious. Dayton's defense ranks in the top 50 in the nation with a suffocating perimeter defense, limiting opponents to shooting shy of 29 percent from deep. They pull down rebounds and are good at staying out of foul trouble as well.
My lean here is Dayton, ranked 38th in home court play via Haslametrics. Their near-proximity shooting ranks 25th which I trust to be consistent, and handle Saint Louis tonight at home.
Play: Dayton -5.5 (-110 at FanDuel)
- Ryan Coleman
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Check out our best NHL bets.
NHL Best Bets
NHL Game Picks
Toronto Maple Leafs (-230) @ Columbus Blue Jackets (+195) | O/U 6.5 (-120/+102)
There is an Eastern Conference tilt with the Metropolitan Division’s Columbus Blue Jackets hosting the Atlantic Division’s Toronto Maple Leafs. In perhaps the squarest play on Friday’s slate, we are going to back the road team to not only win but to also cover the puck line.
Simply put, Toronto is better than Columbus in every single category across the board. At 5-on-5, the Leafs rank sixth in the league in expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60) and eighth in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60).
Meanwhile, at 5-on-5, the Jackets rank just 28th in the league in xGF/60 and 26th in xGA/60. Additionally, Toronto boasts the goaltending advantage in this matchup as Ilya Samsonov is slated to take the crease.
Through 25 appearances between the pipes this season, Samsonov is 17-6-2 with a .913 save percentage (SV%) and 2.42 goals against average (GAA). Based on his metrics, regression should not be an issue as Samsonov ranks sixth among starting goaltenders in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (GSAx/60) at 5-on-5.
Across the ice, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo is slated to get the nod for Columbus. While Korpisalo has actually played relatively well in net considering the terrible defense in front of him, he still ranks below Samsonov in every surface-level stat and underlying metric across the board.
In this contest, Toronto boasts the better offense, defense, and goaltender, even without superstar forward Auston Matthews in the lineup. Six of the Leafs’ last nine wins have come by at least a two-goal margin while six of the Jackets’ last nine losses have come by at least a two-goal margin.
Best Bet: Maple Leafs -1.5 (+105 via BetRivers)
- Tony Sartori
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Check out our best bets for Super Bowl LVII.
Super Bowl LVII Best Bets
Same Game Parlay Picks
Leg 1: Eagles moneyline (-125)
I get it. Betting against Patrick Mahomes is terrifying. But I’m sticking with my initial theory that this game could resemble Super Bowl LV when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers swarmed Mahomes en route to a 31-9 victory.
The Chiefs have advantages at quarterback, tight end, and head coach. But Philadelphia has the better overall roster and should win the battle in the trenches. Reid and Mahomes will have a plan and could definitely rely more on tempo and the ground game. But ultimately, Philadelphia feels like the best team in the league, regardless of their path to this point.
Since we’re going to go with a bigger same-game parlay (it is the last game, after all), I’m going to play it safe and take Philly on the moneyline as opposed to laying 1.5 points at -115.
Leg 2: Kenneth Gainwell over 17 receiving yards (+130)
The Chiefs yielded the most receptions and 47.4 receiving yards per game to opposing tailbacks this year. And while Miles Sanders will get the bulk of the early down work, it’s been Gainwell who was the top pass-catching tailback for Philly. Gainwell has seen at least 37% of the snaps in four of his last six games, and 19 of his 29 targets have come in his last eight contests. I’ll take a stab at Gainwell clearing this prop in a favorable situation. He’s hit this prop in four of his last eight games.
Leg 3: Travis Kelce over 75 receiving yards (-130)
If the Chiefs are to stay in this game, they’ll have to feed Travis Kelce. Regardless of whether Kansas City’s other weapons get healthy, this offense lives and dies with Kelce. The Hall of Fame tight end has hit 75 yards in 11 games this season, and he should be able to exploit an Eagles pass defense that’s weaker over the middle of the field. Philly gave up 47 receiving yards per game to opposing tight ends, and Kelce will be by far the best they’ve faced all year.
Leg 4: Jalen Hurts over 44.5 rushing yards (-170)
Am I a bit concerned that Hurts isn’t fully healthy? Yes. Do I still think he’ll lay it all out there in the Super Bowl? Absolutely. It helps that Hurts has cleared this number in seven of his 17 games, and the Chiefs gave up 4.7 yards per carry to opposing QBs this year. Hurts has averaged 10 carries per game during the postseason, and that’s in two games that were well in hand early. Hurts should have a good chance at hitting this prop as long as he’s close to full go.
Leg 5: A.J. Brown anytime TD (+120)
Finally, let’s end with a touchdown scorer prop. Brown led the Eagles with 11 receiving scores this season and faces a Chiefs defense that gave up the third-most touchdowns to opposing receivers this year. If you’d rather take the safer route with Kelce, I get that too. But Brown feels like a solid plus-money bet to get in the end zone.
Parlay odds: +1200
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