Betting Guides

The Los Angeles Lakers (35-24), sitting seventh in the Western Conference with their eyes on a top-six seed, host the Sacramento Kings (14-47) at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, March 1, tipping off at 9:30 PM ET, with Sacramento missing Zach LaVine (hand surgery, out for the year), Domantas Sabonis (knee, out for the year), De'Andre Hunter (retinal repair, out for the year), Keegan Murray (calf), Drew Eubanks (thumb), and Devin Carter (ankle) while Russell Westbrook enters as questionable with a thigh issue, leaving DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, and a skeleton crew to hold off a Los Angeles squad that just ended its three-game losing skid with a bounce-back win over Golden State on Saturday, with Luka Doncic, the NBA's leading scorer at 32.6 points per game, and LeBron James looking to feast on the league's most depleted rotation in what shapes up as the softest spot on the Sunday slate and the cleanest spread on the board at Lakers -13.

The New Orleans Pelicans (19-42), riding a four-game winning streak and playing their best basketball of the season, travel to Intuit Dome to face the Los Angeles Clippers (27-31) on Sunday, March 1, tipping off at 9:00 PM ET, with Trey Murphy III ruled out for the fifth-plus straight game with a shoulder contusion, Zion Williamson likely out after spraining his ankle in Saturday's Utah win, and Dejounte Murray listed as game-time decision, this matchup puts a shorthanded Pelicans squad playing on the second night of a back-to-back road trip against a Clippers team getting Kawhi Leonard back at full health after he sat out Thursday's loss to Minnesota, as New Orleans arrives as an 8.5-point road underdog carrying one of the best cover records in the league as a big dog while the Clippers fight to stay relevant in the Western Conference playoff race at home in a spot that looks tailor-made for Kawhi to take over.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (46-15), the best team in basketball, head to American Airlines Center on Sunday, March 1 for the final meeting of the season with the Dallas Mavericks (21-38), tipping off at 8:00 PM ET. Oklahoma City arrives as 15.5-point road favorites fresh off a statement overtime win over Denver, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back in the lineup and looking every bit the MVP frontrunner he was before his nine-game absence. Dallas, meanwhile, rolls out a rotation that would give a G League front office pause: Cooper Flagg is out with a midfoot sprain, Kyrie Irving is gone for the season, Dereck Lively II hasn't played since December, and a handful of other contributors are banged up heading into tip. This is the basketball equivalent of bringing a plastic spoon to a sword fight.

The Philadelphia 76ers (33-26) travel to TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics (39-20) on Sunday Night Basketball, tipping at 8:00 PM ET with Joel Embiid ruled out (oblique), Paul George still serving his suspension, and Jayson Tatum watching from the bench in a walking boot, as a line that opened at Celtics -4.5 has ballooned to -9.5 entirely on the Embiid news, presenting one of the more interesting fade-the-market spots on the March slate. Boston is coming off a 148-111 demolition of Brooklyn on Friday. Philadelphia just dropped 124-117 on Miami Thursday. Every single game between these two teams this season has been decided by two points or fewer, and the market is suddenly asking you to believe the fourth one won't be.

The Detroit Pistons (44-14), first in the Eastern Conference, make a quick trip to Kia Center to face the Orlando Magic (31-27) on Sunday, March 1, tipping off at 6:00 PM ET. With Franz Wagner confirmed out with an ankle sprain and Jalen Suggs questionable after a rough return Thursday, Orlando is banged up heading into this one while Detroit rolls in off a gritty 122-119 overtime win over Cleveland on Friday. The Pistons are laying -5.5 to -6 on the road depending on the book, and this is a matchup where the injury news, the form line, and the spread all point in the same direction.