NBA Best Bets: Monday March 7th

Another Monday night, and another edition of the NBA best bets. We have 8 games tonight, but these 3 selections are the best value bets of the evening. The Detroit Pistons take on the Atlanta Hawks, the Miami Heat host the Houston Rockets, and the San Antonio Spurs take on the LA Lakers once again.

NBA Best Bets Monday, March 7th

• Detroit Pistons vs Atlanta Hawks: Pistons +7.5 
• Miami Heat vs Houston Rockets: Rockets +15.5
• San Antonio Spurs vs Los Angeles Lakers: Spurs -2.0

Odds as at 2 pm March 8th 2022. Odds may now differ.

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Detroit Pistons vs Atlanta Hawks Best Bet

Tue, Mar 7. 00:00 (UK)

The Detroit Pistons have had a very difficult 2021/22 campaign so far, hovering near the bottom of the eastern conference. With 17 wins and 47 losses, they are 14th in the conference and their hopes of reaching the playoffs are long gone. But believe it or not, the Pistons have been well recently, winning half of their last 10 games, and covering the spread in 7. Their young core of players is showing a lot of potential, and they are coming off an excellent outing in their 111-106 win against the Indiana Pacers. The Pistons love playing against meagre defensive sides, and their defence has been lifted from 28th to 12th place in offensive rating in their last 4 games, where they faced the Pacers, Raptors, Wizards and Hornets. The Pistons have also been solid ATS at home this year, covering the spread in 17 of their 31 games, and with a spread of 7.5 points against the Hawks, they are looking very tempting.

The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the biggest disappointments of the season this year, after a more than impressive 2021/22 season. They are now 10th in the east with 31 wins and 32 losses and are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They are 27th in defensive rating on the season, whilst allowing 111.7 points per game, and allowing opponents to shoot 36.3% from behind the 3-point line as well as 54.0% on 2-pointers. This is the biggest reason behind their lack of success this year, and even their elite offence isn’t able to make up for the lack of defensive effort. They beat the Pistons earlier this season by 122-104, but this is a completely different game, and I don’t expect a very different story this time around.

• Selection: Pistons +7.5
• Best Odds: 1.95 (Marathonbet)
• Stakes: 6/10

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Miami Heat vs Houston Rockets Best Bet

Tue, Mar 8.  00:30 (UK)

The Miami Heat are the top team in the east with 43 wins and just 22 losses this year, with 8 wins out of their last 10 games. But despite this, there is a very good reason not to back the Heat tonight, despite facing arguably the worst team in the league at the moment. The spread is set at 15.5 points, and the Miami Heat have not fared well when they have been heavy favourites this season, and despite having a solid home ATS record of 16-13, this is a situation in which the dog provides the most value. The Miami heat play slow and are the 2nd-slowest team in the NBA, and only average 109.5 points per game, good for 17th in the league. Whilst this doesn’t prevent them from winning games, as their defence is one of the best in the NBA, it prevents them from getting blowout victories, even against bottom teams. The Heat are 2-6 when favoured at home by 8 points or more, and 1-5 when favoured by 10 or more.

The Houston Rockets are sitting at the bottom of the western conference with just 16 wins and 48 losses this year, tied with the Orlando Magic for the fewest wins so far. But the Rockets have covered the spread in 3 of their last 5 games, and are coming off a very important 123-112 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. This win is a huge confidence booster for their squad, and they will be coming into this game eager to keep the momentum going. They lost their first encounter of the season against the Heat by 120-110, and the +15.5 spread is looking very tempting at the moment. 87% of bettors are backing the Heat to win tonight, and this is a perfect opportunity to get solid value from a heavy underdog.

• Selection: Houston Rockets +15.5
• Best Odds: 1.95 (Unibet)
• Stakes: 8/10

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San Antonio Spurs vs Los Angeles Lakers Best Bet

Tue, Mar 8.  01:30 (UK)

The San Antonio Spurs are riding a 4-game losing streak and are now 12th in the western conference with 24 wins and 40 losses. But the Spurs are one of the fastest teams in the NBA with a pace rating of 100.0, and with just 12.4 turnovers per game, they are showing a lot of potential. Both their defence and offence have been respectable this year, and they are very close to becoming a team that can make the playoffs again. They still need a lot of improvements to make on defence, but they are grabbing 7.7 steals per game, and their interior defence is solid, netting 5.0 blocks per game. They beat the Lakers by 138-110 in late December, and I’m expecting more of the same tonight.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won just 3 of their last 10 games, but are coming off a 124-116 win over the Golden State Warriors where LeBron James tallied an incredible 56 points. They are now 9th in the western conference standings and 6 games behind the 8th seed. The Lakers play a very similar style of basketball to the Spurs, but they shoot the 3-ball more and commit almost 15 turnovers per game. The Lakers are ranking 25th in offensive rating, whilst allowing 112.7 points per game. The absence of Anthony Davis in this game will be a huge blow for the Lakers, and unless Lebron goes off for another 50+ point performance, which is highly unlikely, they will lose. The Spread is set at just 2 points, and the Spurs are one of the best performers ATS as home favourites, covering in 9 of their 14 games. I’m backing the Spurs to cover again.

• Selection: Spurs -2.
• Best Odds: 1.91 (Marathonbet)
• Stakes: 8/10

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