Skip to content

NBA weekend betting preview: Wizards keep cashing as underdogs

Ned Dishman / National Basketball Association / Getty

Our three-day run of success hit a snag with a 1-2 record against the spread on Thursday. Here are our favorite plays over the weekend.

Rockets @ Raptors (-7.5, 220.5)
Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m. ET

Will the Rockets ever win another game without Christian Wood? Before the center's injury on Feb. 4, Houston was 11-10 straight up with the NBA's eighth-best net rating (+2.7). Since then, the Rockets have lost nine straight games (1-8 ATS) and rank 29th in net rating (-14.9).

Friday's line is the second-largest they've faced in that stretch, but losing by a combined 36 points to the Bulls and Cavaliers this week doesn't exactly inspire confidence in taking the points - especially against a Raptors team playing like a top-five squad in February.

Pick: Raptors -7.5

Trail Blazers @ Lakers (-5.5, 222)
Feb. 26, 10 p.m.

With Anthony Davis in the lineup, the Lakers have been one of the more dominant teams this season. Without him, they're hardly recognizable.

Los Angeles has now lost four straight games without Davis and is 1-8-1 ATS this season without him, posting a negative point differential across those 10 games despite being favored in nine of them. The lone underdog spot came on Wednesday, when LeBron James and Co. were blown out by 25 points against the Jazz.

The Trail Blazers have covered seven of their last nine games and are 9-5 ATS as underdogs, which is the third-best mark by any team this season. Expect them to capitalize on the Lakers' woes in this one.

Pick: Trail Blazers +5.5

Cavaliers @ 76ers (N/A)
Feb. 27, 7 p.m.

The Cavaliers' 16-point win over the Rockets on Wednesday was the team's second straight victory after a miserable 1-12 ATS run dating back to Jan. 29. Don't mistake this week's success with a revival - Cleveland is still 4-10-1 ATS on the road and 6-13-1 ATS against teams with a winning record.

The 76ers own the NBA's fourth-best home record ATS (9-6-1) and are 14-9 ATS this season with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid both active, as they're expected to be on Saturday. This should be a blowout.

Pick: 76ers (-11 or better)

Wizards @ Celtics (N/A)
Feb. 28, 7 p.m.

Raise your hand if you predicted the Wizards to be the team nobody wanted to face to close out February. Washington has now won six of its last seven games with five outright victories as an underdog - including a 13-point win over the Celtics to kick-start the run on Feb. 14.

Bradley Beal has scored at least 33 points in five of those seven games and will be a tough matchup for Boston, which is still without top perimeter defender Marcus Smart. The C's are 5-9 ATS since his injury and should struggle to pull away without him on Sunday.

Pick: Wizards (+5 or better)

(Odds source: theScore Bet)

C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox