PICKS & PARLAYS

The Washington Wizards (16-46), carrying a seven-game losing streak and a 5-24 road record that ranks among the league's worst, travel to Smoothie King Center to face the New Orleans Pelicans (20-44) on Sunday, March 8, tipping off at 7:00 PM ET. Trae Young suits up for just his second game as a Wizard, still shaking off ten weeks of rehab rust after logging 12 points and six assists on a 19-minute restriction in his Thursday debut against Utah. Anthony Davis (finger, season), Kyshawn George (elbow), Jamir Watkins (foot), D'Angelo Russell (non-injury related), Tristan Vukcevic (thigh), and Cam Whitmore (shoulder, season) all remain out for Washington. New Orleans returns home from a six-game road swing with Zion Williamson healthy after playing through his right ankle sprain in Friday's loss at Phoenix, and Trey Murphy III carrying a career-high 21.9 points per game and three straight outings at 21 or more. The Pelicans opened as 9.5-point home favorites, total sitting at 242.5, in what projects as a matchup between two bottom-ten defenses with a significant talent advantage sitting at home.

The Chicago Bulls (26-37) travel to Golden 1 Center to face the Sacramento Kings (14-50) on Sunday, March 8, tipping off at 9:00 PM ET, with Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis each listed as questionable after sitting out Thursday's game in Phoenix with ankle sprains. Sacramento reached loss number 50 on Friday, dropping 133-123 at home to New Orleans to push their losing streak to three, with Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and Keegan Murray all unavailable for what remains of a season Sacramento would rather fast-forward. Chicago opened as a 2.5-point road favorite, and the total sits at 234, which asks a lot from an offense averaging 110.4 points per game. Collin Sexton just put up 30 in a road upset over Phoenix without the two players listed as questionable tonight, making it three straight 20-plus performances, and the Kings rank last in the Western Conference in three-point shooting at 33.4%.

The Indiana Pacers (15-48) stumble into Moda Center to face the Portland Trail Blazers (30-34) on Sunday, March 8, tipping off at 9:00 PM ET, with Deni Avdija confirmed out for his eighth consecutive game due to lower back injury management and Shaedon Sharpe already ruled out for the rest of the regular season with a fibula stress reaction. Portland opened as a significant home favorite and the spread settled at -8.5 (-115), with the total hovering at 237.0, setting up a matchup where the Blazers are the better team on paper but their cover rate as big favorites is genuinely alarming. Indiana is 0-8 straight up in its last eight, on the road with short rest after a Friday night loss in Los Angeles, and riding a 1-5 ATS record in its last six games against Portland. Those are all the obvious reasons to ignore the Pacers. The less obvious reason to back them at +8.5 is that Portland is 1-5 ATS in games they were favored by 8.5 points or more this season and 0-7 ATS in its last seven March games The line is doing most of the work for Indiana here.

The Orlando Magic (34-28), fresh off a 27-point demolition of Minnesota on Saturday, travel to Fiserv Forum to face the Milwaukee Bucks (27-35) on Sunday, March 8, tipping off at 8:00 PM ET, with Franz Wagner confirmed out with an ankle injury, Anthony Black day-to-day with a quad contusion, and Giannis Antetokounmpo still working through a minutes restriction just three games into his return from a 15-game calf absence. Orlando opened as a 3.5-point road favorite, the total sits at 219.5, and both teams are running on the second night of a back-to-back. The spread tells you the talent gap; the calendar tells you this one stays sloppy.

The Dallas Mavericks (21-42), sitting on a six-game losing streak and their fourth road game in five days, visit Scotiabank Arena to face the Toronto Raptors (35-27) on Sunday, March 8, tipping off at 6:00 PM ET, with Cooper Flagg listed as questionable due to a left midfoot sprain and both Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II confirmed out. This is a matchup between a Toronto team fighting for playoff seeding in the East and a Mavs squad that has won twice in their last 18 games, running on empty through a brutal stretch of road basketball with a rookie star who re-aggravated his foot injury on the floor at TD Garden just 24 hours ago. The Raptors opened as 10-to-10.5-point home favorites depending on the book, and the total sits at 228.5, setting up a number that asks both teams to score above what either has actually done in weeks.