NBA Best Bets for Today: It Ain't Over 'Til It's Under (Friday, Jan. 26)
NBA Best Bets for today’s action! It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Under will highlight one game total and one player prop under for the slate. We won’t cash until the final horn sounds, but we’ll be cashing often.
Orlando Magic vs. Memphis Grizzlies First Half Under 109.5 (-120 on Fanatics Sportsbook)
Two struggling offenses here, particularly early in games. Memphis is dead last in 1st half scoring and offensive rating. Orlando is 21st in both metrics, but they’ve really scuffled on the road. The Magic are 27th in offensive rating away from the Kia Center.
Franz Wagner’s return should give Orlando’s offense some juice, but they’ve still been right at 21st in offensive rating since he came back.
Interestingly, the Grizzlies are 6th in defensive rating since Ja Morant went down and up to 4th in the 1st half. They’ve also played at a slightly slower pace since Morant’s injury. The Magic continue to be a strong defensive unit in all situations, ranking top 10 in 1st half defensive rating and points allowed per game.
Lu Dort Under 11.5 Points (-128 on FanDuel)
Dort’s been in the same boat as Josh Giddey in terms of shooting-related playing time concerns. He’s 1-for-10 from 3-point range the past 2 games and has been capped at 25 minutes. He was 8-for-15 from deep in the 2 games before that and played 33 minutes in both. Dort’s 28.6 minutes and 8.2 field goal attempts per game are already his lowest marks since his rookie season. He’s taking a career-high 57.1% of his shots from 3-point range.
New Orleans is a difficult matchup for shooters. They allow tons of 3-pointers (the most) but have limited opponents to the 2nd-lowest 3-point percentage (34.5%). That mark is more than 2% better at home vs. on the road. The Pelicans have been solid defensively across the board, ranking 8th in defensive rating on the season and 5th over the past 15 games.
Dort needs to knock down shots to stay on the floor, and this is a tough spot to do it. Much prefer the 11.5 at FanDuel to the 10.5 in other spots.
Season Record
- Game Picks: 7-6
- Prop Picks: 8-5
Not in a legal sports betting state? Use our Betr Picks promo code to make player predictions with a $500 deposit match this week!
Image Credit: Getty Images