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 Monday, Feb. 13:
TOP PLAY
The play: NBA: Nuggets (-1) over Heat
The odds/bet: -110 ($33 to win $30)
The book: DraftKings Sportsbook
Time/TV: 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
Our take: The Heat might be favored in this matchup if they were fully healthy despite the fact that the Nuggets are first in the Western Conference, but injuries have piled up on them.
The Nuggets are dealing with injuries too, but they’re a deeper team and have the best player on the court in Nikola Jokic, whereas the Heat are extremely thin at guard with all three of Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry and Victor Oladipo likely out.
Herro is the only one with a chance to play, but he’s listed as doubtful, which makes the Nuggets a value despite the Heat being tough to beat at home since they’ll have a significant depth advantage.
ROCKETS TO COVER
The play: NBA, Rockets (+13.5) over 76ers
The odds/bet: -110 ($11 to win $10)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Time/TV: 7 p.m. (NBA League Pass)
Our take: The 76ers will almost certainly win against a rebuilding Rockets team, but winning by 14 points in the NBA is a tall ask even in a lopsided matchup.
The Rockets are on a six-game losing streak, but they’ve competed well in several of those contests and have begun to see improvement from promising rookie forward Jabari Smith.
The 76ers are in midseason form, but star center Joel Embiid has a sore foot and might not see his usual minutes, and the Rockets have enough talent to keep things closer than the spread indicates.
HOW WE’VE FARED
Sunday’s best bets
- Super Bowl LVII, UNDER 51 total points (LOST $33)
- Super Bowl LVII, Jalen Hurts anytime touchdown scorer (WON $10)
Sunday’s profit/loss: -$23 (1-1)
Final total for the week: -$158.50 (4-10)
Total for February: -$63 (10-13)
Total for 2023: -$220.50 (35-47)
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, $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).
