PICKS & PARLAYS

The Cleveland Cavaliers, fourth in the Eastern Conference at 37-23, travel to face the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Friday, February 27, tipping off at 7:00 PM ET. With Donovan Mitchell ruled out with a groin strain and James Harden, Dennis Schröder, Keon Ellis, and Dean Wade all listed as questionable heading into tip-off, Cleveland arrives in Detroit running one of the most depleted backcourts of the season against the East's top seed, who enters fully healthy outside of a suspended Isaiah Stewart and riding an 8-2 stretch that has Cade Cunningham drawing MVP chatter, as both franchises sit atop the Central Division but separated by 6.5 games in the standings, with Detroit's 22-7 home record and Jalen Duren's three straight double-doubles powering a Pistons squad that opened as 7.5-point favorites before sharp money moved the line back to 6.5 in a game where the spread tells a more complicated story than the injury report suggests.

The Memphis Grizzlies (21-36) travel to American Airlines Center to face the Dallas Mavericks (21-37) on Friday, February 27, tipping off at 8:30 PM ET, with Cooper Flagg ruled out for his sixth straight game due to a left midfoot sprain, Kyrie Irving's season already finished with a knee injury, and Daniel Gafford listed as questionable, putting a Dallas team on the back end of a back-to-back after dropping 130-121 to Sacramento at home Thursday night up against a Grizzlies squad that is just as depleted on paper but arrives with a full day of rest, a 7-of-8 head-to-head edge against this Mavs team, and a net rating essentially identical to Dallas's own, making the 5.5-point home line for a team that has covered just three times in twelve home favorite spots and has dropped six straight at American Airlines Center a very hard sell.

The Brooklyn Nets, 15-43 and locked in lottery mode, travel to TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics on Friday, February 27, tipping off at 7:30 PM ET. With Brooklyn grinding into Boston on the second night of a back-to-back after a 16-point blowout loss to San Antonio on Thursday, and Jayson Tatum (right Achilles) remaining out for the Celtics while Jaylen Brown returns fully healthy from a minor knee contusion, this matchup pits a 38-20 Eastern Conference contender hungry for a bounce-back performance at home against a six-game losing streak Nets squad playing on depleted legs with nothing to lose, as both franchises sit at opposite ends of the standings with Boston chasing the East's top seed and Brooklyn firmly in tank territory, and the Celtics' 12-7 ATS record off losses on the line in what could be one of the most lopsided spreads of the night at 17.5 points.

The Grizzlies and Mavericks and the Nuggets and Thunder are squaring off on Friday, with Walter Clayton and Memphis looking for a big away win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder host the Nuggets seeking to capture a big win. McBets is targeting both players in his two game parlay.

In a stacked Thursday NBA slate the Lakers visit the Suns tonight with the Lakers on thin ice. Expect a lower scoring game and back Under 217.5.