@KeepTheJuice21's NBA Best Bets - 2/14

The Bucks are starting to round into championship form. They haven’t been perfect but they’re getting solid contributions from the whole team. Portland on the other hand has sold the farm, with a full commitment to a rebuild around Dame. The team will most likely miss the playoffs but they have had some decent contributions from surprising players like Nurkic and Simons. So the questions is whether they will pull off a backdoor cover.

Unfortunately, those don’t happen much to the Bucks. The bottom roster is better than average which leads to big margins of victory. In their last 6 against teams with a losing record (including Portland), the Bucks are undefeated and have won by an average of 17 points. In a close fight for the top of the east, the Bucks will have their foot on the gas and cover the large spread.

It’s a big night for basketball on Lake Michigan! Demar Derozen has been playing out of his mind lately, with 35 or more points in all of the last 5 games. The Bulls are one of the 5 teams within 3 games of first place in the East and if they want a shot at the 1 seed, they absolutely must be able to handle teams like the Spurs.

The Spurs were officially sellers at the deadline, sending Derrick White to the Celtics, which hurts the offensive production. They have managed decently well on their current road trip but the time catches up to you and after playing Friday and Saturday, on 1 days rest and traveling from New Orleans to Chicago, this would be an easy game to let slip. The Bulls have the best record in the NBA at home against the spread going 19-10; tonight they should have no problem extending that lead.