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Sunday’s NBA main slate features five games. The action gets underway at 7 p.m. ET and the final game tips off at 10 p.m. ET. Let’s survey the slate and pick the best bets for Sunday night.
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Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers
Cavaliers -4.5 (-110)
Cleveland is getting into the danger zone. They have already crossed the point of no return. They have lost six of seven after winning 13 of 16. In their defense, they’ve been a streaky team all season. They get hot and they get cold, but they need to get hot on Sunday night. Fortunately for the Cavs, the Raptors aren’t at full strength. OG Anunoby is out and Fred VanVleet is questionable along with his replacement Malachi Flynn. Without Anunoby and VanVleet, the Raptors’ offense ranks 23rd over the last three games. That is huge for a Cleveland defense that have been the second-worst over the last seven games.
The Raptors have relied on Pascal Siakam for offense with VanVleet out. While Siakam has posted some great fantasy lines, the stat that matters — the win column — has been ugly. Toronto lost at home to Orlando on Friday and at Detroit on Thursday. Those loses are worse than ugly. Those blemishes on their record are hideous. On Sunday night, Siakam will face one of the best frontcourts in the NBA.
Both offenses have struggled some of late, but Cleveland has not really tailed off too much because they have not been great all season. This team took a step back without Darius Garland, but in his second game back on Friday, the Cavs posted 119 points against the 76ers with four Cavs scoring over 20 points. A healthier Cleveland lineup will cover at home.
Memphis Grizzlies at Houston Rockets
Grizzlies -11 (-110)
The Saturday Best Bets article pointed out that the Grizzlies were about to enter a very soft part of their schedule. After several formidable opponents following the All-Star Break, the Grizzlies will play nearly every bottom feeder in the league. It is very likely that the Grizzlies win 10 games in a row and win each game by double-digits. Night one of this stretch of games went just as expected. The Grizzlies beat the Magic 124-96, and in the blowout, they were able to rest their stars on the first night of a back-to-back.
Second verse, same as the first. The Grizzlies got the Magic on Saturday and on Sunday they get the Rockets. There’s nothing magical about the Magic and nothing explosive about the Rockets. Houston is implosive like a nuke. Their 15-48 record is the worst in the NBA. Houston is 25-37-1 ATS (28th). As a home dog, they are 8-17 with an average margin of victory of -10.6. Basically, they lose by 11 to average teams. How badly will the Grizzlies beat them?
New York Knicks at Los Angeles Clippers
Clippers -4.5 (-110)
The Showtime Lakers are putting on a show and it’s a Greek tragedy. Lebron James’ 56 points in the win over the Warriors is just the setup. It will make the ending that much darker. Meanwhile, the other Los Angeles team doesn’t put on a show. They just show up. The blue collar Clippers lack star power, but they don’t lack power. The Clippers are reminiscent of the 2004 Detroit Pistons that shocked the Lakers that had a lineup with five hall of famers.
The Clippers enter Sunday night’s late game on a five game win streak. They have won seven of nine and have covered in each of those seven victories. Still, the DraftKings Sportsbook doesn’t give the working man’s team any respect. This is a small line for a solid home team vs. the Knicks. New York is 25-38 and out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. As an underdog, the Knicks cover at the third lowest rate (11-19; 36.7%). They enter Sunday night’s late cap having lost 17 of the last 20 games and seven in a row (6-14 ATS).
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