NBA Parlay Picks of the Day
Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland’s Rim Protection
Defensively, Cleveland owns one of the league’s highest-ranked rim-protecting units.
The Cavs allow the seventh-lowest field goal percentage within five feet of the basket.
One important asset has been Jarrett Allen. Already in his young career, he’s created a highlight reel of himself blocking dunk attempts.
Currently, He’s tied for seventh in the NBA with 1.6 blocks per game.
Bulls Offense vs. Cleveland Rim Protection
It’s meaningful to observe how strong Cleveland’s rim protection is because the Bulls are heavily reliant on scoring at the basket.
They attempt the 10th-most field goals within five feet of the basket.
For their scoring at the basket, the Bulls have relied on a number of guys who either like to post-up or drive.
Regarding the latter, shooting guard Zach LaVine has been a key figure for the Bull offense. He leads the team with 27.5 points per game.
But LaVine remains absent due to COVID protocols. His absence has created a void that Chicago’s other guards struggle to fill, especially as Coby White and Tomas Satoransky alternate between degrees of playing time and struggle to be productive.
Without LaVine and while relying more heavily on other guards, the Bulls have only exceeded 106 points once, in a double-digit loss.
White and Satoransky still like to drive to the basket. They and their teammates will struggle offensively against the likes of Jarrett Allen.
Turnovers
In addition to Allen, Larry Nance Jr. is important at center. With him and his 1.8 steals per game, the Cavalier defense is able to create more havoc and force more turnovers.
As of now, the Cavs force the eighth-most turnovers per game, although this number has dropped because Nance Jr. missed some time.
With Nance Jr., back, the Cavs can exploit a Bull offense that, hampered now more than ever by lackluster guard play and vulnerable ball-handlers, is the 26th-worst offense in terms of limiting turnovers.
Cleveland Offense vs. Chicago Defense
Cleveland, too, possesses ball-handlers who love to drive inside.
With team-leading scorer Collin Sexton and second-leading scorer Darius Garland, the Cavs are a guard-centered offense.
They can take advantage of a Bull interior defense that misses departed rim protector Wendell Carter Jr., whose replacements suffer poor defensive ratings.
There are plenty of examples of guards and/or dual-threats giving the Bull defense a lot of trouble with recent examples including Memphis’ Dillon Brooks and Boston’s Jaylen Brown.
Both Sexton and Garland are also efficient three-point shooters. So they punish defenders for either guarding them too closely or giving them too much space behind the arc.
Behind Sexton and Garland’s scoring outputs, the Cavaliers will have Chicago on upset alert.
Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 8 p.m. ET at Toyota Center in Houston
The Large Spread
I get that some bettors are nervous to bet on teams that are favored by a lot of points.
But here are two reasons why this nervousness is uncalled for tonight.
One reason is that, during Houston’s ongoing 2-5 ATS run, four of its losses have come by over 15 points. So losing by double digits is a regularity for this Rocket team.
The second reason is that the Rockets are regularly allowing over 120 points.
Before facing Orlando’s utter, low-ranked mess of an offense and losing by 22 points to Miami, the Rockets had allowed 125 points or more in five consecutive games.
It’s reasonable to expect a team to cover such a large spread when you can feel confident that it will score 125+ points. With this high of a scoring output, there’s a larger margin of error for the defense.
Rocket Offense vs. Utah Defense
But of course, Utah’s top-ranked defense does not need much room for error. I like Utah’s defense tonight because of how well it matches up against Houston’s offense.
Offensively, the Rockets rely heavily on scoring inside. They attempt the fifth-most field goals within five feet of the basket.
Look to fade Jazz opponents that rely on scoring at the basket because Utah could not have stronger rim-protecting rim personnel.
The Jazz allow the fourth-lowest field goal percentage within five feet of the basket largely because they are anchored inside by two-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
Utah Offense vs. Houston Defense
During Houston’s recent (and characteristic) defensive struggles, allowing three-pointers has been a repeated issue.
Even teams like Indiana, which do not normally rely heavily on scoring threes, were unusually efficient behind the arc.
The Rocket perimeter defense is vulnerable because of its below-average ability to limit open and wide open three-point attempts.
Utah can perpetuate the struggles of Houston’s perimeter defense because the Jazz are stacked with high-quality shooters, for which reason they easily lead the NBA in three-pointers made per game.
Parlay Verdict
Cleveland’s mixture of strong rim protection and guard-centered scoring will secure a victory over the Bulls with their lackluster guard play and more vulnerable interior defense.
Houston will suffer another big loss, this one perpetrated by Utah’s three-point shooting prowess and top-level interior defense.
