Happy Wednesday sports fans, it's Chris Bengel arriving in your inbox once again.
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Tom Brady is retiring. Seriously though, while we thought it was the end of his road last offseason, Brady seems pretty certain about his decision this time. The G.O.A.T. truly has nothing left to prove. All through my high school, college, and adult years, I've known an NFL that included Brady taking the field on a weekly basis. It's certainly going to be a strange sight not seeing him on the gridiron, but all good things must come to an end.
Let's get to Wednesday's picks.
All times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook
🔥 The Hot Ticket
Trail Blazers at Grizzlies, 7 p.m. | TV: NBA.TV
- Key Trend: The Trail Blazers are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games
- The Pick: Grizzlies -5.5 (-110)
The Grizzlies were on a five-game losing streak before beating the Pacers on Sunday. I'm more than happy to continue to ride the positive momentum against a Trail Blazers team that has had their fair share of struggles this season.
Memphis has been dominant at home with a 21-3 record and 15-8-1 ATS mark in Tennessee. In addition, the Grizzlies have covered the spread in two of their last three home contests. The one storyline to keep an eye on is that Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane is being listed as questionable for Wednesday's game due to right soreness. Bane has missed the Grizzlies' past two games, but it sounds like there's a good chance that he could play in this one.
Either way, expect Ja Morant to shoulder a great deal of the scoring load. After all, Morant shouldn't have a problem scoring against a Trail Blazers team that has yielded at least 121 points in four of their past five contests.
💰 More NBA Picks
Nets at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN
The Pick: Over 224.0 (-110) -- The Celtics and Nets won't be at full strength. The Nets are still without Kevin Durant while Celtics guard Marcus Smart is still working his way back from an ankle injury. But even with the teams not operating at 100 percent, I still like them to be able to clear the over in this spot.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been absolutely sensational since Brown returned to the Boston lineup. This is a team that averages 117.8 points-per-game, which is good for third in all of the NBA behind only the Warriors and Kings. As should come as no surprise, the over has a great track record of 15-7 in the team's last 22 home games.
Meanwhile, the Nets have been led by Kyrie Irving, who has played out of his mind since Durant exited the lineup earlier this month. Brooklyn is also getting significant production from Seth Curry and Nic Claxton in Durant's absence. On top of all that, the over is 5-1 in the last six meetings that have been played in Boston. It may be close, but I believe that the over will be in play in this one.
Key Trend: The over is 5-1 in the last six meetings in Boston
Kings at Spurs, 8 p.m. | TV: NBA.TV
The Pick: Keegan Murray Over 12.5 Points (-123) -- The Spurs are the NBA's worst defensive team, surrendering a staggering 122.3 points-per-game. Couple that with the fact that they're facing a lethal offense in the Kings, and I think Sacramento's points props are going to be very profitable.
Keegan Murray has scored at least 13 points in five of his last six contests. In addition, Murray owns a scoring average of 14.0 points over the last month, which is a shade above his average for the season. In 15 games this month, Murray has only scored single-digit points in three of them, so he'll be right around the 13-point mark at the absolute bare minimum. To be honest, I don't see a world where Murray doesn't hit this number.
Key Trend: Murray has scored at least 13 points in five of his last six games
