Locks
NBA – Wizards -3 @ Pacers (-110): 6:00 PM CT on NBATV
If the first two times you’ve played a team this season result in that team averaging 143 points against you, it’s probably not the best matchup for you. That’s what the Washington Wizards have done to the Indiana Pacers this season, winning both by far more than this spread and covering in both instances as well.
Now a red-hot Washington team on a 16-3 ATS run travels to Indiana to face a Pacers team that couldn’t be more schizophrenic. The peaks and valleys of Indiana’s play on both ends of the floor is a wild ride, but the consistent theme is this team has been terrible against the number: 3rd worst ATS record overall, 2nd worst at home, and 6th worst as the underdog.
The way Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook have been playing recently, the Pacers wouldn’t be able to stop them even if defensive effort was a thing in Indiana. So with Malcolm Brogdon iffy for this game and the Wizards on a tear, I’ll lay this pretty short number that’s also gotten early backing from sharp bettors.
Bonus Bet: Of course Indiana sandwiched a 197-point game in between games of 295 and 259 points in the spot I said to take the over – a game that was so frustrating it had Pacers coaches fighting each other. That 295-point game was against this Wizards team, with the other matchup this season reaching 256 points. Obviously, defense has not been a priority when these squads get together, and even if there’s a regression from how these teams normally play each other the over will still be live. This total is massive, but even sharp money hit the over early, so I’ll take a shot with it as well.
Degenerates
No Degenerates today.
Tiny Nick is 246-159 ATS (+77.3 Units) on his Locks since joining Zone Coverage.
Every day he will offer his Locks and Degenerate picks. Locks are the games he’s confident in. Degenerates are entertaining but riskier picks.
