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Tuesday’s Best Bets: NBA, College Basketball & NHL (2/14)

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No matter your sport of choice, there’s always sports betting action to be had. We’ll have you covered each and every day with our daily best bets. Here are all of our best bets across each major sport in action today.

Today’s Best Bets

Here are today’s best NBA bets.

NBA Best Bets

NBA Same Game Picks

Sacramento Kings vs. Phoenix Suns

Situationally, there is no better time to pull the trigger on an Under bet. Here are some stats for you: the Suns are 16-12 to the Under at home and 19-15-1 to the Under as a favorite. Sacramento?– they’re 18-9 to the Under on the road and 14-6-1 to the Under as an underdog. Skeptics will cite that the Kings have gone Over in three straight road games, but it’s worth noting that each of these games was trending toward the Under prior to the second half. Also, note the Kings’ elite offense (third in Adjusted Offensive Rating) drops off precipitously away from home. Sacramento’s Offensive Rating drops 7.5 efficiency points when on the road, whereas their defense improves from 27th in the NBA to 13th with the change in venue.

Ayton has been on a tear of late, crossing the 20-point threshold in eight of his past ten games played. But, with Devin Booker back in the lineup, we like Ayton to fall short of this number. Ayton’s points prop usually settles in the upper teens with Booker active, and the Suns’ big man has averaged 16.5 ppg when he shares the court with Booker. Additionally, in the two teams’ previous matchup, it was more of the same, as Booker tallied 44 points to Ayton’s 17. Logically, if we like the game Under, we like Ayton to fall short of his player prop as well. This makes for a highly correlated and smart SGP on a stacked Tuesday night.

Parlay Odds: +272

  • Tommy Jurgens

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NBA Game Picks

Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers are heavy favorites against the Warriors tonight. Golden State has listed Klay Thompson as questionable for tonight’s game. They’re hoping he can play in the second game of a back-to-back, but the Warriors are currently uncertain.

Of course, the Warriors are also without Steph Curry right now. He’ll be out beyond the All-Star break.

The Warriors typically get good looks from the floor, shooting an effective field goal percentage of 57.3%. But when shots aren’t falling, the Warriors are helpless. They’ve turned the ball over nearly 16% of the time and have earned just 25% of offensive rebounds while earning a free throw rate of just 17.7.

The Clippers are active on the defensive glass and limit fouls. That should help them defensively against the Warriors, regardless is Thompson is playing. On the other hand, Los Angeles has been inconsistent on the offensive end.  But things are at least better when Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are playing together.

Golden State sends teams to the line often. There’s a good chance the Clippers get more freebies and add more second-chance points off offensive rebounds.

But we don’t know the complete status of Thompson for tonight. I know that if the Warriors struggle to make shots, they’re not going to have a tremendous offensive game because they rarely do the little things well. Grab the Under in this one too.

Bet: Under 228.5 (-110) 

  • Jason Radowitz

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First Basket Scorer

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics

This game is one of the premier matchups of the night. Both these teams are championship-caliber teams that can win it all this year. Even though both teams have a chance to win the championship, only one team can make the first basket tonight. 

The Milwaukee Bucks have an advantage in scoring the first basket. Brook Lopez is 46-21 in winning jump balls this year. That means he is the second-best player NBA at winning jump balls. They also have Giannis Antetokoumpo. Giannis is one of the most consistent scorers in the NBA. The combination of winning the jump ball and consistently scoring gives the Bucks the advantage tonight. 

First Basket: Giannis Antetokounmpo (+300)

  • Cameron Lynch

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NBA Prop Bets

Keegan Murray Over 12.5 Pts + Ast (-110 DraftKings)

After his 30-point outing at Houston over a week ago, Murray has cooled off a bit, averaging 9.7 points per game over the last two weeks. With his five-point outing across 28 minutes on Saturday and now playing a top-10 defense in a pace-down spot, Murray’s props have come down too much.

The rookie has averaged 12 points per game alone and has shown in three of his last four games his scoring abilities. I have to imagine his props will continue to steadily climb over the course of the season, and I will continue riding the wave of his overs before the curve.

