PICKS & PARLAYS

The Cleveland Cavaliers (37-24) close out a three-game road trip at Barclays Center against the Brooklyn Nets (15-44) on Sunday, March 1, tipping off at 3:30 PM ET, with Donovan Mitchell confirmed out (groin) and James Harden listed as questionable (fractured thumb), putting a significantly undermanned Cleveland squad on the road against a Brooklyn team that has dropped seven straight and is broadcasting loud and clear that winning is not the priority right now. The Cavs, sitting fourth in the East and nursing a two-game skid of their own, arrive as 11 to 11.5-point favorites in a matchup where the spread number might actually be the least interesting story on the board.

The Los Angeles Lakers (35-24), sitting seventh in the Western Conference with their eyes on a top-six seed, host the Sacramento Kings (14-47) at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, March 1, tipping off at 9:30 PM ET, with Sacramento missing Zach LaVine (hand surgery, out for the year), Domantas Sabonis (knee, out for the year), De'Andre Hunter (retinal repair, out for the year), Keegan Murray (calf), Drew Eubanks (thumb), and Devin Carter (ankle) while Russell Westbrook enters as questionable with a thigh issue, leaving DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, and a skeleton crew to hold off a Los Angeles squad that just ended its three-game losing skid with a bounce-back win over Golden State on Saturday, with Luka Doncic, the NBA's leading scorer at 32.6 points per game, and LeBron James looking to feast on the league's most depleted rotation in what shapes up as the softest spot on the Sunday slate and the cleanest spread on the board at Lakers -13.

The New Orleans Pelicans (19-42), riding a four-game winning streak and playing their best basketball of the season, travel to Intuit Dome to face the Los Angeles Clippers (27-31) on Sunday, March 1, tipping off at 9:00 PM ET, with Trey Murphy III ruled out for the fifth-plus straight game with a shoulder contusion, Zion Williamson likely out after spraining his ankle in Saturday's Utah win, and Dejounte Murray listed as game-time decision, this matchup puts a shorthanded Pelicans squad playing on the second night of a back-to-back road trip against a Clippers team getting Kawhi Leonard back at full health after he sat out Thursday's loss to Minnesota, as New Orleans arrives as an 8.5-point road underdog carrying one of the best cover records in the league as a big dog while the Clippers fight to stay relevant in the Western Conference playoff race at home in a spot that looks tailor-made for Kawhi to take over.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (46-15), the best team in basketball, head to American Airlines Center on Sunday, March 1 for the final meeting of the season with the Dallas Mavericks (21-38), tipping off at 8:00 PM ET. Oklahoma City arrives as 15.5-point road favorites fresh off a statement overtime win over Denver, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back in the lineup and looking every bit the MVP frontrunner he was before his nine-game absence. Dallas, meanwhile, rolls out a rotation that would give a G League front office pause: Cooper Flagg is out with a midfoot sprain, Kyrie Irving is gone for the season, Dereck Lively II hasn't played since December, and a handful of other contributors are banged up heading into tip. This is the basketball equivalent of bringing a plastic spoon to a sword fight.

The UFC main event will get underway tonight in Mexico City, headlined by Brandon Moreno facing off against Lone'er Kavanagh. Moreno enters as the -198 favorite, but can the short-notice Kavanagh pull the upset in his first five-round fight? Jack Borovitz breaks down this Brandon Moreno vs. Lone'er Kavanagh best bet for UFC Fight Night 268.