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 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.

In a stacked Thursday NBA slate the Kings visit the Mavericks tonight with the Kings in disaster mode. Back the Mavericks to cover the spread at -7.5.

Washington Wizards, sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference at 16-41, travel to face the 9th-placed Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on Thursday, February 26, tipping off at 7:30 PM ET. With the Wizards returning to the same building where they got blown out 119-98 just 48 hours earlier, and still without Trae Young (knee MCL/quad), Anthony Davis (hand), and Alex Sarr (hamstring), this matchup pits a skeleton-crew Washington squad against a Hawks team riding a fresh Jonathan Kuminga debut buzz at home, as Atlanta fights to hold its Play-In spot with Miami closing in and the Eastern Conference postseason picture tightening in the final stretch of the 2025-26 campaign.