On Wednesday nights, typically the busiest night of the week, our NBA experts -- Andre Snellings, Jordan Schultz and Doug Kezirian -- give their best bets for the slate of games.
Lines displayed are from Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Wednesday morning. As always, shop around for the best price. Schultz: The Jazz have won four straight by double-digits, including a dominant road win over Washington -- a pick I included on Daily Wager on Monday. With an elite bench and Rudy Goberthovering around 65-percent shooting over his last 11 games, Utah is also 4-1 ATS in its last five. The Knicks, however, continue their disastrous season, especially at home and especially ATS. David Fizdale's club is a measly 12-19-2 ATS in the Garden, bad enough for 27th in the NBA.
Pick: Jazz -12
Snellings: This game, like real estate, is all about location, location, location. If we consider recent history without location involved, we find that the Jazz are 4-1 with a +13.0 scoring margin in their last five games and 7-3 with a +7.3 in their last 10. Conversely, the Knicks are 1-4 (-15.4 point margin) and 1-9 (-13.1 margin) over those same periods.
However, when we look at home/road splits, the story changes. The Jazz are still strong on the road at 4-1 with a +9.0 margin in their last five road games, but the Knicks are a different team at home. The Knicks are 3-2 (+0.6 point margin) in their last five home games, with wins over the Spurs, Magic and Lakers. They are an extremely young team, and they play better at home. The Knicks have only lost by more than 13 points at home once in their last 10 games, and that loss was back before the All-Star break.
Schultz: The Pelicans rank 29th in scoring defense in their last 10 games -- with a 1-6 ATS clip over their last seven. Aside from the Anthony Davis drama, New Orleans is dealing with the absence of injured guard Jrue Holiday, who has been out since March 6. The result has been predictably ugly. The Pels have endured a -9.6 Net Rating without the services of their star guard.
Meanwhile, Orlando, behind the stellar play of All-Star center Nikola Vucevic -- a matchup nightmare anywhere on the floor -- continues to fight for its first playoff bid since 2012. The Magic are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games at home and will have their way tonight with a depleted Pels roster.
Kezirian: Sometimes the square play is the right side, and this feels like one of those instances. Memphis has played well recently, especially at The Grindhouse. The Grizzlies have covered eight of their past 10 home games, including six outright wins. However, this is the time of year when legitimate playoff contenders do not overlook their opponents. Houston is playing as well as anyone right now, winning 12 of their last 13 games. I expect that to continue tonight and for the Rockets to take care of business, just like they did in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Snellings: Cleveland is another young team that is stronger and much more consistently competitive on its home court. The Cavaliers have actually won three straight home games, all over playoff teams, including wins over the Pistons, Raptors and Magic. They are 6-4 with a +0.2 point scoring margin in their last 10 home games and have only lost by more than 9.5 points twice in those 10 games.
On the other side of the court, the Bucks are on the the second half of a back-to-back, plus there is uncertainty as to whether Giannis Antetokounmpo (ankle) will play at all, and if he does, what his level of availability will be.
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Best bets for Wednesday's NBA games 🔑
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