Sunday's NBA action is full of value. There is a full slate of games that feature a couple of teams not valued properly this season. Here are a few of my favorite plays for Sunday.
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Sunday’s Best NBA Picks
(NBA odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Houston Rockets at Detroit Pistons
Houston and Detroit will square off on Sunday afternoon in Detroit. It's a great opportunity for two teams sitting around .500. It's also an intriguing coaching matchup between Ime Udoka and J.B. Bickerstaff.
Both of these coaches have imposed a patient style of play on their young rosters and the results have been showing. Because of this patience on the offensive end, these are two of the more slower-paced teams in the league. That has led to strong defensive numbers in the opponents’ points per game (PPG) column. Detroit ranks fourth in the East at 110.5 PPG allowed while Houston is fifth in the West at 108.9 PPG.
On offense, Detroit still lacks some explosiveness and can get bogged down with turnovers of which they're 28th in the league. Additionally, Houston has been a poor shooting team with their 50.1 effective field goal percentage (eFG%) ranking 27th. With two strong defenses going up against two young offenses that like to play at a slow pace, this game sets up perfectly as an under play.
Pick: Under 221 Points (-110)
New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers
The Pacers and Knicks square off again in this rekindled rivalry. This will be the second meeting of the season with the Knicks winning game one 123-98. It was a game where the Pacers shot very poorly from both the three-point line and the free-throw line. To keep this game closer they'll need to be better in both respects.
There's reason to believe Indiana will shoot better from deep. The Pacers are an above-average team from beyond the arc, ranking 12th in three-pointer percentage (3PT%). Additionally, the Knicks have had a bit of luck defensively from three-point range. They have the eighth-best defensive three-point percentage but give up the highest distribution of threes in the league. At some point, you would expect those shots to fall. The Pacers are a team that can make those.
With a high point total expected from Indiana, I'm targeting the over here. New York plays at the slowest offensive pace in the league. Against an Indiana defense that also gives up the shortest defensive possessions, something has to give. That something is an efficient New York offense that will take advantage of their opportunities. This would should be a fun back-and-forth matchup.
Pick: Over 227.5 Points (-110)
Charlotte Hornets at Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia star Joel Embiid has yet to make his debut this season and that's led to a very poor start to the 76ers’ season. They're 1-7 straight up (SU) but even more abysmal is their 2-6 mark against the spread (ATS). Perhaps with Charlotte coming into town, they can get a little reprieve before Embiid makes his debut next week. However, I don't think they'll get that here.
Charlotte has started pretty strong - 4-5 SU and 4-4-1 ATS. Those numbers themselves aren't that impressive. However, when you take into account they have had the seventh-hardest strength of schedule it makes this game seem mispriced.
Philadelphia has had a lot of struggles that even Embiid may not be able to fix. They are one of the worst shooting teams and are allowing the worst eFG% to opponents. With Andre Drummond filling in they've also been a below-average rebounding team on both the offensive and defensive end. That is somewhere Charlotte has thrived. That advantage on the boards should be crucial in a game like this where Philadelphia will likely struggle to shoot again. I'll be backing the underdog and taking the Hornets.
Pick: Hornets +3.5 (-112)
