NBA Saturday is upon us and there’s a big nine-game slate for us to work through. Check out our best spread and player prop bets for the key matchups of the day below and good luck if following!
NBA Betting Tips: Saturday, 27th of February
Houston Rockets at Toronto Raptors
Amalie Arena, 11:30am AEDT
Houston Rockets continue to be a team we oppose at the moment because of the horrendous form they’re in. They were blown out by the Cavaliers last start to the tune of 16 points, making it nine losses on the spin and six of which have been by 12+ points. They’re now 11-19 on the season and 6-12 on the road.
Toronto Raptors are coming off narrow back-to-back defeats against a couple of key Eastern Conference rivals, which put an end to a four-game win streak they had going. Like most teams, it’s been a turbulent season for the Raptors who are currently below .500 at 16-17, which is surprisingly good enough for the fifth seed in the East.
These teams haven’t met in a regular season game since December of 2019, which is about 15 months ago now. The Rockets were dominant over the Raptors back then, but a lot has changed since and it will be the Raptors who start as the heavy favourites in this particular meeting. We’re expecting the Rockets to go down by 10+ points for the seventh time in 10 games.
A big reason why the Rockets are struggling at the moment is due to their lack of rim protection with Christian Wood sidelined. We’re expecting Pascal Siakam to be the beneficiary of some easy looks at the rim that will see his PRA overs salute.
Prop: Siakam O33.5 PRA ($1.84)
Toronto Raptors -7.5
$1.90
Sacramento Kings at Detroit Pistons
Little Caesars Arena, 12pm AEDT
Sacramento Kings are another team going through a really tough patch at the moment. They’re currently on a whopping nine-game losing streak, which is pretty disappointing as they had won 7/8 games prior to this run. Unfortunately for Kings fans, it looks as though it’s going to be another long season without playoff basketball.
Detroit Pistons have battled away admirably considering the lack of talent and experience on their roster, as well as the number of injuries they’ve had to deal with. They’ve managed to win four of their past nine games, which is impressive considering they’ve been the underdog in all of them. Regardless, they’re still 9-23 and are short odds to finish on the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
A 9-23 record certainly doesn’t sound pretty, but the Pistons are a solid 6-8 on their home floor and most of their losses have been respectable. Here, they come up against a club that has lost nine on the spin and is on the second night of a back-to-back after having 140 dropped on their head on the first night. All things considered, we’re happy to side with the Pistons at home in this matchup.
Detroit Pistons +1.5
$1.90
Atlanta Hawks at OKC Thunder
Chesapeake Energy Arena, 12pm AEDT
Atlanta Hawks have wrestled back some control of their season with three wins in their past five games. Prior to this stretch they had lost 7/8, a lot of which were against opponents they would’ve expected to beat. Now at 14-18, the Hawks have the opportunity to march towards the top eight by putting together another decent stretch.
OKC Thunder have had their praises sung by us on a few times this season and it’s thoroughly deserved. They were odds-on to finish bottom of the West this season, but that looks highly unlikely at the moment as they’re 6.5 games ahead of 15th. The Thunder certainly won’t be making the playoffs this season, but this will be a great season for their rebuild as long as they stay the course.
The Thunder had a rough patch where they lost 6/7, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back in the mix and is absolutely firing to lead them to two wins in their past three. They were gritty and determined to overcome the Spurs at home last start and as long as they bring their usual fight, then we can see them covering the spread at the very least in this matchup.
SGA is a man on a mission at the moment, averaging 33 points on over 60% shooting in his past three games. He now gets a look at a Hawks defence that gives up 120+ points regularly, which will have the young gun licking his lips.
Prop: SGA O24.5 Points ($1.93)
