PICKS & PARLAYS

Team T-Mac, entering as the 2.5-point favorite with the tournament's most balanced roster, faces underdog Team Vince in Rising Stars Semifinal Game 2 at Intuit Dome on Friday, February 13, tipping off at 9:55 PM ET on Peacock. With Team T-Mac boasting the race's second-hottest Rookie of the Year candidate in Charlotte's Kon Knueppel (18.9 PPG, 183 threes, 3-Point Contest participant), five experienced sophomores, and three elite shooters converting better than 43% from deep, this matchup pits Tracy McGrady's talent-stacked squad featuring four top-six draft picks against Vince Carter's younger, more athletic Team Vince—led by Philadelphia's clutch-scoring rookie VJ Edgecombe (14.9 PPG, 64 total clutch points) but hampered by just two top-10 selections and late injury replacement Carter Bryant filling in for the scratched Cedric Coward, as both teams chase a race-to-40 victory and a championship berth against the Team Melo vs Team Austin winner in the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars tournament.

Team Melo, anchored by reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and featuring four top-5 draft picks, faces Team Austin's G League squad at Intuit Dome on Friday, February 13, tipping off at 9:00 PM ET. With Carmelo Anthony's roster navigating the loss of franchise cornerstone Cooper Flagg (foot) but still boasting Castle fresh off a 40-point triple-double and Portland's Donovan Clingan coming off a 23-point, 18-rebound performance last night, this semifinal pits a talent-stacked NBA rookie squad dealing with chemistry issues and injury losses against Austin Rivers' underdog G League group riding chemistry from playing together all season, hungry for revenge after last year's championship game heartbreak where Castle hit the game-winner, as both teams operate on opposite trajectories, NBA lottery pedigree versus developmental league proving ground, in the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars tournament race to 40 points.

Two sides with contrasting recent fortunes meet in LaLiga as Elche, battling to improve their league position, host Osasuna at their home ground on Thursday, February 13, 2026, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 UTC. The hosts currently sit 15th in the overall standings, while the visitors are comfortably placed in 9th.

The Michigan State Spartans will take on the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday night in the biggest showdown of the slate. Can Jeremy Fears Jr. carry the Spartans to a slim road victory? McBets is targeting his assist prop in this Michigan State vs. Wisconsin prediction and best prop pick for Friday, February 13th.

Dallas Mavericks, sitting 12th in the Western Conference at 19-34, travel to face 5th-placed Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday, February 12, tipping off at 10:00 PM ET. With the Mavericks navigating an eight-game losing streak without No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg (foot) and lacking their second-leading scorer Kyrie Irving while sporting a dismal 5-18 road record, this matchup pits a lottery-bound squad hemorrhaging games during their worst stretch since 2016 against a Lakers team that's won four straight head-to-head meetings by double digits and sits firmly in playoff position at 32-21 despite dropping their last two games, as LeBron James and Austin Reaves return fresh from Tuesday's rest game before the All-Star break while both franchises operate on opposite trajectories in the 2025/2026 campaign.