Tiny Nick's Gambling Picks 03/24

Locks

NBA (0.5 Unit) Sacramento Kings/Charlotte Hornets First Half Over 117.5 (-110; Odds via DraftKings): 6:00 PM CT on Fanduel Sports SE

Fast in the first, slow in the second. That seems to be the half by half style of Charlotte lately, as this team has a lethal offense to pull ahead of teams, but also an excellent defense to shut down any comeback efforts. I think they’ll be able to slow things down late in this game as they salt away an easy win over the lowly Kings, and that has me focusing on the first half total.

The blueprint is there from the first meeting just two weeks ago, when they combined for 121 points before halftime but just 105 after. And that was during a bad road trip for Charlotte where they weren’t playing well, but since getting home they’ve been erupting offensively against bad defenses. That’s exactly what Sacramento is, ranking 29th in defensive efficiency on the road and giving up the second-most point in first halves as well, so a big first half out of the Hornets should carry this over the total.

NBA (0.5 Unit) Orlando Magic/Cleveland Cavaliers Over 230.5 (-110; Odds via Caesars): 7:00 PM CT on NBC

I was dead wrong about one thing in the Magic’s game last night, which is just how bad they’ve gotten defensively. If you’re allowing 128 points to the Pacers, then this Cavaliers offense is going to be a rough experience, especially on a back-to-back with travel here. Those tired legs and the lack of Jalen Suggs are going to make it difficult to get back on defense, and should allow the Cleveland transition game to rack up a lot of easy points tonight.

But the Cavaliers are a little short on defenders as well, so since they’re lacking shooters Orlando should respond by playing in transition themselves. I think that has the potential to turn this into an up-tempo game, and with Orlando’s defensive problems pushing them into positive ROI territory as an over bet, I see another coming here.

Degenerates

No degenerates today.

Past 7 days Tiny Tracker: 30-18 (+9.23 Units) – Recommend: Tail With Caution

Tiny Nick has been writing betting picks for Zone Coverage since 2020. Every day he will offer his Locks and Degenerate picks. Locks are what he’s most confident in, while Degenerates are entertaining but riskier picks.