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. 14:
TOP PLAY
The play: College basketball, Louisiana Tech -4.5 over Stephen F. Austin
The odds/bet: -110 ($33 to win $30)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Our take: The Bulldogs are coming off a big loss at Wyoming, and now are back home where they are 2-0 against ULM and Southern, winning by an aggregate margin of 36. This is a similar opponent to those two, and the Lumberjacks have lost their past four games.
SFA also lost to Northwestern State in their last game on Dec. 1 when they were 12.5-point favorites. They also are 0-2 this season when having more than four days off, so rustiness could be a factor.
NBA PARLAY OF FAVES
The play: NBA moneyline parlay, Blazers over Spurs and Clippers over Timberwolves
The odds/bet: -119 ($11.90 to win $10)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: Blazers-Spurs at 8:10 p.m. (No local TV) and Clippers-Timberwolves at 10:10 p.m. (ESPN)
Our take: This is similar to a teaser in football, where we just need these teams to win. Portland is coming off back-to-back big victories against Minnesota and is playing well in winning four of the past five. They also already defeated San Antonio by seven points earlier this season.
Also, the Blazers are 9-4-1 this year against the spread on the road, while the Spurs are just 7-8, which makes us love getting Portland on the moneyline even more, as they are 7½-point favorites.
That also goes for the Clippers, who also are 7½-point favorites, and have won their last two games against Boston and Washington.
Meanwhile, Minnesota has lost four of their last five road games, winning just one away from home since Thanksgiving.
HOW WE’VE FARED
NBA: Pelicans -1.5 over Jazz (LOST $33)
NBA: Bucks -4 over Warriors (WON $10)
Tuesday’s profit/loss: -$23 (1-1)
Total for the week: -$4 (2-2)
Total for December: -$72.50 (11-15)
Total for 2022: +$299.90 (325-345)
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).
