NBA betting picks and best odds | Thursday, March 3

After a wild night of basketball that included a crazy comeback and buzzer beater win, the NBA returns tonight with a great slate of games. While nothing will likely top last night’s dramatic Bucks v Heat game, tonight still has all the makings of a great night. With some top teams battling it out, there is a lot to pick from and here are the best bets available.

Memphis Grizzlies at Boston Celtics betting picks

This game is one of the more intriguing matchups of the season as it pits two of the NBA’s ascending teams against each other. The Grizzlies, for anyone paying attention, have been the most fun team to watch this season and are exceeding every expectation put on them. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have been dominant as of late. They also are 6-1 against the spread in their last seven away games so them playing away from home shouldn’t be of concern.

No one can deny the talent of the Celtics and they have been playing at a super high level in recent weeks. They will come into this game on a 12-2 run and have the defensive pieces to slow down Ja Morant. However, they will be missing one player and the injury of Jaylen Brown should be the difference in this game. This year, Jaylen finally shed his underrated tag and has become recognized as a key cog in the Celtic’s system. His loss will be huge and it remains to be seen if the Celtics can keep it up without him. In this game, it will be too much to overcome and the Grizzlies should come away with a big away win.

Golden St. Warriors at Dallas Mavericks betting preview

These two teams recently met and the Mavericks were able to eke out a 6 point win at Golden St. While Klay Thompson will be back for this game, Draymond Green will remain out and that will be the difference maker. As things stand, the Warriors have no one to guard Mavs star Luka Doncic and he should feast. When the Warriors are healthy, they are a better team but they aren’t at full strength. They come into this game 1-7 against the spread in their last eight and the Mavs should be able to extend that skid. The Mavs have been a respectable team at home so that, combined with Green’s absence, should be enough for them to get the win in this game.

Golden St also has bigger aspirations than regular season wins. They are a true title contender when healthy and while they aren’t playing well right now, it does not matter to them. For a select few teams, the playoffs is all that matters and the Warriors are one of those teams right now. While a win would always be nice, it means more to the Mavericks right now and that motivation should be yet another deciding factor in this fixture.

Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers top picks

When the schedule makers were crafting the schedule they were probably expecting this game to be a bigger deal. But both teams have drastically underachieved and we get a game between two playoff hopefuls. The Lakers have stunk recently and are on a 1-6 run. They are in legitimate danger of missing the playoffs and LeBron is somewhat helpless due to the talent on his roster.

The Clippers haven’t been much better but they at least have a real excuse. They have played every game without their star, Kawhi Leonard and a majority of games without Paul George. They are still doing better than the Lakers which is quite remarkable considering who they are winning with. While they have been a better team than the Lakers and are deserving favorites with the betting sites, it is so hard to rule out LeBron. Maybe it is a sucker pick, but we are siding with LeBron in the battle of LA. At some point, you would think he will turn it on and carry this team into the playoffs and it still appears like he has the skill to do that. While it is a risky pick, this is a game that LeBron should will his team to win and we expect him to do just that.