Best Bet: Parlay Cavaliers +1.5 at -105 & Jazz -11 at -110 at +273 odds with Bovada
Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland’s Rim Protection
Defensively, Cleveland owns one of the league’s highest-ranked rim-protecting units.
The Cavs allow the seventh-lowest field goal percentage within five feet of the basket.
One important asset has been Jarrett Allen. Already in his young career, he’s created a highlight reel of himself blocking dunk attempts.
Currently, He’s tied for seventh in the NBA with 1.6 blocks per game.
Bulls Offense vs. Cleveland Rim Protection
It’s meaningful to observe how strong Cleveland’s rim protection is because the Bulls are heavily reliant on scoring at the basket.
They attempt the 10th-most field goals within five feet of the basket.
For their scoring at the basket, the Bulls have relied on a number of guys who either like to post-up or drive.
Regarding the latter, shooting guard Zach LaVine has been a key figure for the Bull offense. He leads the team with 27.5 points per game.
But LaVine remains absent due to COVID protocols. His absence has created a void that Chicago’s other guards struggle to fill, especially as Coby White and Tomas Satoransky alternate between degrees of playing time and struggle to be productive.
Without LaVine and while relying more heavily on other guards, the Bulls have only exceeded 106 points once, in a double-digit loss.
White and Satoransky still like to drive to the basket. They and their teammates will struggle offensively against the likes of Jarrett Allen.
Turnovers
In addition to Allen, Larry Nance Jr. is important at center. With him and his 1.8 steals per game, the Cavalier defense is able to create more havoc and force more turnovers.
As of now, the Cavs force the eighth-most turnovers per game, although this number has dropped because Nance Jr. missed some time.
With Nance Jr., back, the Cavs can exploit a Bull offense that, hampered now more than ever by lackluster guard play and vulnerable ball-handlers, is the 26th-worst offense in terms of limiting turnovers.
Cleveland Offense vs. Chicago Defense
Cleveland, too, possesses ball-handlers who love to drive inside.
With team-leading scorer Collin Sexton and second-leading scorer Darius Garland, the Cavs are a guard-centered offense.
They can take advantage of a Bull interior defense that misses departed rim protector Wendell Carter Jr., whose replacements suffer poor defensive ratings.
There are plenty of examples of guards and/or dual-threats giving the Bull defense a lot of trouble with recent examples including Memphis’ Dillon Brooks and Boston’s Jaylen Brown.
Both Sexton and Garland are also efficient three-point shooters. So they punish defenders for either guarding them too closely or giving them too much space behind the arc.
Behind Sexton and Garland’s scoring outputs, the Cavaliers will have Chicago on upset alert.
Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 8 p.m. ET at Toyota Center in Houston
The Large Spread
I get that some bettors are nervous to bet on teams that are favored by a lot of points.
But here are two reasons why this nervousness is uncalled for tonight.
One reason is that, during Houston’s ongoing 2-5 ATS run, four of its losses have come by over 15 points. So losing by double digits is a regularity for this Rocket team.
The second reason is that the Rockets are regularly allowing over 120 points.
Before facing Orlando’s utter, low-ranked mess of an offense and losing by 22 points to Miami, the Rockets had allowed 125 points or more in five consecutive games.
It’s reasonable to expect a team to cover such a large spread when you can feel confident that it will score 125+ points. With this high of a scoring output, there’s a larger margin of error for the defense.
Rocket Offense vs. Utah Defense
But of course, Utah’s top-ranked defense does not need much room for error. I like Utah’s defense tonight because of how well it matches up against Houston’s offense.
Offensively, the Rockets rely heavily on scoring inside. They attempt the fifth-most field goals within five feet of the basket.
Look to fade Jazz opponents that rely on scoring at the basket because Utah could not have stronger rim-protecting rim personnel.
The Jazz allow the fourth-lowest field goal percentage within five feet of the basket largely because they are anchored inside by two-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
Utah Offense vs. Houston Defense
During Houston’s recent (and characteristic) defensive struggles, allowing three-pointers has been a repeated issue.
Even teams like Indiana, which do not normally rely heavily on scoring threes, were unusually efficient behind the arc.
The Rocket perimeter defense is vulnerable because of its below-average ability to limit open and wide open three-point attempts.
Utah can perpetuate the struggles of Houston’s perimeter defense because the Jazz are stacked with high-quality shooters, for which reason they easily lead the NBA in three-pointers made per game.
Parlay Verdict
Cleveland’s mixture of strong rim protection and guard-centered scoring will secure a victory over the Bulls with their lackluster guard play and more vulnerable interior defense.
Houston will suffer another big loss, this one perpetrated by Utah’s three-point shooting prowess and top-level interior defense.
Best Bet: Parlay Cavaliers +1.5 at -105 & Jazz -11 at -110 at +273 odds with Bovada
