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, Feb. 8:
TOP PLAY
The play: NBA, Timberwolves +5.5 over Jazz
The odds: -114
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Time/TV: 9:10 p.m. (NBA League Pass)
Our take: Our “fade the public” special of the day, this is the fourth and final meeting between these teams this season, and two of the previous three have been super tight with a one-point win for the Jazz and another one that went into overtime. The other? A 10-point win for the T-Wolves in Salt Lake City.
Minnesota has won five of eight games but now is on the second game of a road trip after being shellacked in Denver on Tuesday night. No time to dwell on that, and they have only lost back-to-back games once since a six-game skid at the end of December.
Meanwhile, the Jazz haven’t won since last Wednesday, as this homestand has not gone the way they have planned and are 3-4 straight up and against the spread in their last seven.
Both teams are hovering around .500, and this spread seems too high, especially considering how they have played against one another this season.
SAME GAME PLAYER PROP
The play: Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards to score under 27.5 points
The odds: -115
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Our take: Don’t get this number – at all. Not only has Edwards averaged 21.3 points per game in four February games, but he is at 24.6 for the season.
In a 10-point victory against Utah in December, he posted 14 points, as it was D’Angelo Russell and Rudy Gobert, who combined for 52 points.
Edwards hasn’t been shooting the ball all that much the past week-plus, averaging just 17.3 shots per game. If he has similar numbers to that, this should be an easy under.
HOW WE’VE FARED
NBA: Pelicans -1.5 over Hawks (WON)
NBA: Suns -8 over Nets (LOST)
Tuesday’s record: 1-1
Total for the week: 1-3
Total for February: 7-6
Total for 2023: 32-40
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).
