Basketball Parlay of the Day: Tuesday, February 5th

Disclaimer: Every basketball parlay in this series is going to be a simple 4-legger. A 4-leg basketball parlay is RISKY so approach with caution and avoid tossing full unit bets on these picks. 

For those of you new to the “Parlay of the Day” series, welcome! The goal here is to set you up with the best 4-leg basketball parlay across the NBA and NCAA basketball games for the evening.

We’re back in action with our normal format of 2 NBA and 2 NCAA games for the day to round out our 4-leg parlay. Without further ado, let’s get to the picks!

Basketball Parlay of the Day

• Minnesota Timberwolves (Pick Em) @ Memphis Grizzlies
• Florida State Seminoles @ Syracuse Orange (-3)
• Miami Heat @ Portland Trail Blazers – OVER 213
• San Diego State Aztects (-1.5) @ New Mexico Lobos

Minnesota Timberwolves vs Memphis Grizzlies – 8:00pm ET

Minnesota and Memphis have met up twice before on the season with the two teams evenly splitting the season series. However, Memphis won their game while they were still a competent basketball team and lost during their current extended tailspin.

The Timberwolves meanwhile basically are playing the role of gatekeeper in the west. Capable of beating up on the weaker teams in the conference (*cough* Memphis *cough*), where they struggle is putting away the leagues best opponents. Towns is a beast and has been playing much closer to his full potential since the departure of Tom Thibodeau and Jimmy Butler.

Memphis has simply just not been the same team they were in the month of November. Despite solid play from rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. alongside the always dependable duo of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, the Grizzles are struggling to consistently get buckets.

Although defensively they are able to hold most teams in check, their offense simply hasn’t been efficient enough to make their grind it out style of play effective.

The only decent teams Memphis has beaten since December rolled around have been teams that thrive on a high-paced offense. This makes sense as the incredibly slow pace that Memphis plays at could potentially throw those teams off. The Timberwolves don’t bring that style of play to the table at all and instead try to pound the ball down low and run the offense through Towns.

Gasol is still a great defensive center, but look for Towns to have a big day on the boards and help control the tempo against an overmatched Grizzlies team.

Basketball Parlay Pick #1: Minnesota Timberwolves (Pick Em)

Florida State Seminoles vs Syracuse Orange – 8:00pm ET

I always love betting Syracuse as their zone defense is one of the most consistent and predictable factors in college basketball.

A team needs to have the ability to break down the zone (either via dribble penetration or passing) and to be able to knock down the open 3 if they want to have any shot at beating Syracuse.

Luckily for the Seminoles, they just got back senior forward Phil Cofer from injury. Cofer offers them a bit of stretch big option that should come in very helpful against the Syracuse zone.

However, Terrance Mann is the Seminole’s only other reliable 3 point shooter and they are one of the worst passing teams in the nation ranking 211th in assists per game. Both of those factors need to change if they want to have any shot here.

Meanwhile, Syracuse keeps doing Syracuse things. Behind their patented 2-3 zone, the Orange have had a very solid ACC run and frankly have the better resume when compared to the Seminoles.

While the Orange won’t run you out of the building offensively, they make life a living hell with their defense and are able to create a decent amount of looks off turnovers. If things get really grim for the Orange offense, they usually turn to veteran Tyus Battle who has a knack for hitting big momentum shifters for the Orange.

Despite Phil Cofer being back in the lineup for the Seminoles, their lack of passing and 3 point shooting should come back to bite them pretty hard in this match-up. They won’t be able to create as many looks off iso sets as they previously have and will instead be met with tons of help courtesy of the Orange’s zone. Look for a classic Syracuse game-plan to be executed to a T.

Basketball Parlay Pick #2: Syracuse Orange (-3)

Miami Heat vs Portland Trail Blazers – 10:00pm ET

Miami and Portland have faced off once before this year with the Heat pulling out a surprise upset victory.

However, this Heat team is far from the recently revitalized unit that took down the Blazers in their last go-round. The Heat have stagnated HARD on the offensive end with multiple 80 point outings in their past few games.

Things haven’t really been better on the defensive end as they still allow teams to score at will despite their slow pace of play. Justice Winslow has looked solid in the role of facilitator, but he simply doesn’t have the support around him at this time to pose any sort of real threat.

Meanwhile, Portland is basically the exact same team they’ve been for the past 3-4 years. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are going to pour it in from deep and they’ll try and run you out of the building from a pace perspective.

The Blazers aren’t so much bad at defense as their results more so being a product of their lightntning quick pace of play. That said, they do allow teams to regularly score over the 100 point total and haven’t held a team to less than 100 since January 7th against Charlotte.

Despite the Heat’s slow pace of play on the offensive side, the Trail Blazers should absolutely push the tempo in this game and get the points flowing.

The Heat won’t run up the score a ton themselves, but with a total line set so low, we only really need 95-100 out of the Heat to keep this in play. Look for the Blazers to put up somewhere around the 120 mark and for this total to cover with relative ease.

Basketball Parlay Pick #3: OVER 213

San Diego State Aztecs vs New Mexico Lobos – 11:00pm ET

The Aztecs and Lobos are two teams at completely opposite ends of the spectrum right now. San Diego State comes in as winners in 4 of their last 5 games (including one against this same Lobos squad), raising their conference record to 5-3. Meanwhile, the Lobos come stumbling into this matchup as losers in 4 of their last 5 to drop them down to 3-6 in MWC play.

The Aztecs, led by the inside-outside duo of Devin Watson and Jalen McDaniels, are a versatile offensive unit capable of scoring the basketball in a variety of different ways. While their offense can light up the scoreboard if need be, the Aztecs will try to play a physical brand of defense and will focus their efforts on that side of the ball.

The Lobos on the other hand rely primarily on the overall play of Vance Jackson to keep them involved in games. As a big body with plus athleticism, Jackson does a great job of hitting the boards hard while also moving the ball well. His scoring is streaky and he isn’t having the most efficient year from the field, but if he is on, the Lobos become a dangerous team.

The Aztecs already proved to be too much for the Lobos to handle and a change of scenery this time around shouldn’t be enough to fix that. Look for Jackson to have a nice game for New Mexico but for San Diego State to simply put them away with an extremely balanced offensive effort.

Basketball Parlay Pick #4: San Diego State Aztecs (-1.5)

Total Payout: +1200 (varies from book to book)