Best Bets on Today’s 6-Game NBA Schedule
If Saturday’s 10-game NBA slate wasn’t enough for you, there’s another six games on the schedule for Sunday, March 12th. And if you’re looking for some picks on those games, VSiN has you covered with two NBA best bets. One of those plays is on the ESPN matchup between the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. Keep reading to find out how you can potentially turn a profit today.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on March 12
Here are our favorite NBA bets for Sunday, March 12th (odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook):
Washington Wizards at Philadelphia 76ers (-7.5, 227.5)
This meeting between the Wizards and Sixers represents a great opportunity for bettors to cash in on an Under. Washington isn’t a very good defensive team, but the Wizards are just 21st in the NBA in pace of play. When you combine that with the fact that the Sixers are a top-10 team in defensive rating, good looks could be difficult to find for the Wizards. And if Washington doesn’t put a big number on the scoreboard in this one, it’s hard to imagine this game going Over.
The Sixers should have no trouble scoring the basketball, but they’re not a team that will get up and down the floor and pour it on opponents. While Philadelphia is third in the league in offensive rating, the team is down at 26th in the NBA in pace. The Sixers run everything through Joel Embiid, which is effective but does take a little time. Their offense bleeds the shot clock, which is everything you can ask for as an Under bettor.
We also like that the Under is 33-19 when the Wizards have played on the road with totals of 220 or higher since Wes Unseld Jr. became the team’s head coach. The average total points scored in those games was just 224.2 points per game. Let’s all hope for more of the same in this one.
Bet: Under 227.5
New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers (-2.5, 225)
Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks seemingly run extremely hot or extremely cold, with no in-between. After winning nine games in a row, New York has now dropped each of its last three — with one of those defeats coming at the hands of the lowly Charlotte Hornets. Now, the Knicks face a Lakers team that is suddenly playing its most inspired basketball of the season.
Los Angeles is 8-3 both straight-up and against the spread in its last 11 games, and the team is also 4-2 SU and ATS in the six full games it has played without LeBron James. Also, over the course of those six games, the Lakers are third in the league in defensive rating. That’s hard to ignore heading into this game, as the Knicks are fifth in the league in offensive rating this season. If Anthony Davis can bottle up Julius Randle, it’s hard to see how New York will keep this one close enough to cover.
Davis has genuinely played like the best player in basketball since LeBron went down, and he should feast on this Knicks defense. And if he does that, New York will be scrambling to cover Los Angeles’ shooters for most of this game, and the Lakers suddenly have a lot of those after some very good deals before the trade deadline.
It should also be noted that Jalen Brunson is banged up for the Knicks. He just missed a few games for New York, and he had to leave in the team’s loss to the Sacramento Kings last game. If he is either out or compromised in this one, the Knicks are in a lot of trouble.
Bet: Lakers -2.5
Did you know that you can parlay these three picks together at +264 odds? Try out our VSiN Parlay Calculator HERE!
