Analysis

The Lakers won all four meetings last season, but Utah has covered the spread as a home 'dog in each of the last four contests played at the Delta Center. Both teams are on equal rest after playing on Friday. Los Angeles has opened the season with a pair of Pacific Division wins over the Warriors and Clippers. Three players - Walker Kessler, Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic - all cleared the 20-point mark in Friday's cross-town win over the Clippers. Kessler returns home to Salt Lake City where he played each of the last four seasons. Kessler has gotten off to a great start in the purple-and-gold, shooting a combined 22-of-26 from the field while serving as the Lakers' defensive anchor in the paint. The Jazz have split their first two games with a road loss at Memphis followed by a home win over New Orleans. Utah is on the front leg of a back-to-back and will play the Grizzlies once again on Monday. We have some interest in the under in this contest. First, we tip our cap to Kessler for the nice start that he's having, but he's probably not going to be shooting 84.6-percent from the field for very much longer. Kessler is going to be opposed by Jaren Jackson Jr. on the opposite end, who is one of the best interior defenders in the NBA. The Lakers were No. 22 in pace last season. As we mentioned, Los Angeles has enjoyed success in this matchup, but these trips to Salt Lake City have not been easy. Plus, with Utah on the front leg of a back-to-back, how much do the Jazz want to run and push the pace on Sunday?
Play the Under

Indiana is 5-1 straight-up, 3-3 against the spread over the last six meetings in this Eastern Conference series. The Pacers have won-and-covered their last three trips to Brooklyn. The Nets are on the second leg of a back-to-back after falling in Cleveland on Saturday. Brooklyn fell behind by 22 at one point, but a 41-point effort in the fourth quarter made the Cavaliers sweat a little bit in the final minutes. Michael Porter Jr. led the way with 28 points and nine rebounds. The Pacers have split their first two games with a road win over New Orleans followed by a home loss to Dallas. Indiana is on the front leg of a back-to-back and will head to Milwaukee on Monday. Brooklyn is going to be a feisty team to back in certain situations (like Saturday against Cleveland), but we have some concerns about the Nets' depth right now. Brooklyn's bench combined to shoot 12-for-40 (30.0-percent) from the field last night against the Cavaliers. Reserve point guard Mikel Brown Jr. is questionable as he deals with some lingering issues. Brown Jr. went 3-for-10 from the field in 20 minutes last night. Porter Jr. and Julius Randle appear to be Brooklyn's only reliable scoring options at the moment. No one outside of that duo scored in double figures against Charlotte in the opener. Indiana is simply a deeper team at the moment, and this trip to Brooklyn hasn't given the Pacers many troubles in the past.
Play Indiana Pacers

The Knicks and Magic split their four meetings at two wins apiece last season. Injuries were Orlando's biggest issue last season, and they are already becoming a problem less than a week into the 2026-27 season. Magic forward Paolo Banchero is expected to miss the next month while he deals with an ankle injury. This will be Orlando's first road game of the season after the Magic dropped a pair of home games against Atlanta and Minnesota. The Knicks are also searching for their first win after dropping games to Boston and Philadelphia. We've backed New York in each of the first two contests, and we're not ready to jump ship just yet. Obviously New York would like to have a win under its belt by now, but holding Philadelphia to 106 and Boston to 107 points is still something to hang your hat on. Don't forget, Orlando opened last season 1-4 straight-up, 0-5 against the spread. In 2024, the Magic went 3-6 straight-up, 2-7 against the spread to open the year. So this is now the third-straight year where Orlando hasn't looked ready to play at the beginning of the season.
Play New York Knicks

