NBA Odds, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (2/26)
Thursday features an absolutely jam-packed NBA slate. Ten games are on the schedule with plenty of intriguing matchups. Let's take a look at a few of those matchups for our top NBA picks & predictions for Thursday, February 26th.
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Thursday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Charlotte Hornets at Indiana Pacers
The Hornets continue to climb the standings in the Eastern Conference. They've won 12 of their last 15 games and have squarely put themselves back into the postseason picture. More impressive, however, is their ability to cover the spread in this run. They're 12-3 against the spread (ATS), including going 10-2 ATS in games they won. The recent run has catapulted them to being one of the best ATS teams in the NBA at 37-22.
Charlotte will take on a Pacers team that is squarely in tank mode. They've won just two of their last 10 games and have gone only 3-7 ATS during that span. With a few key starters as game-time decisions, this could get out of hand quickly for the Pacers. Indiana has been horrendous offensively. They're second to last in the league in shooting with a 52.2% effective field goal rate (eFG%) and are the second-worst offensive rebounding team in the league when they do miss. Points have been difficult to come by all season.
The Pacers don't have the firepower to take advantage of a Charlotte defense that can be taken advantage of. Meanwhile, Charlotte’s offense continues to thrive because it's an elite rebounding team. Expect that mismatch on the boards to be the deciding factor in this one and the Hornets to extend their ATS dominance.
Pick: Hornets -12.5 (-115)
Portland Trail Blazers at Chicago Bulls
A promising start to the season for the young Bulls fizzled quickly. They made a few trades at the deadline to drop a lot of the veterans that kept this team afloat. Now the team is in full tank mode. Thursday’s game is already littered with Bulls on the injury report, including some of the key pieces acquired at the deadline. They'll take on a Trail Blazers team that is hungry to taste the postseason.
Both teams like to play fast, with both ranking in the top six in pace of play. But the Bulls rank in the bottom third of the league in both offensive and defensive ratings and have been getting blown out regularly since the trade deadline. One of the big reasons is that they struggle to turn their opponents over. Their defensive turnover rate is the second-worst mark in the NBA, which means they will struggle to take advantage of the Portland offense's biggest weakness - ball security.
This Chicago team is not equipped to slow down the Trail Blazers. The first meeting of the season saw Chicago win by one point in Portland, but that was a very different Bulls roster. The Trail Blazers are the better team despite not being on the road. I like them to win and cover.
Pick: Trail Blazers -3.5 (-115)
Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns
Life after Dillon Brooks for the Suns comes at them fast against one of his biggest nemeses, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Brooks won't be the only Sun out with Devin Booker still expected to be out for another week. The Lakers come into this one relatively healthy and ready to tackle the back half of the season.
Phoenix has struggled mightily on the offensive end over the last few weeks. They've averaged only 101.7 PPG in February. It's an offense that shoots in the bottom third of the league and is one of the worst teams at getting to the free-throw line. The Lakers are a bad matchup in that respect. While they don't defend shots well, they don't allow their opponents to get to the free-throw line. If Phoenix wants to win this game, they're going to have to make shots, which they haven't done for most of the month.
This is a great spot for the Lakers to get right after two tough losses. The Suns are going to continue to struggle until they get a little healthier. It is a bad matchup for the Suns, especially without Brooks getting in the heads of Lakers players. I'll round out my best bets card with a clean sweep of road favorites.
Pick: Lakers -4.5 (-110)