There are six NBA games tonight, and defense is going to be on full display. The Boston Celtics are in the middle of an incredible defensive run. But can they shut down the NBA's highest-scoring offense? And what should we expect from the Oklahoma City Thunder without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander against the Detroit Pistons? Will the Toronto Raptors be the first team to slow down the San Antonio Spurs in a month? Below are the best NBA picks & predictions for Wednesday, February 25th.
Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>
Wednesday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Oklahoma City Thunder at Detroit Pistons
The Thunder are about to play their ninth consecutive game without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In their previous eight games without him, they've scored 106 or fewer points four times.
Tonight, the Thunder travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons. The Pistons are allowing just 109.4 points per game, which is tied for the third-fewest points allowed in the league. They've held two of their last five opponents to fewer than 106 points.
The biggest issue for the Thunder is that without Gilgeous-Alexander, they don't have a single player averaging more than 17.5 points per game. Second-leading scorer Jalen Williams is also going to miss this contest.
Pick: Thunder Team Total Under 1o6.5 Points (-112)
San Antonio Spurs at Toronto Raptors
The Spurs have won nine consecutive games, with each of their victories coming by at least nine points. That includes an 11-point road victory over the Pistons on Monday.
Earlier this season, when the Spurs hosted the Raptors, they defeated them 121-103. Now, not only do they enter this game red-hot, but they also don't have any major injuries, so the Raptors are going to have to deal with the best that the Spurs have to offer.
The Raptors have won four of their last six games, but their two losses during that span were at home against the Pistons and the Thunder, two of the best teams in the league. Both of those losses were by at least nine points.
Considering each of the Spurs’ last 12 wins was by at least nine points, and their last win by fewer than seven points was on January 17th, I'm going to continue backing them to cover fairly large spreads, even against good teams on the road.
Pick: Spurs – 7.5 (-112)
Boston Celtics at Denver Nuggets
I understand that the Nuggets are the highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 120.8 points per contest. I also understand that they scored 157 points last Friday, and they've scored at least 114 in eight consecutive games. During that span, they reached at least 117 seven times. However, the Celtics' defense is playing on another level right now.
The Celtics are allowing just 107.6 points per game this season, which is the fewest in the league. They've held back-to-back opponents below 90 points, and they haven't allowed more than 116 points in a game since they allowed 117 to the Hawks on January 28th. That's a 10-game stretch holding opponents below the 116.5 threshold.
While they haven't played the best offenses in the league, three of their last 10 opponents rank in the top-half of the league in scoring offense. Additionally, they held the Miami Heat to just 96 points on February 6th, and the Heat rank second in the league in scoring (120 points per game).
Pick: Nuggets Team Total Under 116.5 Points (-115)
For more of my picks and predictions all season long, subscribe to BettingPros. Right now, new subscribers receive a 20% discount that grants access to picks, predictions, and odds comparison tools.
Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.