The Sportzshala Fantasy Basketball Betting Tips and Basketball Betting Cheat Sheet is where you can get pre-game basketball betting predictions and our best intelligence and data, including Sportzshala’s own Basketball Power Index (BPI), which will help you make smart betting and fantasy decisions. Odds for NBA games for Friday, February 24 are provided by Caesars Sportsbook and fantasy tips are based on Sportzshala’s 10-team leagues.
What you need to know for Friday games
Statistical success may depend on who is not on the floor. In other words, the absence of high usage players can reveal enduring fantasy values in deeper rotations.
Take the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that recently beat D’Angelo Russell’s lucky shot and hasn’t had offensive superstar Karl-Anthony Towns for most of the season. A previously quiet role player like Jayden McDaniels (72% available in Sportzshala leagues), one of the league’s most versatile and gifted perimeter defenders, has upped his offensive clout given the need created by his absent colleagues. Even an ankle injury Russell suffered last night for the Los Angeles Lakers could create a new role for Dennis Schroeder (71%).
The Charlotte Hornets defense tonight allows small forwards to score 44.1 DraftKings points per game, the second-highest total in the league. McDaniels, meanwhile, is one of only 11 NBA players currently averaging at least 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals per game. This season, with Towns and Russell off the court, he scored 4.5 DraftKings points in 36 minutes, trailing only Anthony Edwards. Splits like this scream value.
With Kyle Lowry still out of the Miami Heat, Steve Alexander details below the key beneficiary in this scenario. Both Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. support the Houston Rockets, leaving rookie Jabari Smith Jr. (62%) playing a critical role in scoring and creation. League check updated injury report close to playtime can often be very helpful for enterprising managers ahead of a busy Friday schedule.
game of the night
Miami Heat to Milwaukee Bucks
7:30 pm ET, Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Records (against spread)
Round: 32-27 (21-35-3)
Bucks: 41-17 (32-23-3)
Line: Bucks (-1)
Performance Index Forecast: Bucks: 119.4-110.7
Money line: Heat (+100), Bucks (-120)
Predicted BPI Winner: Bucks (69.4%)
General: 219 Predicted BPI: 226.9
Injury Report:
Run: Tyler Herro (GTD – Knee); Nikola Jovic, (OUT – Back); Omer Yurtseven, (OUT – Ankle); Kyle Lowry, (OUT – Knee)
Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo (GTD – wrist); Pat Connaughton (GTD – Calf); Wesley Matthews (REDACTED – Calf)
Note: BPI figures include players who are excluded but assume that GTD players will play.
Trend: The Bucks ended the All-Star Game last season 11-5 in style and are posting an impressive 18-11 record at home this season. It’s not a bad trend to use a game against the Heat, who failed to cover eight of the 10 games before the break and failed to cover all three games this month against the six teams that entered the break before them in the East. -Kyle Soppe
Fantasy streamer: Gabe Vincent (played in 3.4% of Sportzshala leagues) will be the Heat’s point guard until further notice, while Kyle Lowery is out with a knee injury. Vincent responded well to the challenge and is averaging 15.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.8 3-pointers in his 11 starts this season. He also scored 15 to 21 points in each of his last three games, threw at least one steal in seven in a row, and lost 11 triples in his last three. He won’t get you a ton of assists for point guard, but he does enough of everything else to be usable in just about any fantasy league right now. And with over/under 12.5 tonight, he also looks like the best over bet. Especially after he burned Jrue Holiday with 27s and 28s in back-to-back games against the Bucks in January. -Steve Alexander
Fantasy streamer: Kevin Love (played in 11.5% of Sportzshala leagues) is an intriguing streamer in deeper formats against a Bucks team that will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Heat’s second unit was in desperate need of an attack, so Miami brought him in. Since the Heat don’t have much power behind Bam Adebayo, Love is a key player in the rotation. With 10.5 rebounds per game from his long NBA career, Love should immediately increase his rebounding, where they are in 27th place with 41.4 rebounds. -Eric Moody
Best bet: Jrue Holiday over 21.5 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo (wrist) is hesitant today, and that usually means it’s holiday time for the Bucks. When Giannis sat from January 12 to 21 earlier in the season, Holiday led the team in scoring in four of five games, scoring 24 to 37 points in those five. And he had 12 points and 10 assists on 5 of 14 shots in another (against the Heat on Jan. 14). The only problem is that the Heat usually defend well against point guards, losing ground by only 22 points per game. And it just so happens that this is exactly the number we’re looking for. Although the Heat slowed Holiday down in that game on Jan. 14, he scored 24 points two days earlier on Jan. 12. -Alexander
Destruction of the rest of the shale
New York Knicks – Washington Wizards.
