Saturday night in the NBA offers seven games, including Cavs-Sixers and Wolves-Wizards. Let’s get into some betting angles from each of those matchups:
Ben Simmons Over 17.5 Points (-115)
The Cavaliers are coming off of two-straight wins and their mid-season trade of Jarrett Allen appears to be paying dividends already. However, one area that is rather concerning for Cleveland is their defense of opposing point guards. Over the last two weeks, no team has allowed more points to opposing floor generals than the Cavs (32.7 points per game), per Hashtag Basketball.
Combine Cleveland’s woes, with a suddenly more aggressive Ben Simmons, who may also have to play some more minutes at the four with Tobias Harris out, and 18 points for the former LSU Tiger appears to be a reachable figure (something Simmons has accomplished in four of his last six games).
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Timberwolves at Wizards: Over 237 Points (-110)
The Wolves have played two games since Chris Finch took over as their coach and it’s clearly having an impact on the team, Brandon Anderson of the Action Network explains.
Minnesota is playing faster (103.8 possessions per game, which would be second in the league over a full season) and the offense is flowing more heavily through Karl-Anthony Towns. On Saturday night, they get the Wizards, and while Washington has been better off the defensive end recently, expect a ton of points in this one. Over 237 points (current total at PointsBet) seems like a lot but it’s a feasible number.
Ricky Rubio: Over 1.5 Three-Pointers Made (+145)
Ricky Rubio is not known for knocking down the long-ball, though he’s seeing increased opportunity in that area of his game since D’Angelo Russell exited the lineup.
Over the past nine games without Russell, Rubio has attempted 4.0 threes per game (compared to just 1.6 in the 22 prior contests alongside the former No. 2 overall pick). Rubio has made 41.7% of his triples during that stretch (or 1.7 per contest), including at least two in 4-of-9.
Only one team (Orlando) has allowed opposing point guards to make more three-pointers than Washington over the past 30 days (4.1 per game). Combine that with Finch upping the Wolves’ pace, and there’s value in the over prop at +145.
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