NBA Sharp Report: 76ers-Thunder Among 2 Games Drawing Smart Money Thursday

Thursday's NBA matchups vary greatly in terms of appeal. Of course, to sharp bettors the excitement surrounding a game isn't a factor in determining its value. Whether they end up betting a high- or low-profile game is completely left up to how it is listed in the betting market.

In tonight's case, wiseguys have been drawn to two games in particular, Sixers-Thunder and T'Wolves-Pacers, which could wind up being the most and least heavily bet games of the night, respectively.

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Indiana Pacers

7 p.m. ET

Sharp angle: Minnesota (moved from +4 to +3.5)

The Pacers enter tonight's meeting with Minnesota as losers of two straight, but oddsmakers like their chances to bounce back, as they've opened Indiana as a 4-point favorite. Most bettors seem to agree, too. To this point, 72% of bets have laid the points with the home team.

Sharps have been seeing this a bit differently, though. Per Sports Insights' Bet Signals — triggered whenever sharp action causes a significant, market-wide line move — pros have hit the T'Wolves five times at lines of +4.5 and +4. No other team has drawn more than two signals thus far.

With their sharper customers taking the points, oddsmakers have had no choice other than to drop this line, even if it means giving the majority of bettors a more favorable number.

Philadelphia 76ers @ Oklahoma City Thunder

8 p.m. ET

Sharp angle: Over (moved from 238.5 to 240.5)

At its opener of 238.5, this was already the highest total on today's slate by more than 10 points. Now sitting at 240.5, it's among the nine highest totals of the season.

That 2-point rise hasn't come as a result of this over's popularity, though. While overs do tend to attract more public bettors (for obvious reasons), when they're set this high it often deters some Average Joes from jumping in.

In this case, bets are split down the middle, making this the second-least popular over on tonight's slate. The 50% of bets, though, have generated 67% of actual money being wagered, meaning bigger bettors — the ones more likely to be sharps — expect a total score in the 240s.

A couple of SI Bet Signals have also revealed smart money hitting the over, though both came at a total of 239.

Update: With Paul George surprisingly ruled out Thursday afternoon, this line has continued to move. We broke down the market impact here.