7:00 pm ET, Capital One Arena, Washington DC
Records (against spread)
Knicks: 33–27 (32–27–1)
Wizards: 28-30 (28-29-1)
Line: Knicks (-2)
Performance Index Forecast: Nix: 117.5-115
Money line: Knicks (-130), Wizards (+110)
Predicted BPI Winner: Knicks (59.4%)
General: 224.5 Predicted BPI: 232.5
Injury Report:
Knicks: Mitchell Robinson (GTD – Thumb); Evan Fournier (OUT – Disease)
Wizards: Bradley Beal (GTD – Knee)
Note: BPI figures include players who are excluded but assume that GTD players will play.
Fantasy streamer: Immanuel Quickly (played in 18.4% of Sportzshala leagues) scored 14 points in consecutive games and hit double figures in five straight games despite coming off the bench and playing hot Jalen Brunson. The Knicks played the Wizards twice in January, and Quickly scored 18 points in each game, hitting 13 of 26 total shooting and three 3-pointers. Just before Christmas, he was one of the key players on the bench for Tom Thibodeau and should probably play in more leagues than he does now. -Alexander
Best bet: Knicks -2.0. Bradley Beal is in question due to pain in his right knee. He hasn’t trained since the Wizards returned from the All-Star break. The Knicks won three games in a row, entering the All-Star break. In the last six games, New York has led 4-1-1 against the spread. The Knicks have to take care of business on the road. -Capricious
Cleveland Cavaliers – Atlanta Hawks
7:30 pm ET, State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Records (against spread)
Cavaliers: 38-24 (32-28-2)
Hawks: 29-30 (26-31-2)
Line: Hawks (-1)
Performance Index Forecast: Cavaliers: 119.4–117.6
Money line: Cavaliers (-110), Hawks (-110)
Predicted BPI Winner: Cavaliers (56.5%)
General: 227.5 Predicted BPI: 237
Injury Report:
Cavaliers: Ricky Rubio (GTD – Knee)
Hawks: John Collins, (REDACTED – Concussion)
Note: BPI figures include players who are excluded but assume that GTD players will play.
Best bet: Jarrett Allen over 10.5 rebounds: Allen did it for me last night against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets and has had at least 11 rebounds in seven of his last 10 games to date. The Hawks rank 11th in the league in rebounds to opposing centers, and Allen had 11 boards against Atlanta in their only other meeting this season. Just make sure he plays the second night in a row. -Alexander
Best bet: Evan Mobley over 29.5 points + assists + rebounds. The Hawks are without John Collins today, giving Mobley a shot at success. The Cavaliers are likely to take advantage of this discrepancy against the Atlanta team, which ranks 21st in points allowed per 100 possessions. The Hawks aren’t a strong rebounding team either. Mobley has averaged 18.6 points, 2.6 assists and 9.3 rebounds over the past eight games. -Capricious
Charlotte Hornets of the Minnesota Timberwolves
8:00 pm ET, Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Records (against spread)
Hornets: 17-43 (25-33-2)
Timberwolves: 31–30 (29–32–0)
Line: Timberwolves (-6)
Performance Index Forecast: Timberwolves: 125-117.1
Money line: Hornets (+185), Timberwolves (-225)
Predicted BPI Winner: Timberwolves (75.6%)
General: 241 Predicted BPI: 242.1
Injury Report:
Hornets: Kelly Obre, Jr. (GTD – Hand); Terry Rozier (GTD – Hand); Cody Martin (EXIT – Knee)
Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns, (REDACTED – Calf)
Note: BPI figures include players who are excluded but assume that GTD players will play.
Trend: The Minnesota Timberwolves have seen six of their last eight home games under the total and have covered six of their last nine in front of their home fans. Along with that, it works well for the fact that the Charlotte Hornets have gone 3-8 ATS points in their last 11 road games and 10-19-2 ATS points when they were out of tickets. Staff? Under tickets 15-4 when the Wolves play a top 10 team.
Fantasy streamer: Mark Williams (participated in 15.4% of Sportzshala leagues) it’s worth streaming for the blocks alone, and he pulled out against the Spurs last Wednesday with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. He has at least one block in nine of his last 10 games and eight blocks in his last three. He also hit double figures in three of his last four games and hit double figures in rebounding in two of his last four. And Williams should see a ton of minutes trying to help contain Rudy Gobert tonight. -Alexander
Best bet: Kyle Anderson over 11.5 points. Anderson is scoring after three games with 18, 12 and 12 points, and the Hornets are the third-worst team in the league against small forwards when it comes to scoring. Anderson’s streak would probably have been longer, but he only played 13 minutes in a bizarre crushing victory over the Nuggets on February 5. In the last two games he played 24 and 31 minutes and should be as rested as possible…
Source: www.espn.com
