NBA Betting Odds & Picks: Our Staff’s Best Bets for Celtics vs. Magic, More (February 6)
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images. Pictured: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics.
- The NBA slate for Sunday features eight games, but with a number of early games, our Action Network crew is eyeing two matchups.
- One of those games features the suddenly red-hot Boston Celtics as near double-digit favorites against the Magic.
- See how our analysts are betting today's matchups below.
There are a number of early matchups on Sunday's NBA schedule and two games on national TV, including an awesome matchup between Trae Young and Luka Doncic (6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN).
Our analysts are eyeing two games on the slate and have three bets to make in those matchups. Check out their analysis and picks below.
NBA Odds & Picks
Philadelphia 76ers vs Chicago Bulls
Malik Smith: The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off a tough loss on Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks, but are favorites on the road in Chicago. One takeaway from their loss was how well the Sixers played in the first half, amassing a 10-point lead on the road.
The Bulls have been shaky as underdogs in the first half this season and that's a potential area the 76ers can exploit here. In their past 15 games, the 76ers have a +2.4 point differential in the first half, while the Bulls have a -0.3 differential over the same span.
Per Bet Labs, as a home underdog, Chicago is just 1-4 against the spread this season. Conversely, the 76ers have been good in the first half coming off a loss (11-9 ATS) and even better as a road favorite (4-1 ATS) like they are in this spot.
Philadelphia 76ers vs Chicago Bulls
Raheem Palmer: There’s a reason oddsmakers have the Philadelphia 76ers listed at consensus -1.5/-2 point road favorites against the Chicago Bulls.
Despite blowing a double-digit second half lead to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night, the 76ers are currently the better team and they had their number even when the Bulls were at full strength as they won the first two matchups convincingly. I’m expecting more of the same here against a Bulls team missing Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Derrick Jones Jr, Patrick Williams and potentially Colby White who is a game time decision.
The Bulls struggle to defend the perimeter and the 76ers 3-point shooting attack, which ranks eighth in percentage (36.5%) should find some success here. Look for a big day from Seth Curry.
In addition, the Bulls allow the second-highest percentage of field goal attempts at the rim so Joel Embiid should be able to capitalize as he did in their November 6th matchup when he scored 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting with 16 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Over the last two weeks the Bulls are 26th in Defensive Rating allowing 117.8 points per 100 possessions so I expect the 76ers to score efficiently early and often. Provided the 76ers can lock all windows and doors defensively against this Bulls offense with DeMar Derozan and Zach LaVine, they should come away with an easy win today.
Boston Celtics vs. Orlando Magic
Smith: We're about five days out from the NBA trade deadline and while some teams very much see themselves being in the mix to compete, others are completely out of it. In Lieu of using that dirty word that begins with a T, we'll just say teams at the bottom of the league aren't incentivized by winning games at this point.
Like many situational betting spots in the NBA, we've got the perfect betting system for this exact scenario.
The Magic have been scrappy in this spot all season — they are 11-12 when the spread is 9.5 points or more — but they have the second-best record in the NBA over the past 15 games and are riding a six-game win streak into this game.
Also, as scrappy as the Magic are as large underdogs, most of their success in that spot has come on the road. At home, they are just 1-3 as double-digit underdogs.
We're not getting the best number here since it opened around -7.5, but I'd bet this up to -9.5.
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