Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.
Here are our best bets for Wednesday, Dec. 7:
TOP PLAY
The play: NBA, Jazz -7.5 over Warriors
The odds/bet: -110 ($33 to win $30)
The book: BetMGM
Time/TV: 9:10 p.m. (NBA League Pass)
Our take: I’m not sure how much more you need to take Utah here than to hear Wednesday night’s injury report for the Warriors: Steph Curry (out), Draymond Green (out), Andrew Wiggins (out).
Golden State (13-12) has been all over the map this season, but they are 2-10 away from home, where it seems if any star has the tiniest of boo-boos, they are going to sit. This might turn out to be sheer genius for later in the season (God, we hope not, because then everyone is going to start doing it), but for now, it’s time to make money off this.
The Jazz (14-12) finished that rough patch the week of Thanksgiving, where they lost five games in a row before stinking it up against vs. Portland last Saturday night. But they have had plenty of time to rest and are close to wrapping up a nice homestand, so they should be full go Wednesday.
COLLEGE HOOPS LATE PLAY
The play: BYU -7 over Utah Valley
The odds/bet: -110 ($11 to win $10)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 9:10 p.m. (No TV)
Our take: As one might expect, the Cougars have had a tougher schedule and sit at 4-4. But what we like most is they are coming off a shocking loss at home to South Dakota this past weekend, and they will be extra motivated to beat a 3-4 Wolverines team that lost by 18 to Boise State last week before bouncing back against Long Beach State.
In fact, they have not won on the road yet this season, and they have only covered once all year as an underdog.
HOW WE’VE FARED
NBA: Nuggets -5 over Mavericks (LOST $33)
NBA player prop parlay: Nikola Jokic over 24.5 points and Luka Doncic over 8.5 assists (LOST $10)
Wednesday’s profit/loss: -$43 (0-2)
Total for the week: -$24 (1-3)
Total for December: -$12 (5-7)
Total for 2022: +$360.40 (319-337)
NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)
Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, a $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).
