NBA Friday 'Locks' Includes Two Public Favorites (Yikes)
I feel like my NBA winning rate is 70+% on Friday's. My confidence is always sky-high at the end of the work week. I live in Long Beach, California and Fridays are the best out here. They made a whole movie about it.
Albeit my Friday experience is a little different than Friday, the movie. Instead of sitting on the porch and smoking pot, I sit on the couch and gamble my a** off. Speaking of Friday, I got Deebo'd by the NBA Thursday.
I knew two of my wagers were super "square" and wouldn't you know it both lost. What's even lamer about Thursday's NBA bets was I got "closing line value" on the two losers and the "bad number" for the winner.
Whatever. That's kind of how my NBA betting season has gone thus far. Whenever I get the best of it, I lose. If I get my money in bad, I'll win. Regardless, the vibes are good here in Long Beach and I'm cashing all my ...
NBA Best Bets for Friday
Los Angeles Lakers (-6.5) at San Antonio Spurs, 7:30 p.m. ET
What's a Friday in California without betting on the Lakers? As a NY-transplant, I'm a Knicks fan. However, I'll vouch for Lakers fans in southern California. They are annoying as hell but legit and passionate.
Granted, Lakers-Spurs Friday isn't in LA. But, it is on primetime and LeBron James gets to face San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama for the 1st time. Wemby is the most highly anticipated rookie since LeBron and you know LeBron wants to school this kid.
Los Angeles Lakers big Anthony Davis and LeBron James during a timeout vs. the Mavericks at American Airlines Center in Dallas. (Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
This is the 2nd of a Lakers-Spurs back-to-back with San Antonio winning the 1st Wednesday, 122-119. Yet, that final score is misleading. The Spurs out-scored the Lakers 45-30 in the 4th quarter to sneak in the backdoor.
The reason San Antonio covered Wednesday was because LeBron took an off-night. The Lakers need LeBron to close games out. LAL scores 18.0 MORE points per 100 possessions than their foes when James is on the floor, according to CleaningTheGlass.com.
My prediction: Lakers 118, Spurs 108
Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics (-4), 7:30 p.m. ET
If you think betting the Lakers as road favorites was "square" hold my beer because I got something even worse. I'm laying -4, up to -5, with the Celtics who could be missing Jaylen Brown, PF Kristaps Porzingis, and C Al Horford.
While that's less than ideal, Boston has gone from -6 on the opener down to the current number. That's line movement is too big. The Celtics are the best home team in the NBA and Jayson Tatum, PG Jrue Holiday, and SG Derrick White can step up.
Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum dribbles to the basket on the Magic at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)
Orlando has been awesome this season and are tied for 3rd in the Eastern Conference. But, the Magic are a different team on the road. They score 13.3 fewer points per game (PPG) on the road and allow 4.6 more PPG.
Furthermore, the Magic clobbered the Celtics 113-96 in Orlando as +5.5 home underdogs last month. Yet, I cannot get over how well Boston plays at home. The Celtics are shooting 50.0% from the field and 40.3% from deep. Holiday and White particularly play really well at home. And that's who I'm counting on Friday.