NBA Picks & Parlay of the Weekend | March 9

Before March Madness starts to take the spotlight, there is a great NBA schedule on Saturday. As usual, the USA Legal betting team wanted to do something special for the weekend. So we decided to create a three-game parlay using odds from BetRivers that we wanted to share.

Clippers -7.5 | -114 at BetRivers

The Bulls have gone on a nice run lately, winning four of their last five games. They also have wins in four of the last five games in which they’ve been an underdog. But Chicago’s run could be about to run out. In general, the Bulls have been a suboptimal team and are still a game under .500 on the season. Facing the Clippers might be a little much for them.

Los Angeles has a chance to move 20 games over .500 with a win on Saturday after winning three of its last four games. Officially, the big three of Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and James Harden are all listed as game-time decisions. However, the Clippers have had two full days off since they last played on Wednesday. All three played in that game and scored more than 20 points, so they should be good to go and put in a good effort against the Bulls.

Nets -5 | -108 at BetRivers

Charlotte had turned things around in mid-February, but the Hornets are back to playing like one of the worst teams in the NBA. They have lost six in a row and seven of their last eight games, so things are going downhill fast. While they’ve been on the road for most of those games, Charlotte’s last two home games have both been double-digit losses. That makes it hard to think that they’ll suddenly turn things around.

Even the Nets should be able to take advantage of Charlotte’s struggles. Despite a frustrating loss to the Pistons on Thursday, Brooklyn should be able to bounce back against the slumping Hornets. The Nets have responded to their last three losses with victories, which makes us think that Brooklyn can get the better of Charlotte and win by a comfortable margin.

Celtics -5.5 | -109 at BetRivers

This is undoubtedly the game of the night in the NBA and a potential preview of the NBA Finals. Phoenix has endured some ups and downs lately, but the Suns seem to have gotten their act together with back-to-back wins over the Nuggets and Raptors. However, it’s still hard to trust them in a big game, especially with Devin Booker sidelined. That leaves the Suns without a true point guard, which could be problematic against a quality opponent. On top of that, Phoenix is just 1-4 against the spread as a home underdog, which gives us pause to get behind the Suns.

On the other side, the Celtics might look a little vulnerable with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum both battling injuries. They’re also coming off back-to-back losses following an 11-game losing streak. But this is just the second time all season that Boston has lost back-to-back games. It seems unlikely that the Celtics will lose a third straight game. With Phoenix facing questions as well, we’ll back the Celtics to win and cover.