Skip to main content

NBA Odds & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Friday

Ahaan Rungta

Last Updated: February 3, 2023 3:21 PM EST • 3 min 54 sec read.

Best bets today from around the NBA.
Best bets today from around the NBA.

Find out who we are taking in matchup featuring the Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics in our best bets column for Feb. 3. Read on for our top NBA picks for Friday based on the best NBA odds. 

Huge spreads between contenders and rebuilding teams. Injuries dictating matchups between potential contenders. The pickings are slim on an eight-game NBA menu, but we’ve found a few spots of betting value.

Here are our NBA best bets for Friday (odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, Caesars, and BetMGM; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Check out our NBA picks and our best NBA betting sites.

Friday’s NBA schedule and odds

(Odds via DraftKings)

  • Portland Trail Blazers (+4) vs. Washington Wizards
  • Charlotte Hornets (+1.5) vs. Detroit Pistons
  • Sacramento Kings (-2.5) vs. Indiana Pacers
  • Phoenix Suns (+9.5) vs. Boston Celtics
  • Philadelphia 76ers (-10) vs. San Antonio Spurs
  • Orlando Magic (+4.5) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Toronto Raptors (-7.5) vs. Houston Rockets
  • Atlanta Hawks (+1.5) vs. Utah Jazz

Friday’s NBA best bets

  • Spread: Suns +9.5 vs. Celtics (-110 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐
  • Total: Raptors-Rockets Over 225 (-110 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐
  • Upset: Hawks ML (+105 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐
  • Player Prop: Jaylen Brown 1st Quarter Under 7.5 points (+110 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Check out our NBA Finals odds and NBA MVP odds.

NBA Top Picks

Spread: Suns +9.5 vs. Celtics (-110 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

The Suns are coming off a 32-point beatdown at home and are now visiting the No. 1 team in the NBA, while still without Devin Booker, Cameron Payne, and Landry Shamet. Over 60% of the public ATS action is on the Celtics to cover, but the line has moved a point in favor of Phoenix, rightfully so.

This season, the Suns are 6-3 ATS when underdogs by four-plus points and 15-10 ATS following a loss. Meanwhile, the Celtics are 16-18 ATS when they are favored by more than four points. Since the New Year, the Suns have attempted the third-most mid-range field goals per game in the NBA, targeting one of the few weaknesses of the Celtics defense. In that span, Boston has allowed the fourth-most field goals made on the ninth-highest shooting percentage in the mid-range area. After shooting just 14.3% from deep and 40.7% from the field in the previous game, expect the Suns to create more and convert more open shots and keep this competitive enough to avoid another double-digit loss.

Total: Raptors-Rockets Over 225 (-110 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐

This total continues to dip because the sharp money is on the Under, but I’m not sure why. The Raptors are without their most versatile defensive player, O.G. Anunoby. This season, their games are 6-2 to the Over on this 225 line when Anunoby is out. On the other side, Houston will be without Kevin Porter Jr. but since the injury to their starting point guard, they rank ninth in the NBA in pace and are 5-5 to the Over on this line.

Over their last four games, the Rockets have shot an unwatchable 25.3% from deep and over their last five games, the Raptors are just 33.3% from long range. Bet on some easy transition buckets for the Raptors and positive regression shooting 3-pointers by backing offense in Houston on Friday.

Upset: Hawks (+105 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐

In this near-pick ’em late-night game in Utah a day after Trae Young was not listed as an All-Star reserve, it’s about more than just winning for his Atlanta Hawks. Since the New Year, the Hawks have been primarily a paint area and mid-range offense, ranking top five in field goal attempts and makes in both those zones (top two in shooting percentage as well). That’s bad news for the Utah Jazz, who have allowed the fourth-most paint field goals made per game.

To make matters worse, Atlanta has been a top-five shooting percentage team via above-the-break triples, led by Young. Only the Rockets have allowed more above-the-break 3-point makes per game than the Jazz since the New Year. On the other end of the floor, the Hawks are a top 10 defense in the paint in 2023, which is where the Jazz thrive. Utah ranks ninth in the league in field goals attempted and fifth in field goals made in the paint since the New Year.

Utah has been a pleasant surprise for many this season, led by their first-time All-Star Lauri Markkanen, but they are just 8-10 ATS as a home favorite, while Atlanta is 10-8-1 ATS as a road underdog. Both teams are mediocre in clutch games this season, so I’m not going to pay the price for the 1-point spread, instead I will take the plus-money value of the underdog on the moneyline.

Player Prop: Jaylen Brown 1st Quarter Under 7.5 Points (+110 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The All-Star secondary option for the Celtics has scored 10 points and 12 points in the first quarter in each of his last two games, but he has not surpassed this line of 7.5 in three consecutive games since November. We’re getting great value on that streak continuing on Friday.

Over their last seven games, the Suns have allowed the 14th-most points per game to shooting guards. Brown has stayed Under 7.5 points in five of his 10 starts this season without Marcus Smart and two of his three games when Boston starts their current lineup of Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Robert Williams III. The defensive weapons for the Suns are all healthy on Friday and should be able to tame Brown, who put up a 58.3% shooting clip in his last game. This prop should not be plus-money.

NBA best bets made 02/03/2023 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Here are our best NBA betting sites:

(21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER)
* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.

Related pages

Written By:
Ahaan Rungta
Ahaan is an analytics researcher who works in fantasy football and sports betting, focusing on MLB, NBA, and NFL. He's previously contributed fantasy baseball and football content for Fantrax and currently is a betting analyst for PlayerProfiler, where he has also been a director of analytics. When Ahaan is not capping sports props, he's often playing sports such as floor hockey and basketball and binge-watching The Voice.