PICKS & PARLAYS

The Indiana Pacers (15-48) stumble into Moda Center to face the Portland Trail Blazers (30-34) on Sunday, March 8, tipping off at 9:00 PM ET, with Deni Avdija confirmed out for his eighth consecutive game due to lower back injury management and Shaedon Sharpe already ruled out for the rest of the regular season with a fibula stress reaction. Portland opened as a significant home favorite and the spread settled at -8.5 (-115), with the total hovering at 237.0, setting up a matchup where the Blazers are the better team on paper but their cover rate as big favorites is genuinely alarming. Indiana is 0-8 straight up in its last eight, on the road with short rest after a Friday night loss in Los Angeles, and riding a 1-5 ATS record in its last six games against Portland. Those are all the obvious reasons to ignore the Pacers. The less obvious reason to back them at +8.5 is that Portland is 1-5 ATS in games they were favored by 8.5 points or more this season and 0-7 ATS in its last seven March games The line is doing most of the work for Indiana here.

The Charlotte Hornets (32-32) roll into Mortgage Matchup Center to face the Phoenix Suns (36-27) Sunday night, tipping off at 10:00 PM ET with the Hornets installed as 4.5-point road favorites and the total sitting at 218.5. Charlotte just had its six-game win streak snapped by Miami on Friday, but that road winning streak is a different story entirely, sitting at ten straight, the longest active streak in the league. Phoenix survived the Pelicans by two points that same night and now turns around at home, still missing Dillon Brooks (hand), Mark Williams (foot), and Jordan Goodwin (calf), with Royce O'Neale listed as questionable. Both clubs have playoff seeding on the brain. The handicap still leans Hornets.

The Wizards and Pelicans and the Pistons and Heat are squaring off on Sunday, with Dejounte Murray and New Orleans looking for a win in front of their home crowd. Duncan Robinson and the Pistons visit Miami seeking to capture a big win. McBets is targeting both players in his two game parlay.

The Knicks will look to reassert themselves in the East on Sunday afternoon as they take on the Lakers on ABC. Can OG Anunoby help the Knicks stay hot on the road? The Wolf is targeting the star guard in his Knicks vs. Lakers best bet today for Sunday, March 8th.

Jayson Tatum finally returned for the Celtics on Friday night, and will take the court for the second time on Sunday in a showdown with the Cavs. Can the Celtics reclaim their dominance on Sunday with a statement road victory as their star returns? The Wolf analyzes the top Jayson Tatum props and EV edges from the oddschecker+ Positive EV Tool for Celtics vs. Cavs on March 8th.