NBA Expert Tips and Best Bets | 26 Mar

Wednesday’s NBA schedule features several intriguing intraconference matchups. This article analyzes two of them, providing in-depth analysis and expert insight into the day’s best bets.

Read on for a breakdown of the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the up-and-coming Portland Trail Blazers, plus the Atlanta Hawks hosting the red-hot Houston Rockets.

Cavs -9.5 | $1.95 @ Betright

The Cavaliers just ended a surprising four-game skid by defeating the tanking Utah Jazz on Monday. The Trail Blazers are threatening to sneak into the Play-In tournament, having come on strong in the second half of the season.

The Cavs are favored by a generous -9.5 points against a Blazers team that is 20-11 against the spread as the home underdog, third-best in the NBA. Cleveland is only 4-8 ATS in the month of March.

Cleveland’s recent season-long losing streak cost them the lead for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Expect them to reverse their momentum by coming out with a statement win against Portland and covering.

Cavs-Trail Blazers Under 233.5 | $1.85 @ Betfocus

The Cavs are the most efficient offensive team in basketball this year. While they’ve struggled on that end recently, they’ve still been in the top half of the league in points per game with 115.7 in their last 10.

Over that same game span, Portland has averaged 112.8 points per game, good for 20th in the league. The Blazers have hit the Under in six of their past eight games.

They are also one of only eight NBA teams that hit the Over less than 50% of the time. With the Cavs looking to shore up their defense as well, our NBA expert tip is to take the Under in this contest.

Hawks-Rockets Over 233.5 | $1.88 @ Playup

The Atlanta Hawks-Houston Rockets matchup features two of the hottest teams in the NBA this month. Atlanta is 8-3 in March while Houston is 9-4, good for fifth and sixth best in the NBA over that time.

They’ve been doing it with offense lately and that’s usually meant the Over hitting. The Rockets have done so in five of their previous six contests, and the Hawks in their last four.

When you factor in that Atlanta has the second-highest rate of success in hitting the Over in the entire league, it’s hard not to see this being a high-scoring affair. Our NBA prediction is the Over 233.5 hitting in Hawks-Rockets.