He has also shown his ability as a facilitator with three assists in his last game. At -110, I like the straightforward odds and will be throwing a single unit on this play.

  • Ryan Coleman

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College Basketball Best Bets

College Basketball Game Picks

Missouri vs. Auburn O/U

Five ranked teams lost to unranked opponents this weekend, but from an analytics perspective, perhaps no upset was more shocking than Missouri over Tennessee.

Typically, teams that scored at least 1.4 points per possession went on to certain victory, as they had been 1169-4 SU (99.7% winning percentage) since 2008, Per BartTorvik. However, Tennessee became the fifth team to lose in that span after scoring 1.42 points per possession against Missouri. Tennessee is not known for its offense this season, ranking 218th in effective field goal percentage, which speaks to how porous the Missouri defense can sometimes be. However, the fact that the Tigers could score 86 points on the road against a Tennessee defense that ranks first in adjusted defensive efficiency and effective field goal percentage allowed is also a tremendous feat, given that 78 points were the most it allowed before this weekend.

Auburn has struggled with knocking down perimeter shots this year (13th in SEC play with a 28.2% 3-point percentage) but should see some positive regression against a Missouri defense that ranks 259th nationally in defending the perimeter (35.4% 3-point percentage allowed).
Missouri and Auburn are tied as the second-most profitable Over teams (15-10 O/U records) in the SEC, and we expect another high-scoring affair tonight.

Bet: Missouri-Auburn Over 150.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

  • Mike Spector

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Check out our best NHL bets.

NHL Best Bets

NHL Game Picks

New Jersey Devils vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

It’s been a rough season for the Blue Jackets, as they enter tonight’s Metropolitan Division showdown as the worst team in the league (36 points). However, they’re coming off a big win in Toronto on Saturday, knocking off the Leafs as huge underdogs. They’ll look to turn it into a winning streak tonight against the Devils. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.

These two sides have been trending in opposite directions since the outset, as the Devils are currently pushing for the top spot in the Metro. They’ve been impressive on both ends of the ice, but what stands out is their defense. New Jersey’s allowing just 2.5 goals per game (5th), and they also boast the 10th-ranked penalty kill (81.1%) in the league.

With their style of play, I think this is a great spot to lock in the Devils on the puck line. They should have no issues shutting down this lowly Jackets’ offense, creating an opportunity to stretch out the lead by several goals. Columbus comes into this one ranked 31st in scoring (2.5 GPG) and dead last on the power play (15.6%). Let’s ride with the Devils’ puck line for a plus-money payout.

Bet: New Jersey Devils -1.5 (+120 via DraftKings)

  • Trenton Pruitt

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NHL Same Game Parlay

Seattle Kraken vs. Winnipeg Jets

  • Leg 1: Jets 60 min ML (+110)
  • Leg 2: UNDER 6 Total Goals (-122)
  • Leg 3: UNDER 2.5 Total Kraken Goals (-152)

The Kraken have simmered since their eight-game winning streak.

The Kraken went through the gauntlet in the New York tri-state area and suffered multiple goal losses to the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils.

Overall Seattle has struggled by going 4-6-1 in their last 11. They’re a great offense at even strength, but the special teams continue to be a weak point. They rank 22nd in Power Play Percentage and 31st in Penalty Kills, including allowing five goals in their last nine PK chances.

The Jets are also not playing well at the moment. They are 5-5-0 in their last ten, but all five wins are against under .500 teams.

The offense has been average all season, but their identity comes through the defense. Specifically, Connor Hellebuyck, with 23.9 Goals Saved Above Expected and 3.99 Wins Above Replacement

Seattle is currently playing on fumes, and I don’t expect them to move the needle against Hellebuyck. The Jets are 19-8-0 at home and with the rest advantage, they will grab win No. 20.

Parlay Odds: +527

  • John Supowitz

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Whether you’re new to sports betting or a betting pro, our Sports Betting Strategy and Advice page is for you. You can get started with our 101 section — including 10 Sports Betting Tips for Beginners — or head to more advanced strategies — like Key Numbers When Betting Against the Spread â€” to learn more.


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