NBA betting picks, top odds & value plays – Monday, February 28

With nearly half of the teams in the NBA squaring off, Monday night’s slate should be a good one. For many teams, it is quickly approaching do-or-die time where they will really have to buckle down and rattle off some wins in order to make it to the playoffs. Either way, it should be a riveting night of basketball, so here are the best picks for February 28.

Indiana Pacers at Orlando Magic

In a matchup between two of the NBA’s basement dwellers, the Pacers will head to Orlando and take on the lowly Magic. The Pacers came into this season with playoff expectations and have fallen well short of that. With a 21-41 record, they are clearly building for the future. They do have some guys who will be helpful in years to come, and their trade deadline acquisition of guard Tyrese Haliburton is already paying dividends. Despite their putrid record, they have some talent and a relatively good core. While this season has been an abject failure, they should still beat the Magic, who would rather lose at this point and just get to the draft.

The Magic are 14-47 this year and are more focused on getting the first overall pick than winning any basketball games. They have a young team that could be good in the future, but this is not their year. With the Magic’s 6-21 record at home, the Pacers playing away shouldn’t scare anyone from betting on them. It’s pretty simple: the Magic want to lose. For them to be a favorite against just about anyone at this point in the season is asinine. The Pacers should win comfortably and easily cover the short spread, so you might as well take them at the moneyline.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Cleveland Cavaliers

These two teams have both exceeded expectations this season. The line originally opened with the Wolves at -1 but has moved two points due to All Star point guard Darius Garland being ruled out for the Cavs. While that is a big deal and may make this difficult for the Cavs, they still match up very well against the Wolves. They have bigs in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley who should be able to neutralize the Wolves’ biggest weapon, Karl-Anthony Towns.

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Also, the Cavs have been great at home all season. They are 19-9 in Cleveland and have won eight straight at home. They may not have a direct replacement for Garland in this game, but the line movement has been a little dramatic. Cleveland, with or without Garland, are a better team than Minnesota and they have found something special in their group of guys. This game should be a nail-biter, and taking the home underdog is always a good strategy in close games.

San Antonio Spurs at Memphis Grizzlies

For anyone paying attention to basketball, the Grizzlies are probably the most fun team to watch. Most of that is due to Ja Morant’s absurd athleticism. He has a phenomenal demeanor that leads him to not back down from anyone and it is crazy entertaining. The Grizzlies are legit and consistently make their backers happy. With a 41-21 record against the spread on the season, they are constantly proving doubters wrong. They will come into this game on a 7-2 ATS run and shouldn’t have a problem breaking down a middling Spurs team.

The Spurs are very much the same team they have been since Kawhi Leonard left. Coach Gregg Popovich is doing what he can with the talent on his roster, which is limited. The Spurs have a 24-37 record and do not really scare anyone. They do play hard and can catch teams lacking, but Memphis will not be lacking. The Grizzlies bring it every night and simply out-man the Spurs in this game. They will have the home-court advantage, and while -8.5 is a somewhat sizable spread, the Grizzlies are a better team and shouldn’t struggle too much with a pesky Spurs team.