The NBA season continues with seven games on Sunday. While this isn't the biggest slate of the weekend, our NBA analysts have still found a pair of best bets worth tailing. Chris Baker has a play on Trail Blazers vs. Lakers while Andrew O'Connor-Watts is targeting Suns vs. Clippers. Check out their picks and analysis below.
NBA Odds & Picks
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Chris Baker: I’m trusting the Lakers to get their first win and cover of the 2022-2023 season on Sunday afternoon. The Lakers have started at 0-2, but they have competed semi-valiantly against two of the best teams in the NBA. I have been extremely low on this Lakers team the past season and still am not a believer in them this year, but I think this price is off here.
The Trail Blazers definitely improved in the offseason with the additions of Josh Hart and Jerami Grant, but it’s going to take some time for them to get acclimated to each other. Grant is a solid matchup for LeBron, but outside of him, the Trailblazers don’t really have many guys to guard him. The same can be said for Nurkic and Anthony Davis down low. If Nurkic gets into any sort of foul trouble, it’s going to be Drew Eubanks on AD, and AD will win that matchup.
Patrick Beverley has started the season slow, but he thrives in these types of matchups where his team asks him to focus on pressuring and frustrating a star guard like Damian Lillard. He and Russell Westbrook are decent matchups for Anfernee Simons and Lillard. With Trendon Watford and Gary Payton II out, this Portland bench is unimpressive, and the Lakers should have an edge with their second unit as they will be getting back wing Troy Brown today.
Lastly, Portland is coming off an overtime win against a very good Phoenix Suns team that saw four of their five starters play over 40 minutes. The Lakers haven’t played in two days, so they should be well rested and have had plenty of time to prepare for this matchup. Expect the Lakers to come into this game with some urgency and get their first win and cover of the season.
Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Andrew O'Connor Watts: A total of 219.5 is just too high for two teams that skew this heavily to the under.
In their last 10 meetings, the total has gone 3-7 to the under for an average differential of -11.2.
Last season, these teams faced each other four times, and all four games went under. Both teams combined for an average of 205.5 points per game and an average differential of -14.25.
The last time these two teams faced each other was in LA, and the Suns lost 109-113. That was the only game last season that went over 219, but the game still went under the total of 223.
The under has hit in the last five out of six games when these two teams face off in Los Angeles. But even if you don’t trust me on the head-to-head trends, there are some individual team trends you might like.
In the Clippers’ last eight games, the total is 1-7 to the under, and in the Suns’ last seven games, the total is 2-5 to the under.
I like this total down to 217.5.
