NBA Picks: Wednesday Three Pack

Monday was another success for our preseason picks as we swept the board with the Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers. The exhibition season is winding down as regular season action is now less than one week away from tip-off.

NBA Betting: Monday Preseason Picks 

Let’s have a closer look at the NBA odds for tonight’s games and see if we can find some winners.

Washington Wizards at Miami Heat 

The Miami Heat are starting to warm up in the preseason, but I’m not sure about laying nine points with them. After all, this is still an exhibition and they’re not going to be trying too hard – especially since they played and won last night in Charlotte. If anything, I’d expect to see a more spirited effort from the Wizards, who would like to measure themselves against the NBA champs.

There are not a lot of good things you can say about the Wizards these days. They’re just 2-4 in the preseason and their only two wins have come against Milwaukee and Cleveland. Even so, their worst preseason loss was by 12 points and their average margin of defeat is eight points, so taking them with the nine points seems to make sense. 

Pick: Wizards +9 

Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder 

The Thunder should also be weary of overworking anyone tonight because they’re in a back-to-back situation after losing in Chicago last night. It’s also their third game in four nights. The Oklahoma City Thunder are wrapping up their preseason tonight, so don’t be surprised if their starters don’t break much of a sweat. They want to make sure everyone is sharp, but also healthy for the start of the regular season. 

The Mavericks are a mixed bag and we really don’t know what we’re going to get from them. With Dirk Nowitzki out, they will have to rely on others to get the job done and that worked in their 87-74 win over New Orleans in their latest preseason game. 

I would look for them to give a stronger effort than Oklahoma City given the situation, so take the six points with Dallas.

Pick: Mavericks +6

Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers 

The Los Angeles Lakers have lost every single preseason game to date and it’s hard to envision them going into the regular season feeling comfortable without having an exhibition win under their belts. However, it doesn’t look like that win will come on Wednesday night. 

Even though the Lakers will be at home for this contest (they are technically the road team), they are likely to be without Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant. The Clippers are without Chauncey Billups, Lamar Odom and Grant Hill, but they still have more depth than the Lakers.

The Lakers are still adjusting to their new offense as there has been plenty of turnover on the roster. That’s been evident as they have struggled at times and with more faces in and out of the lineup, I don’t expect that to change.

Look for the Clippers to have the edge in the frontcourt tonight and to win the battle of the benches. 

Pick: Clippers -5.5