The NBA trade deadline is over and we can focus on Saturday’s NBA action which has a six-game slate. The first two games to tip off are the Knicks at Pistons, and Heat at Celtics matchups, with both games scheduled for 11:30am AEDT. Here are our three best bets for Saturday’s regular season games!
NBA Betting Tips: Saturday, February 7th 2026
New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons (11:30am AEDT)
The New York Knicks (33-18) are on the road against the Detroit Pistons (37-13) and it was a shock upset last game, as the Pistons fell 126-117 against the Washington Wizards. Besides Cade Cunningham’s 30 points and Duncan Robinson’s 21 points, it was a game to forget for Detroit. They’re on the second leg of a back-to-back here against the Knicks.
New York comes off a second overtime win over the Denver Nuggets, courtesy of 42 points, eight rebounds and nine assists from Jalen Brunson. There are injury concerns on both sides with Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart considered questionable for the Knicks. The Pistons shut down center Jalen Duren due to injury in the Wizards loss and he is also a game-time decision.
It’s hard to imagine the Pistons playing as bad as they did against the Wizards, allowing their opposition to shoot 54% from the field and 44% from deep. Detroit prides itself on defense, and they should show more tenacity on the defensive end in this match up. They are slight underdogs and that appeals.
Pistons to win
$1.96 (1.5 Units)
Miami Heat at Boston Celtics (11:30am AEDT)
The Boston Celtics (33-18) host the Miami Heat (27-25) and they are expected to unveil new center, Nikola Vucevic, who was traded from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Anfernee Simons. Head coach Joe Mazzulla expects his players to shoot a lot of three pointers and Vucevic attempts 4.5 per game, hitting 37.6% from deep. He should fit in well with the Celtics as they value floor spacing. Jaylen Brown will be the key player if the Celtics are to be successful and he is averaging 29.5 points per game.
One distinct difference between the two sides is that the Heat play with the quickest pace in the NBA, while the Celtics play with the slowest. Boston takes care of the basketball better than anyone in the league, which means the Heat may find it harder to push the pace as much as they’d like.
Tyler Herro has missed most of the season and Miami are without him once again. Expect Bam Adebayo to try and exploit Vucevic’s defensive weaknesses. The Celtics have won four-straight games and they look hard to beat after dismantling the Houston Rockets in their last game. The -6.5 line looks good here.
Celtics -6.5
$1.85 (2 Units)
Memphis Grizzlies at Portland Trail Blazers (2:00pm AEDT)
It will be a tough road visit for the Memphis Grizzlies (20-29) who traded away defensive anchor Jaren Jackson Jr. While they kept Ja Morant despite trade speculation, Morant is out with an elbow injury. The Portland Trail Blazers (23-28) could be without Deni Avdija which is a big loss if he is unable to play due to a back concern.
The Blazers didn’t make a splash at the trade deadline though, so expect Avdija (if he plays), Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday to be key offensive players, but this is a team that shares scoring duties, and they have seven players averaging 11.1 or more points. Both teams are inefficient offensively though, shooting around 45% from the field, which places them both in the bottom four teams in the league.
It’s the defensive end that gets interesting now as the loss of Jackson Jr. will not be easy to replace. Expect the likes of Jerami Grant, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan to attack the paint more in this matchup. The Blazers could have too much depth for the Grizzlies at home.
Trail Blazers -7.5
$1.95 (1.5 Units)
