Late-Night Lookahead: Three Wednesday NBA Games the Public Will Love

More often than not, when the public loads up on a side, they lose. This season, NBA teams getting less than 30% of bets are 125-97-8 against the spread. That nugget might come in handy for these three games on tomorrow's slate.

Toronto Raptors (-9.5) at Orlando Magic

7 p.m. ET

Why the public will love Toronto: The first place team in the East is laying fewer than 10 points against a 14th-place opponent, so you can count on the public being all over the Raptors in this one.

Why sharps might like Orlando: The Magic have been keeping games close as of late, going 6-4 ATS in their last 10. They've also covered in six of their last eight games against Toronto dating back to 2015.

Charlotte Hornets at Boston Celtics (-7)

7:30 p.m. ET

Why the public will love Boston: It's rare that the public isn't on the Celtics, regardless of the situation. Only five times this season have the C's had less than 50% of bettors on their side.

Tomorrow they'll be playing a 27-33 Hornets team that's on their second of back-to-back games. Add in the fact that they're in Boston and laying only seven points, and this should be a public favorite.

Why sharps might like Charlotte: The Celtics' impressive ATS record is actually a bit deceiving. They started the season 17-3-1 ATS, helped in large part by oddsmakers being unsure of exactly how to weigh Gordon Hayward's injury. Since then, they've come back to Earth at just 19-21-1 ATS.

Oklahoma City Thunder (-5) at Dallas Mavericks

8:30 p.m. ET

Why the public will love Oklahoma City: With their starpower, the Thunder, like the Celtics, attract public bettors on most nights. Tomorrow they're laying only five points against a team still looking for its 20th win, so squares should take a liking to OKC.

Why sharps might like Dallas: Though they haven't been winning, the Mavs have been covering at a slightly above average rate. At 31-30 ATS, they've got an edge over the Thunder who are just 25-37 ATS on the year. It's also worth noting that Dallas has covered in two of its three meetings with OKC this season.

Photo: Kemba Walker (left) and Kyrie Irving (right)

Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports