NBA Best Bets Tonight | 4 Expert Picks for Tuesday, March 5

The NBA is back with another nine-game slate on Tuesday.

That means it's only right that our NBA writers would dish out some best bets. Our staff hand-picked four best bets for Tuesday's games, including a short favorite playing on the road and three player props.

Read on for all four NBA best bets tonight — and be sure to check back tomorrow for even more NBA betting coverage.

NBA Best Bets Tonight

By Joe Dellera

Paolo Banchero has an elite matchup tonight against the Hornets, who have the third-worst adjusted defense in the league. Even though this should be a slower-paced game, the poor defense will still help him get plenty of high-quality looks.

Banchero has exceeded this line in all four games against the Hornets and in 61% of games on the season.

Paolo leads the team in scoring (22.9), assists (5.2) and potential assists (9.9) this season. While Franz Wagner has been tremendous, Paolo is the primary offensive engine for this team.

The Hornets have surrendered big games to multiple power forwards of late, including Tobias Harris, the Giannis Antetokounmpo/Bobby Portis combo and Lauri Markkanen.

While there's always some blowout potential with Charlotte, it's been a bit better of late. Plus, Banchero still has a 62% hit rate on 26.5 PA in wins.

I expect Paolo to exceed that 26.5 PA mark again tonight.

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Pick: Paolo Banchero Over 26.5 PA

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By Bryan Fonseca

On "Buckets," I played this at -1 thinking that the line will eventually get close to -3, and unsurprisingly, it's at -2.5 this morning.

Still, I think Philly wins this and covers.

The Nets are on the second game of a back-to-back after essentially losing to the Memphis Hustle last night. The Sixers have the rest advantage after playing Sunday and surviving a Dallas Mavericks comeback on the road.

The Nets are 5-7-1 against the spread with a rest disadvantage and 4-9 straight up.

This Nets team just beat Atlanta twice, but they're on the verge of folding. They have four more games this week alone — tonight marks one of two back-to-backs within the next six days.

Ben Simmons and Cam Thomas sat on Monday, and Simmons playing could make this interesting, but Philly's sense of urgency was apparent this weekend. After a shaky start post-Joel Embiid injury, it's won five of its last nine and has gone 4-1 in its last five road games, winning by three or more points on three occasions.

I played this at -1, but I'm still good with it at -2.5.

Pick: 76ers -2.5

By Joe Dellera

The Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Boston Celtics tonight without Donovan Mitchell. This is going to be a tough matchup for Cleveland, which may find it difficult to put points on the board without its leading scorer.

One player I expect to have a lesser performance is Jarrett Allen.

Allen’s PRA line is set at 31.5, a number he has failed to reach in all seven contests against the Celtics over the last few seasons. He has exceeded this line in only 33% of games this season, and the number drops to 28% when playing alongside Evan Mobley.

Matchup-wise, Boston’s defense is second-best in the league, and both teams play at a below-average pace.

This is a brutal spot for Allen, and given Boston’s recent form, we could see this game get out of hand. I like Allen to go under 31.5 PRA.

Pick: Jarrett Allen Under 31.5 PRA

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By Joe Dellera

The Detroit Pistons take on the Miami Heat tonight in what's a tough matchup for Jalen Duren against Bam Adebayo — at least on paper.

However, due to Bam’s versatility, he’s often found outside of the paint, which gives Duren the opportunity to clean up the glass. When these two teams met earlier this season, Duren grabbed 14 rebounds and contributed four assists.

While there are some concerns with playing alongside Isaiah Stewart, Duren has still eclipsed this 12.5 RA line in 64% of games with Stewart playing while averaging 14.4 RA.

This is a nice buy-low opportunity off of a pair of brutal matchups against the Cavaliers and Magic.

On the season, Duren is averaging 11.8 rebounds on 19.1 chances to go along with 2.6 assists on four potentials per game. In a matchup where he may have difficulty scoring, he can at least set up some of Detroit’s shooting threats to rack up the dimes. In the prior matchup against Miami, he tallied those four assists on eight potentials.

I expect Duren to exceed 12.5 RA tonight.

Pick: Jalen Duren Over 12.5 RA

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