NBA betting odds are on the board for Day 3 inside the NBA Bubble, with five games on the Saturday slate in Orlando. Among the highlights is the defending NBA champion Raptors squaring off against the Lakers.
CG Technology sportsbooks risk analyst Dave Sharapan provided insights on NBA opening lines and early line movement, sharp money and public betting for Saturday’s matchups. Covers will update this action report with NBA sharp picks vs. public bets and line movement throughout the day.
NBA line movement
The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a 103-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday’s opening night in the NBA Bubble. CG Tech books opened the Lakers -3.5 and moved to -4 Friday for Saturday’s 8:30 p.m. ET nightcap against the Toronto Raptors.
The Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans also return for their second game of the restart, a 6 p.m. ET matchup. Los Angeles is holding steady as a 5.5-point favorite at CG Tech. The Philadelphia 76ers-Indiana Pacers 7 p.m. ET tilt opened Philadelphia -4, moved to -5, back to -4, then back to -5 Friday.
Also, generally speaking, bettors are firing like mad on Overs since the NBA restart began.
“The story of NBA Bubble betting so far is the totals being bet one way – Over, and then Over, and then Over again,” Sharapan said. “Totals are moving five-to-eight points, like it’s the Showtime Era again.”
NBA sharp money
“Sharp play took Pacers +5, so we went back to -4,” Sharapan said of the back-and-forth movement on the Sixers-Pacers line.
NBA public betting
UPDATE 8:15 P.M. ET SATURDAY: William Hill US got a big reason to root for the Raptors: a $150,000 bet on Lakers moneyline -140, to win $107,143. "Need Raptors big," director of trading Nick Bogdanovich texted, in his typically succinct style. And with tipoff looming on Lakers-Raptors, The SuperBook at Westgate is rapidly becoming an even bigger fan of Toronto, too. As noted earlier, that's because of ever-building parlay liability rolling into the Lakers, particularly since the Clippers were thumping the Pelicans. "We will need the Raptors big. Just how big, we won't know until we see if the parlays that include the 76ers survive." The SuperBook might get a reprieve there. The Sixers, 5.5-point favorites at Indiana, trailed 61-55 at halftime.
UPDATE 5:30 P.M. ET SATURDAY: John Murray, executive director of The SuperBook at Westgate, said his shop needs the SoCal teams to struggle tonight. "We will be rooting against the Los Angeles teams, that's for sure. The Clippers are our biggest liability of the day right now, and the parlay liability is building to the Lakers as we speak. We will need Toronto big by tipoff. Just a lot of public money on the favorites." The Clippers start in about 30 minutes as 5-point favorites against the Pelicans, and the Lakers are -2 against the Raptors at 8:30 p.m. ET.
UPDATE 1:45 P.M. ET SATURDAY: After all six Overs hit in Friday's games, the public couldn't wait to come back for more on the five-game Saturday slate. "Favorite and Over," said Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill US. "It's free money, or at least it was yesterday. Over in the first quarter, the first half, the game. That was a recreational player's dream." Specific to today's games: "Not a lot on Lakers-Raptors yet, but everything's a parlay to the Lakers or the Over. A ton of Clippers parlays and moneyline parlays, and Over." The Lakers are -3 against Toronto and the Clippers -5 against New Orleans.
---
No surprise that public betting is on the Lakers so far.
“No significant wagers, just a steady flow of Laker money,” Sharapan said, before pointing to yet another total on the move. “The total was 213.5, we took a limit play from a stranger on the Over, and it’s now 215.”
Pelicans-Clippers has minimal action, but Sharapan said there are far more parlays on the Clippers than the Pelicans. He also expects to see some New Orleans money Saturday and perhaps a line drop.
Sixers-Pacers is Pros vs. Joes, with the public playing the Sixers -4. Public bettors are also on the Over, with the total opening at 211 and rising to 216. Sharapan said the Heat-Nuggets total went from 210 to 212.5 in the day’s first game, a 1 p.m. ET tipoff.
Where can I bet NBA odds?
Many online books and casinos offer bets on basketball odds and props. Check out the best sportsbooks available where you live. **video
