NBA Picks for Tuesday, March 28, 2023

I didn’t do any record keeping over the weekend, so let’s get that out of the way right here. My NBA Parlay of the Day on Friday just barely missed hitting by a measly 1.5 points. The Toronto Raptors did indeed cruise to a double-digit win over the dead last Detroit Pistons, but the Oklahoma City Thunder lost by five points to the Los Angeles Lakers when the NBA betting line was 3.5 points.

We saw another parlay lose on Saturday as the Miami Heat laid an egg on their home court. Miami lost by 29 points at home to the Brooklyn Nets as Mikal Bridges lit up the Heat. It was a shame to lose that parlay early because I was absolutely right on the second leg with the Phoenix Suns hammering the Philadelphia 76ers. Phoenix outrebounded Philadelphia despite playing Bismack Biyombo for long stretches, but it was another 1-1 day.

Of course, I went 1-1 with my two plays on Sunday too. I had the dead nuts with the Charlotte Hornets, as they beat the Dallas Mavericks for the second straight game despite being a double-digit underdog by the NBA betting odds both times. The defending champions just needed to hold serve on Sunday night to give me a 2-0 day, but the Golden State Warriors lost at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Golden State was 30-7 at home before the defeat, but the Warriors aren’t going to win many games when Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combined to go 13 of 40 from the floor.

NBA Betting Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook

Orlando Magic at Memphis Grizzlies

The Orlando Magic have been surprisingly competitive over the last week with three straight wins. They defeated two playoff teams in those games, as the front office doesn’t want to mess with the budding chemistry in this talented, young team. However, that may change soon as they continue to win while teams around them have clearly gotten a memo to lose in order to help their chances of landing a game-changing prodigy in the NBA Draft.

Currently, Orlando is in position to finish with the fifth-worst record, and that would give the Magic a 42.1% chance to have a top four pick and a 10.5% chance to land the No. 1 overall pick. However, Portland, Indiana, and Washington are all within a game of Orlando, and the Magic probably don’t want to see all three teams surpass them.

Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies are the hottest team in the NBA. Memphis has now won six straight games and nine of its last ten games. They have effectively held off Sacramento for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, and they have their swagger back. Dillon Brooks is the type of player that you love for your team but hate for any other team, and they should be able to cover a sizeable number.

Charlotte Hornets at Oklahoma City Thunder

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been phenomenal since being acquired in the Paul George trade. The Thunder have slowly rebuilt around the talented young guard out of Kentucky, and now they are ahead of schedule with their rebuild. Oklahoma City is currently in position to make the Play-In Tournament in the Western Conference, and this stretch run is phenomenal experience for this young team.

We’ve seen the Thunder hold their own against the other contenders in the West over the course of the year. They haven’t been above .500 since their seventh game, but they continue to trade wins and losses to hang around .500.

Meanwhile, Charlotte probably just had its last hurrah with its consecutive wins over Dallas. The Hornets are essentially stuck as the fourth-worst team in the NBA, and both Terry Rozier and Kelly Oubre Jr. are questionable to play on Tuesday night. Superstar LaMelo Ball has already been lost for the season with an ankle injury, so there isn’t much talent on the Hornets if all three players are out. Additionally, first-round pick Mark Williams has been ruled out, and he is a strong defensive presence. It might be Gordon Hayward and a bunch of no-names suiting up on Tuesday, and that bodes well for OKC.