PICKS & PARLAYS

The Portland Trail Blazers (30-33), sitting 10th in the Western Conference, wrap up a long road trip at Toyota Center to face the Houston Rockets (38-23) on Friday, March 6, tipping off at 8:00 PM ET, with Deni Avdija listed as doubtful for a sixth straight game due to lower-back injury management, Shaedon Sharpe ruled out with a left fibula stress reaction, and Damian Lillard still sidelined on his torn Achilles, this matchup puts a shorthanded Portland squad that is 11-9 against the spread when given 6.5 points or more against a Houston team playing the second night of a back-to-back, fresh off a draining overtime loss to Golden State in which KD, Sengun, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., and Reed Sheppard all logged over 37 minutes, as Portland arrives at +6.5 trying to do what it already did twice this season: beat the Rockets on the scoreboard or at least keep it close enough to cash.

The Charlotte Hornets (32-31) host the Miami Heat (34-29) at Spectrum Center on Friday, March 6, tipping off at 7:00 PM ET, with the Heat limping into Charlotte on the second night of a back-to-back after beating Brooklyn on Thursday, missing Norman Powell, Terry Rozier, Nikola Jovic, and Simone Fontecchio, and carrying Andrew Wiggins into doubtful territory with bilateral knee tendinitis, while the Hornets, 16-3 in their last 19 games and riding a six-game winning streak built on double-digit margins, have LaMelo, Brandon Miller, and Coby White fully locked in at home. Charlotte is a -7.5 favorite at BetMGM with the total sitting at 229.5. Both the injury ledger and the schedule spot point the same direction, and the Under is where the real edge lives tonight.

The Boston Celtics (41-21), sitting first in the Atlantic Division, host the Dallas Mavericks (21-41) at TD Garden on Friday, March 6, tipping off at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN, with Jayson Tatum listed as questionable for what would be his season debut after tearing his Achilles last May, Cooper Flagg returning to action last night for the first time in eight games only to absorb a 115-114 gut-punch loss to the Magic on a buzzer-beater in Orlando, and Dallas now limping into Beantown on the second night of a back-to-back with a five-game losing streak and two more bodies unavailable, as Boston opens as a 14.5 to 15.5-point favorite in a matchup that is fundamentally about one question: can the Celtics run up a margin this large against a team depleted enough to get embarrassed but experienced enough to stay out of the garbage-time spiral?

The Thursday NBA slate has an interesting stack of games, including the Nets at Heat and Lakers visiting the Nuggets. McBets is going after Luke Kennard and Nolan Traore in those games for his Thursday best NBA parlay for March 5th.

In a pivotal Premier League clash, Tottenham, currently languishing in 16th place, will host 14th-placed Crystal Palace at their home ground. The crucial encounter is scheduled for Wednesday, March 5th, 2026, with kick-off at 8:00 PM GMT. The hosts will be desperate for points to alleviate growing relegation concerns, while the visitors aim to distance themselves further from the drop zone.