Oklahoma City is 8-0 straight-up, 7-0-1 against the spread over the last eight meetings in this Western Conference matchup. The Thunder won last year's trio of games by an average of 19.3 points per game. Oklahoma City had an extra day to rest and prep for this one after beating Denver at home on Thursday. The Thunder's signature defense has returned for another year, holding San Antonio to 104 points in the opener then holding Denver to 84 points two days later. Oklahoma City is on the front leg of a back-to-back and will host Phoenix on Monday. The Clippers have split their first two games with a home win over Sacramento followed by a road loss against the Lakers. Some early money has shown on the over in this contest, and we're struggling to justify that one. Thirty-eight-year-old Brook Lopez is averaging 19.5 points per game on 71.4-percent shooting from the floor so far for the Clippers. How much longer is that production going to continue? As we mentioned, Oklahoma City is on the front leg of a back-to-back and needs to keep something in the tank for Phoenix tomorrow. The Clippers played at the third-slowest pace in the league last season. If Denver and San Antonio couldn't score on the Thunder's defense, we've got our doubts on LA's ability to fill the stat sheet.
Play the Under

Minnesota won both meetings last season, but the Raptors have covered the spread asa 'dog in three of the last four meetings. Both teams are on equal rest after picking up wins on Friday. Toronto has gotten off to a very impressive start with a pair of double-digit wins over Chicago and Washington. The Raptors are not playing with their food, jumping out to a 20-point lead in the first quarter against the Bulls then holding a 13-point lead on the road at the end of the first quarter against the Wizards. This will be the T-Wolves' home opener after Minnesota handled business with a pair of road wins over Miami and Orlando. We've been quite high on the T-Wolves' defense entering this season, and they have rewarded our confidence by holding the Heat to 106 points and the Magic to 93 points. Minnesota is on the front leg of a back-to-back and will head to Cleveland on Monday. There's no doubt that Toronto is going to make some noise in the East this season, but we're showing some value on the T-Wolves at a near-pick'em price at home. The Vikings play at 1pm ET this afternoon, so anyone looking to attend today's doubleheader should have no problem making the 1.2-mile trek from US Bank Stadium to Target Center for this 7pm ET tip-off. Toronto has done absolutely nothing wrong this season, but Minnesota's road wins over Miami and Orlando carry a lot more weight than beating the Bulls and Wizards. This point spread is essentially suggesting that Toronto would be favored over Minnesota on a neutral court, and we're not quite ready to make that leap yet.
Play Minnesota Timberwolves

Detroit is 5-0 straight-up, 4-1 against the spread in the last five installments of this Eastern Conference series. Philadelphia is on the second leg of a back-to-back after beating the Bucks at home on Saturday. Sixers' center Joel Embiid is not expected to play tonight after playing 33+ minutes in each of the first three games. Embiid posted a 28-point, 11-rebound, 10-assists triple-double in last night’s win over Milwaukee. LeBron James did not play in last night's win, so presumably he will be available tonight as the Sixers limit how they use James and Embiid on back-to-backs. Pistons' center Jalen Duren is likely going to miss this contest as he deals with a leg injury. We are interested in backing the over in this contest. With Duren out of the lineup, Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers' offense should have an easier path toward the rim. The 41-year-old James has slowed on the defensive end, but he still provides plenty of valuable playmaking opportunities on offense. Detroit would probably be wise to push the pace a little more aggressively with Philadelphia on the second leg of a back-to-back. During the Pistons' five-game winning streak over the Sixers, Detroit has scored an average of 119.4 points per game in this series. Anything in that general neighborhood on Sunday should be enough to push this final score over the total.
Play the Over

Memphis went 3-1 straight-up and against the spread in this matchup last season, winning-and-covering both trips to Sacramento. This will be the Grizzlies' second game of their West Coast trek after opening the season with wins over Utah and Golden State. Both games stayed under their respective totals. Memphis is on the front leg of a back-to-back and will travel to Utah on Monday. Sacramento is still searching for its first win after dropping games to the Clippers and Blazers. We tip our cap to the Grizzlies' hot start, but this feels like a pretty steep adjustment in Memphis' favor after two wins over Utah and a beat-up Warriors squad. Sacramento played perfectly-fine against Portland on Friday, but the Kings fell quite a bit short at the three-point line. The Blazers made 14 three-pointers compared to just eight by the Kings, which was the main reason why Portland was able to escape California with that win. Outside of that, Sacramento played a quality game in terms of rebounds, turnovers, free throws, etc.. A similar effort in this spot against the Grizzlies should be enough to help the Kings pick up their first win of the season against an opponent that may be riding a little too high in the betting market.
Play Sacramento Kings