Handicapping basketball on Super Bowl Sunday should give us an advantage since the books have to be at least somewhat distracted by the biggest betting event of the year, but how distracted are the teams? It’s a weird day to bet, so I’ll approach with caution and only 2 picks. 11-7 betting NBA on the week– let’s close it out strong!
Jazz -5 (-110), 1 unit: I’m not sure who’s in the better spot here, but are the Pacers still exhausted after that disappointing loss against New Orleans 2 days ago? They might be. Indiana was in a great spot at home against a tired team and almost pulled off the comeback win, but they just couldn’t muster the energy at the end. The Jazz have picked up right where they left off after getting beaten by Denver a week ago, winning 3 straight games by margin and looking very fluid on both sides of the court. Bogdanovic has been a nice additional lately, too, as a very dangerous perimeter shooter. I like the Jazz to keep rolling against a mid-tier Indiana team that probably just wants to drive home and watch the Super Bowl with their family.
Wizards/Hornets over 236.5 (-110), 1.5 units: The Hornets have scored over 110 points in 4 out of their last 4 games and over 120 points in 3 of their last 4 games. After a few games that surprisingly haven’t soared over the total, the Wizards are due for some positive regression on offense. Brady Beal should have his way with a very average Charlotte defense, and I don’t suspect the Hornets will have any issue with the league’s worst defense in Washington. I like both of these young squads to put on an offensive showcase before the more popular festivities later in the day.
