NBA Expert Tips and Best Bets | 13 Mar

A possible Finals preview is the main course on Thursday’s NBA menu. The two preseason favorites to make the finals face off in Boston as the Oklahoma City Thunder battle the Celtics.

Also on the table is the San Antonio Spurs hosting the Dallas Mavericks in a Southwest Division showdown. Read on for some free expert analysis and tips on best bets.

Thunder +4.5 | $1.91 @ Betright

All season, along with the Cavs, the Thunder and the Celtics have been the cream at the top of the NBA. OKC has dominated the West and has the second-best record in the league, while Boston comes in at third.

Both teams come into the contest 8-2 in their last 10 games. However, the Thunder have the second-best record in the league against the spread, while the Celtics are surprisingly in 22nd place.

This is only the third game this entire season where the Thunder are underdogs! Boston actually has a losing record ATS at home. We expect that to continue as MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should lead OKC to cover.

Thunder-Celtics Over 232.5 | $1.91 @ Betfocus

The Celtics and the Thunder are two of only four teams that are in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating. The numbers simply don’t lie about how good these two squads are.

When it comes to Over/Unders, Oklahoma City is eight in the league with a 56.3% clip of hitting the Over. Boston is actually near the bottom, reaching the Over in just 29 of 65 games for a 44.6% rate.

That record does improve for Boston at home, where they have an 18-16 record of reaching the Over. Outside of a recent three-game stretch, the Thunder have been hitting the Over consistently, and our expert tip is to expect the Over.

Mavericks-Spurs Over 238.5 | $1.95 @ Playup

This is the second of back-to-back matchups between these two teams. Dallas won 133-129 in a high-scoring matchup Tuesday, ending a six-game losing streak for them.

The Spurs have struggled as of late too, losing eight of their last ten. That’s still not enough to consider the Mavs as a good choice to cover again in the rematch.

However, the Spurs have hit the Over in six straight, and Tuesday’s game was Dallas’ highest offensive output since 29 January. Both teams are in the top half of the league when it comes to reaching the Over. So we expect more of the same and the Over to hit for this contest.