NBA Odds, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (2/13)
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the only show in town, as the National Hockey League (NHL) is off for a couple of weeks thanks to the 4 Nations Face-off Tournament. So, it’s all basketball on Thursday night. There is one nationally televised game on TNT/truTV/Max featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves at 8:30 p.m. ET. It was a solid 3-1 performance last week, with the Orlando Magic-Denver Nuggets Same-Game Parlay (SGP) cashing, while splitting the picks on the Golden State Warriors-Los Angeles Lakers battle.
Let’s build a bankroll for the upcoming betting events like March Madness and the stretch run of pro ball with our best NBA picks for Thursday, February 13.
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Thursday’s Best NBA Picks
NBA odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All picks are for 1 unit
Sacramento Kings (-335) at New Orleans Pelicans (+270) | O/U 235.5 (-110/-110)
The Kings (28-26) and the Pelicans (12-42) do battle at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Thursday night.
It’s the fourth and final regular-season meeting between these teams, and that’s likely just fine with the Pellies. Sacto has won the first three games in this season series, although it does have just a single cover. The Kings won 119-111 in New Orleans on Wednesday in the front end of the back-to-back set, cashing as a 6-point favorite as the Under (239.5) cashed.
These teams also met on Dec. 12 in NOLA, with Sacramento coming away with a 111-109 win, but the Pelicans covered as a 7-point ‘dog. At Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Feb. 8, the Kings won 123-118, but the Pels covered as an 8-point underdog there, too.
Since Nov. 20, 2023, New Orleans is actually 6-3 straight up (SU) in the past nine meetings, while going 8-1 against the spread (ATS), but the Under is 3-1 in the past four meetings, and 7-3 in the past 10 in the series since April 4, 2023.
Sacramento has won three in a row, going for at least 119 points of offense in each of the games, but it is just 1-3-1 ATS in the past five games while hitting the Over at a 5-2 clip in the past seven contests.
New Orleans has dropped 10 in a row since tasting victory Jan. 20 at home against the Utah Jazz. The Pelicans are just 1-4 ATS in the past five games, too, although that lone cover was against the Kings as an 8-point underdog in the 5-point loss in Sacto on Feb. 8. The Over has connected in three of the past four games for the Pelicans, while going 5-2 in the past seven games for New Orleans, too.
Let’s back the Pelicans catching the four buckets, and we’ll go high on the total.
Picks: Pelicans +8 (-110) & Over 235.5 Points (-110)
Los Angeles Clippers (-350) at Utah Jazz (+280) | O/U 225.5 (-110/-110)
The Clippers (30-23) meet the Jazz (13-40) at Delta Center in Salt Lake City with a tip time of 9 p.m. ET.
Los Angeles leads the regular-season series 3-0, and the Clippers have covered each of the three meetings, too. That includes a 130-110 victory at Intuit Dome in Inglewood on Feb. 8 as a 17.5-point favorite as the Over (226) cashed.
Utah picked up a 131-119 victory in SLC as a 9-point underdog last time out on Wednesday night, and now it faces the quick turnaround. That halted a three-game loss and non-cover skid. The Over has cashed in five consecutive games for Utah.
The Jazz have been up and down against the spread for most of the season. From Dec. 8-16, including a 37-point loss to the Clips, Utah was 0-3 ATS. They covered five in a row from Dec. 19-28, failed to cover the next two, covered five more in a row from Jan. 4-11, etc. They also failed to cover four straight from Jan. 25-30, covered three in a row from Feb. 1-5, then they dropped three straight from Feb. 7-10. Perhaps this is another hot streak coming.
The Clippers have had similar cycles of effectiveness against the number. They’ve covered the past two, including that 20-point win at Intuit on Feb. 8 as a 17.5-point favorite as the Over hit. The Clippers are averaging 129.0 PPG in the past two games, while allowing 112.0 PPG.
Los Angeles is a strong play to get the job done by at least nine points, and you should go even more aggressively on the Over.
Picks: Clippers -8.5 (-108) & Over 225.5 Points (-110)
Daniel E. Dobish is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Daniel, check out his archive and follow him @danieledobish.