Curry Is Back And A Shootout In Sactown On Tap Tonight: Odds And Preview Of The NBA's Doubleheader On Mar. 9th

Mike Calabrese breaks down his best NBA picks for Thursday night's doubleheader on TNT. 

All wagers can be placed with licensed Sportsbooks in the US.

Golden State Warriors-2.5 @ Memphis Grizzlies (235.5)

7:30p ET on TNT

The Ja Morant show used to refer to the Murray State product’s on-court exploits. But in recent months, Morant has been implicated in off-the-court activity ranging from childish to borderline illegal. Now the league has stepped in and suspended the Grizzlies' superstar point guard. That’s bad news with Phoenix and Golden State breathing down their necks in the Western Conference standings. 

Speaking of Golden State, the Dubs now have Steph Curry back in the lineup and the former MVP looked no worse for the wear in their last game, dropping 40 points on the Thunder. With a very manageable final stretch to their regular season, the next four games will determine how high they can climb in the West. The Warriors play in Memphis tonight, then host Milwaukee and Phoenix at home before heading off to play the Clippers in Los Angeles. A 3-1 record in those games and a top-four seed will be within reach for the previously banged-up defending champions. 

Memphis has lost three straight, but those all came on the road. They return home hoping to stop their skid. Luckily for the Griz, FedEx Forum Arena is the best home court advantage going in the league today. Memphis is 26-5 SU and they’ve covered four of their last five home games against the spread. Since the start of last season, Memphis is 12-3 ATS as a home underdog. 

Betting Angle:

Jaren Jackson Jr. is a borderline superstar but what he is not, at least at this point in his career, is a 30-point per night scorer. That’s what Memphis needs with Morant out of the lineup, especially against an opponent that can put 10-0 runs together without breaking a sweat. I’ll take the Warriors and lay the points. 

New York Knicks @ Sacramento Kings-2.5 (238.5)

10:00p ET on TNT

Don’t tell the college basketball world, but the best roundball of the week could be played tonight in Sacramento. The Kings haven’t won a playoff series since 2004. The Knicks haven’t won a pair of series in a single postseason since 2000. Yet, here they sit as true contenders with less than 20 games left in the regular season. For Sacramento, the turnaround has been all about their high-powered offense which leads the league at 121.1 points per game. As for the Knicks, their defense is approaching top ten levels across the board and their stars have caught fire post-All-Star break. 

To put the Knicks hot streak in perspective. During their 6-1 SU run they’ve averaged just as many points as the Kings have this season while knocking off Boston twice and Miami on South Beach. The Kings are a matching 6-1 since the break, but have yet to face off with the new-look Suns, Nuggets or finally-healthy Warriors in recent weeks. That will all change in the stretch run for Sactown.

As for this head-to-head matchup, the over is very appealing. Yes, the Knicks have made improvements defensively, but they’re not above an old-fashioned shootout. In their last ten games, NYK has scored 122+ seven times. The Kings, already the highest scoring team in the league, are an over-bettor’s dream at home (21-11-1, 3rd). Over has paid out in ten of the Kings' last thirteen games, and the Knicks have cashed overs in four of their last six. 

Betting Angle:

Two young teams playing with a ton of momentum should translate to exciting, up-and-down basketball for 48 minutes. A slow start could doom this total, but these teams could easily pop off for 75 points in a single quarter, so no under is safe.