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NBA Best Bets Today | Expert Picks for Tuesday, March 12

Michael Crosson
Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert
3 minute read

The NBA regular season continues with an excellent seven-game slate this Tuesday — headlined by a nationally televised doubleheader on TNT as 76ers vs Knicks tips off the action at MSG at 7:30 p.m. ET, and then Timberwolves vs Clippers takes center stage in the late window at 10:00 p.m. ET.

Read on for our top three NBA best bets and expert picks for Tuesday, March 12.

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NBA Best Bets | Expert Picks for Tuesday, March 12

Celtics vs Jazz

by Michael Crosson

Tonight, the Celtics will play the second half of a road back-to-back as they hit the road for Utah. However, Boston appears to be slightly better positioned than the average team playing on short-rest. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis both missed the C’s most recent affair with day-to-day injuries – and even with two starters sidelined, it was a relatively low-stress event as they ran away with a 121-99 victory over the Trail Blazers.

As of Tuesday morning, Holiday and Porzingis remain on the injury report listed as “game time decisions.” If I had to guess, I would say Holiday returns tonight after a quick single-game absence, and then Porzingis could be more of a 50-50 call, having missed two straight games with a hamstring issue now. 

Either way though, I believe Boston should handle business with relative ease in a second straight road game tonight against this tanking Utah squad.

The Jazz posted an inspired start to the season – with a record of 24-23 through their first 47 games, despite the advanced metrics indicating that their modest level of success wouldn’t hold up, ranking 15th in offensive rating and 22nd in defensive rating during that span.

Well, it appears Utah’s luck has finally run out. The Jazz own a miserable record of 4-13 in their last 17 games, with nine of those losses coming by eight points or more, and seven of them coming by double digits – while ranking 26th in the league in net rating during that timeframe. 

And to make matters worse, All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen will miss tonight’s affair with a quadriceps injury, significantly dampening Utah’s case.

At the moment, the Celtics are laying only -6.5 points on the spread because they are playing on the second half of a back-to-back and two of their key players did not play last night. However, I still expect the C’s to cruise to a victory in this matchup – with or without Holiday and Porzingis – just like they did in Portland yesterday. 

But I also believe (at least) one of those guys will return tonight, which would certainly benefit the tired legs of Tatum, Brown and Co.

Pick: Celtics -6.5 (-110)

Pacers vs Thunder

by Ray Monohan

Oklahoma City Thunder -6.5 (-115)

Indiana is going to get picked apart defensively here in this matchup. The Pacers continue to be one of the worst defensively in the NBA and nothing has really changed as they just have had zero consistency this season. They're still giving up 121.4 ppg this season as they have had all sorts of issues slowing teams down.

The Pacers have been an absolute fade because of this and now run into a Thunder side that is not right now. They've won 3 straight games and it includes putting 124 points up last time out against the Grizzlies.

The Thunder will turn this game into a track meet and really push the issue on this Pacers defense. Indiana just can't get the stops they need and it leads to a lot of scoring flurries for opponents.

Oklahoma City continues to put up big numbers and get contributions all around. This is a game where they will find a lot of easy transition buckets and open shooting lanes.

The Thunder average nearly 121 points per game this season themselves, which is a recipe for disaster for Indiana. Pacers are 3-7 ATS in L10 vs. WEST teams, and are 0-7 SU in their L7 vs. NORTHWEST teams.

OKC is 8-4 ATS L12, 10-2 SU L12, and 9-0 SU L9 at home. You know what to do. Hop ON!

For more daily expert predictions, check out our NBA Free Picks page and our NBA odds!

Bucks vs Kings

VegasInsider NBA betting expert Daniel Dobish is on fire right now! Dan is 15-5 in his last 20 NBA picks -- returning a profit of +954. Click here to purchase his top play for Bucks vs Kings tonight.

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Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson
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