Hello and happy Pi Day everyone. There are six NBA games today, two of which are on TNT tonight. The first is the Phoenix Suns at Boston Celtics and begins at 7:30 PM ET. The second match features the Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder beginning at 10:00 PM ET. 

 

 

 

The three betting angles for Fantasy Alarm NBA Best Bets will come from these two matchups. So, get ready to watch two nationally televised games loaded with All-Stars and future Hall-of-Fame members. 

There are two player props in my NBA best bets column today, one on three pointers and the other on points. However, the Bet of the Night is a plus odds straight bet.

Expert NBA Best Bet & Pick Today, 3/14

Suns vs. Celtics Prediction: Phoenix Money Line (+200 on DraftKings)

The Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics began this season as favorites to win their respective conferences. Boston is in first place by almost ten games in the Eastern Conference, meanwhile Phoenix has fallen to the play-in, and currently seventh place. 

The Celtics are briefly back home from a five game trip that was nine days in total. They have had a day's rest, and the Celtics won against the Suns 117-107 in their match five days ago. However there is truth to the most difficult road game is the first game back home. The Celtics will be without Kristaps Porzingis tonight, and that should leave an advantage for the Suns.

Phoenix was recently surpassed on the rankings by the Sacramento Kings who, with a win last night, have the same record as the Suns. The Kings have a better division and conference record and thus control sixth place of the Western Conference. 

This puts the Suns in a very tough play-in with the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Dallas Mavericks. The Suns are only a game back from fifth place though. They have a winning road percentage with a 17-13 record. They have also enjoyed one more extra day of rest than the Boston Celtics.

Not only is Porzingis out tonight, but Jaylen Brown is questionable with back pain. Phoenix will have its trio of stars in Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant tonight, and they are capable of putting up points against any defense. Jusuf Nurkic is expected to have a great rebounding night, and it could be a difficult defensive night for the Boston Celtics with no height to stop the Suns offensive scorers. 

The Suns are underdogs as TD Garden is a tough place to win at, but the Suns recently won at Ball Arena which is just a difficult place to play at. The Celtics are also without one of their best players, so the underdog Suns have a great chance to win tonight.

 

 

 

NBA Prop Bets Today, 3/14

Grayson Allen Player Props: Over 2.5 Three-Point Attempts Made (-105 on DraftKings)

Staying in the same game, a wager goes on Phoenix Suns role player Grasyon Allen to do what he does best– make three-point field goals. Although he went zero of four in the previous match against Boston, he has made twenty in his last three of four games. This month he has attempted forty-eight threes in six games played, or eight per game. 

Allen has made 158 of 333 three point attempts this season, which is an outstanding 47.4%. The Celtics allow 12.9 threes per game this season and will likely allow more tonight with Porzingis out. 

Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker will be the primary defensive focus for the Celtics and Allen should have plenty of spot-up three-point opportunities tonight. He has played thirty-four or more minutes in his last ten games, and the former Duke Blue Devil simply needs to make three threes. 

 

 

 

Shai Gilgeous Alexander Player Props: Over 30.5 Points (-120 on BetMGM)

The second game on TNT tonight is the Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder. This should be a close match despite Dallas playing last night. 

Although Nikola Jokic has a clear advantage on the NBA MVP (-375 on some sportsbooks), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic are rightfully in the conversation. They are both elite scorers, but it is Gilgeous-Alexander that this bet focuses on.

Gilgeous-Alexander is the second highest scoring player in the league, averaging 31.1 points per game. The Dallas Mavericks are a bottom ten defense, eighth most allowed, and allow the ninth most points to opposing point guards. Although it is late in the season players should be at, or near, their peak cardio-vascular condition. Guarding an MVP candidate on the second of back-to-back nights is a different task though. 

Oklahoma City has been a consistent and high scoring team all year. They have the second highest points per game in the Association with 120.7 and have the largest point differential in the Western Conference with +7.7. 

Gilgeous-Alexander is the driving force behind those leading offensive numbers, and as he plays the league’s point per game leader, Doncic, he will display he’s just as good a scorer. For this to be successful only his average is needed, against a less than average defense. 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading my NBA best bets today. Remember to check out Fantasy Alarm for all your fantasy and betting needs across multiple sports. 

Bet Smart, Be Lucky - Iggy

*All Bets to be placed at 1 unit unless specified otherwise