With all the attention today on Super Bowl LIV in Miami, the NBA quietly will play four games throughout the day that should draw very little focus from the public. Because of the lack of public action, you can almost guarantee that any line movement from where these games opened are coming from professional bettors who are looking to take advantage of sportsbooks focus on the big game in the NFL. Let’s take a closer look at two of those games where I believe I’ve identified an edge.
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New Orleans Pelicans at Houston Rockets (-5.5, O/U 245), 2:00 PM EST (via PointsBet)
Through just five career games, Pelican’s rookie Zion Williamson has been living up to all the hype that surrounded his long-awaited debut in the league after missing the first chunk of the season out of precaution with a knee injury. Thus far through the first five games of his career, Williamson is averaging 19.2 points per game, all while playing on a significant minute restriction while he gets up to speed in the league. The last time we saw the Pelicans on the court, he scored 24 points in just 29 minutes of play in their 139-111 home win. If his first two weeks of play is any indication of his future in the league, the Pelican’s patience was worth the wait. Facing the Pelicans this afternoon, the Houston Rockets come into today’s matchup winners of five of their last seven, including a Friday night victory at home against the Mavericks. One of the favorites to win the West, the Rockets are led by the two-headed former MVP monster in Russell Westbrook and James Harden, who combined for 67 points and 22 rebounds in Friday’s win. Since opening up at Rockets -6, we’ve seen some buyback on the Pelicans to bring them down to where they currently sit. With Williamson continuing to surge and the production of Lonzo Ball and All-Star Brandon Ingram also increasing, I’ll take the young Pelicans to cover this number on the road as their confidence continues to surge.
Chicago Bulls @ Toronto Raptors (-10.5, O/U 216.5), 3:00 PM EST (via PointsBet)
The last game of the day before the Super Bowl kicks off features the Chicago Bulls traveling north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors. Currently, the defending champion Raptors sit in second place in the East, though a full 6.5 games behind the 41-7 Milwaukee Bucks who have a commanding lead in the conference. The post-Kawhi era in Toronto has gone decidedly better than expected, as forward Pascal Siakam has stepped up to lead this team with 23.8 points per game. With a win Sunday, the Raptors will bring their current win streak to 11 straight games, and continue to make progress for the top seed in the East. Currently sitting 3.5 games out of the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Chicago Bulls certainly don’t appear to be in tank mode as Zach LaVine’s move to the point has proven to pay dividends for the squad. LaVine leads all scorers in Chicago with 25.1 points per game including a 44-point performance last weekend in Cleveland. With much of the league’s focus still on the passing of Kobe and with this game the last before the Super Bowl kicks off, I could see lack of attention on defensive efforts in this one. Add in the fact that Toronto has gone over in seven of their last 10 games and Chicago has gone over in five of their last six, I’ll take the value this generally low total currently provides.
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.