NBA Best Bets for February 25: New Orleans Loves Playing at Home
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Rainman M.
- February 25, 2025
Top NBA Pick: Pelicans -2 (-117) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Top sportsbooks have released their betting odds for tonight’s NBA action.
Four games, in particular, interest me as worth investing in: featuring Celtics vs. Raptors, Cavaliers vs. Magic, Suns vs. Grizzlies, and Spurs vs. Pelicans.
For your best bets, I will recommend parlaying the Celtics, Cavaliers, and Grizzlies on the money-line and investing in the Pelicans.
Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 – 07:00 PM ET at Scotiabank Arena
Boston’s Win Streak
The Celtics are playing really well right now. They enter tonight’s game on a five-game win streak.
All five of their wins came by 13 or more points. While not all of their victims were good teams, the Raptors themselves are 18-39 and have lost six of their last eight.
Boston’s Interior Defense
Toronto ranks in the bottom half in three-point percentage.
Instead of shooting threes, the Raptors primarily want to attack the basket.
They attempt the fourth-most field goals per game within five feet of the basket.
At the beginning of the season, Boston’s rim protection was poor, but that’s only because Kristaps Porzingis was hurt.
Porzingis is back and thriving with 2.3 blocks per game in this month.
Thanks largely to him, the Celtics now allow the seventh-fewest field goals within five feet of the basket. In this space, they are the third-best team at limiting opposing efficiency.
Boston’s Shooting
Toronto has allowed over 120 points to each of the last four teams that rank top-six in offensive rating.
The Raptors, during this stretch of play, have actually benefited from improbable luck behind the arc. Their opponents are converting an unusually low percentage of their open three-point shots, but this cannot possibly continue.
Boston is well-stacked with efficient shooters, such as Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, and has the inside scoring talent with stars like Jayson Tatum to replicate the success inside that Toronto’s latest high-caliber opponents have enjoyed.
Takeaway
Boston’s interior defense will secure a low-scoring output from Toronto, while the Celtics on offense will thrive both inside and outside the arc.
Parlay Leg 1: Celtics ML (-515) at BetOnline
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 – 07:30 PM ET at Kia Center
Orlando Can’t Keep Pace
Both teams are strong defensively, but only one team can score a lot.
As part of Cleveland’s ongoing seven-game win streak, the Cavaliers have scored over 127 points five times.
They even victimized a Minnesota defense that ranks sixth in defensive rating and a Memphis defense that ranks eighth.
Orlando, meanwhile, is coming off a rare 110-point output. The Magic reliably declined after achieving such an output, which is good by their standards.
They are 2-7 against top-six offenses because they lack the firepower to keep pace with them.
Parlay Leg 2: Cavaliers ML (-255) at BetOnline
Phoenix Suns vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 – 08:00 PM ET at FedExForum
Key Spot
Memphis is in a golden spot: the Grizzlies are 7-0 SU in home games that directly followed a road loss.
Frankly, it might not matter that they are in this great spot simply because Phoenix is so lifeless right now. The Suns have lost eight of their last ten games, with their two wins coming against lowly Chicago and Utah.
Matchup
Memphis wants to run. Its offense relies on its success in transition because its transition attack is its strongest, most efficient means of scoring.
If a defense can stop the Grizzlies’ transition attack, then the Grizzlies might be in trouble.
But Phoenix’s defense won’t stop the Grizzlies’ transition attack. The Suns were just blown out by a losing Toronto team that shares Memphis’ propensity for transition offense.
Overall, the Suns allow the sixth-most points in transition.
On offense, they repeatedly struggle to reach 110 points except against the worst defenses. Memphis has one of the best defenses, though, and will easily impede Phoenix’s offense from keeping pace.
Parlay Leg 3: Grizzlies ML (-325) at BetOnline
The Parlay
- Celtics ML (-515)
- Cavaliers ML (-255)
- Grizzlies ML (-325)
NBA Pick: Three-Legged Parlay (+117) at BetOnline
San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 – 08:00 PM ET at Smoothie King Center
New Orleans at Home
Many bettors are automatically inclined to fade New Orleans. But this is the wrong attitude to have when it plays at home.
The Pelicans, for example, lost by eight at Dallas but by one against Dallas in New Orleans.
To give another example, they were blown out at Charlotte but stayed within two of the defending champs. Their last five wins all came in New Orleans.
Except when the Spurs beat a similarly struggling Phoenix team, they have looked non-competitive without their injured talented youngster Victor Wembanyama. They do not appear ready to turn things around, especially in New Orleans.
San Antonio’s Health Problems
The Spurs are emaciated right now, having just lost their star center, who is one of their two best scorers and their top rim protector.
Their other top scorer, De’Aaron Fox, is dealing with a finger issue that induced him to miss 13 of his 16 field goal attempts last night. Speculations are circulating that his team might shut him down for the remainder of the season — just as they shut down Wembanyama.
In its last game, San Antonio lost by 18 in New Orleans despite Julian Champagnie making six three-pointers.
The Spurs failed to reach 100 points and will fail again when Champagnie reverts to his normal self.
New Orleans’ Healthy Talent
Conversely, New Orleans in that game scored 114 points with CJ McCollum underperforming.
The Pelicans are tough with the likes of Zion Williamson thriving inside against San Antonio’s thinned interior defense. McCollum scored seven more points in his penultimate game against the Spurs and should accordingly improve in this game, helping the Pelicans to score and win by more points today.
NBA Pick: Pelicans -2 (-117) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
