A small slate of five NBA games on Saturday, February 28, but it heats up straight away with the Cavaliers at Pistons matchup at 11am AEDT. The final game for the day is between two Western Conference powerhouses with the Nuggets at Thunder tipping off at 1:30pm AEDT. We bring you our best bets for the day below!
NBA Betting Tips: Saturday, February 28th 2026
Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons (11:00am AEDT)
Two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference are set for battle as the Cleveland Cavaliers (37-23) travel to Michigan to face the Detroit Pistons (43-14). The Cavs are fourth in the conference and have won eight of their last 10 games, which is the same record for the Pistons in that timeframe. Donovan Mitchell will miss the game which is a huge out and newly acquired James Harden is a game-time decision. If Harden also misses, the depleted Cavs backcourt will struggle to slow down the likes of All-Star Cade Cunningham.
With so much offensive firepower potentially missing for the Cavaliers, the Pistons, already known for elite defense, will find it that much easier to shut down scoring opportunities. Detroit is not a team that lives by the three, in fact, they are one of the worst from long range – they make just 11 threes per game, shooting 34.9% from deep, and they are also one of the worst at the charity stripe, making just 75.7% which ranks them 27th.
Despite struggling from range, the battle in the paint between Jalen Duren and Jarrett Allen will be fascinating as the Pistons score 57.4 points in the paint per game (second in the league). They also crash the offensive glass with Duren, Ausar Thompson and Paul Reed averaging two or more offensive rebounds per contest. The Pistons roster is deep and they can handle a depleted Cavaliers at home.
Pistons -6.5
$1.85 (2 Units)
New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks (12:00pm AEDT)
The New York Knicks (37-22) are on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks (26-31) and the home side has won its past two games. They shocked the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 118-116 victory on the back of team basketball where the first seven players scored double digits. That excludes Cam Thomas who can completely heat up at any time. Prior to that game, the Bucks defeated the Miami Heat 128-117.
This will be a tougher test taking on the third seed in the East, but the Bucks are showing glimpses of what they can produce, and they are doing it without their superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jalen Brunson is going to create offense for himself and his teammates, but they were disappointing against the Cavaliers last game, losing 109-94. It’s hard to imagine the team shooting as poorly here – they shot 41% from the field and 27% from deep in that game.
Given the absence of Giannis and the discrepancy in personnel, the Knicks are -7.5, which is understandable. However, the Bucks are playing well and happy to be with them at the +7.5 line if they can keep sharing the ball, as they look good when seven or eight players from their core rotation are getting touches.
Bucks +7.5
$1.90 (1.5 Units)
Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder (1:30pm AEDT)
A potential Western Conference postseason series matchup sees the Denver Nuggets (37-22) compete against the Oklahoma City Thunder (45-15). The Nuggets come off a dominant victory over the Boston Celtics, winning 103-84, as Nikola Jokic dropped 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. We get a terrific clash between the past two MVPs as Jokic will battle the returning Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
On the injury front, the Nuggets will be without Aaron Gordon, Peyton Watson, and potentially Jamal Murray. If Murray misses, it will be a very difficult task to win. The Thunder have grown accustomed to playing without Jalen Williams this season, and he will miss yet another game. The Nuggets rank 21st in rebounds per game, so removing their second-biggest rebounder means that Jokic will have a bigger focus on cleaning up the glass by himself.
This Thunder outfit has so much depth and while adding SGA back in is a huge addition, Chet Holmgren, Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace and co. are all capable of scoring and playing tenacious defense. Adding Jared McCain from Philadelphia was a cheap addition to the roster too and he’s averaging 11.6 points in eight games played for the team. Happy to back the Thunder at the line as this could be a double-digit victory.
Thunder -8.5
$1.92 (1.5 Units)
