Sports Illustrated's Peter Dewey breaks down his favorite bets for the NBA action on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
Tuesday night’s NBA action features 11 games, but the No. 2 through No. 5 seeds in the Eastern Conference are going to steal the show. All four spots are still in flux at this point in the season, and the New York Knicks take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the marquee game of Tuesday’s slate.
In addition to that, the Boston Celtics are on the road against the Phoenix Suns while the Toronto Raptors host the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Just 3.5 games separate the No. 5-seeded Raptors from the No. 2-seeded Celtics, so NBA fans and bettors will want to keep an eye on those matchups when looking at this 11-game slate. When it comes to betting on these matchups, I’m in for a much-needed bounce-back showing after a couple rough days. This season, my picks in Peter’s Points are still up over seven units, but that could change fast with a cold streak. So, I’ve narrowed things down to my three favorite plays on Tuesday night, including player props for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard.Philadelphia 76ers -9.5 vs. Indiana PacersBoston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is questionable for this game on the front end of a back-to-back, so I’m going to get ahead of a prop for one of the C’s top scorers. This season, Payton Pritchard has thrived when Brown is out of the lineup, averaging 26.4 points, 8.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds in five games. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year has at least 20 points in every game that Brown has missed, and with Anfernee Simons now in Chicago, Pritchard’s role has become even bigger for Boston. He’s moved back to the bench in recent weeks, averaging 23.6 points on 16.3 shots per game since the trade deadline. Pritchard is shooting 54.4 percent from the field and 46.6 percent from 3 over this seven-game stretch. Even if Brown plays, Pritchard could clear this number, as he’s scored 19 or more points in seven of his last 10 games and 22 games overall this season.Joel Embiid may be back in the lineup for the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, and that could provide them with a major lift against a banged-up Indiana Pacers squad. The Pacers are down Aaron Nesmith, Ivica Zubac, Obi Toppin and Tyrese Haliburton in this game, and they’ve also listed Pascal Siakam as doubtful. Plus, Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell are listed as questionable, and if they don’t play, it would gut the Pacers’ scoring options against this Sixers team. Philly has dominated on the road this season, going 9-3 against the spread as a road favorite and 16-11 straight up on the road overall. Meanwhile, the Pacers have dropped three games in a row, including two to the Washington Wizards. Indiana is 1-5 when Siakam sits this season, and all but one of those losses has come by at least nine points. Even if Embiid sits for Philly, the team has enough firepower with Tyrese Maxey leading the way to win this game. The Pacers want to lose to keep their first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and they’ve lost badly to much worse teams since the All-Star break.LeBron James is averaging 21.7 points and 7.1 assists per game this season, making him a bit of a buy-low candidate on Tuesday night in the Lakers’ matchup with the Orlando Magic. The Magic have a middling defense , but James has been on a playmaking tear, averaging 8.9 assists per game in eight games this month. Over that eight-game stretch, he has 26 or more points and assists on six occasions. James has remained a key piece of this Lakers offense, and there’s a world where he reaches this line on points alone. The four-time league MVP has five games with double-digit assists this month, and I think he’s being a little undervalued after finishing with 25 points and assists in a blowout loss to Boston on Sunday. LeBron has also picked up at least 26 points and assists in 26 of his 38 games this season. He’s a value bet against this Orlando team that could be down one of its best perimeter defenders in Jalen Suggs on Tuesday night.Peter is a senior editor for Sports Illustrated Betting. He has worked as a writer and editor for BetSided, NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering the NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, and more. A New York City resident, he is a hoops fanatic with a soft spot for his New York Knicks.
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