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NBA betting odds: Thursday’s lines

By Jeff Glauser

Feb 27, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) talks to guard Kyrie Irving (2) after a play during the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 102-95. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) talks to guard Kyrie Irving (2) after a play during the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 102-95. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Five NBA matchups fill the betting agenda on Thursday night, including three divisional rivalries.

Even with the loss of Andrew Bogut to a broken leg — a mere 52 seconds into his Cleveland Cavaliers career — the Cavs are still on the shortlist of NBA championship favorites. However, an appeasing in-season betting favorite they are not: A 42-20 record straight-up morphs into a 25-35-2 mark Against The Spread, including 9-18-2 on the road, where they’ll be when the take on the Detroit Pistons Thursday night.

The Pistons are gunning for their second consecutive playoff berth, where they currently lay claim to the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference. However, just 2.5 games separate the sixth and 10th spots right now.

Speaking of postseason positioning, the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies, currently in seeded fourth and fifth in the West, respectively, would face each other in a first round matchup if the playoffs began today. The also face each other tonight, with the host Grizzlies looking to break a three-game slide and inch closer to leapfrogging the Clips in the standings.

Next: NBA tank rankings—it persists

The Oklahoma City Thunder are also losers of three straight, including a defeat against the Portland Trailblazers on Tuesday in spite of Russell Westbrook throwing down 58 points. Conversely, the San Antonio Spurs — on a nine-win tear — continue to do Spurs things: after an epic 28-point comeback last night, they’ve now hit 50 victories for a ridiculous 18th consecutive season. So they see your Westbrook and raise you a Kawhi Leonard.

The only winning season the Philadelphia 76ers will have to look forward to any time soon will be one Against The Spread, where they’re currently 32-30-1. Considering that they’re down to an active roster that has only one player who was in the league three years ago, that’s a feat in and of itself. The Sixers travel to Portland to battle the suddenly-hot Trailblazers, who sit just a game and-a-half behind the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot.

Is it possible for two teams to try and tank in the same game? If ever there was a case, it may be tonight when the Phoenix Suns try to reclaim the second-worst record over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Here are the up-to-date consensus odds for each contest, courtesy of SportsBookReview.com:

Thursday, March 9:

  • 7:30 ET Cleveland (-5.5) at Detroit
  • 8:00 ET San Antonio (-3) at Oklahoma City
  • 8:00 ET Memphis (-2.5) vs. L.A. Clippers
  • 10:00 ET Portland (-9.5) vs. Philadelphia
  • 10:30 ET Phoenix (-6) vs. L.A. Lakers
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