Friday’s Best NBA, NHL & Premier League Bets (3/8)

No matter your sport of choice, there’s always sports betting action to be had. We’ll have you covered each and every day with our daily best bets. Here are our best bets across each major sport in action today.

Today’s Best Bets

NBA Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Milwaukee Bucks @ Los Angeles Lakers

Friday night’s nationally televised doubleheader ends with the Bucks traveling to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers. There will be stars aplenty in this matchup, and I’ll be targeting one star in particular to get the scoring started.

Milwaukee has been really good at scoring First Baskets this season, doing so in just under 60% of the games they’ve played. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been one of the best in the league when it comes to this prop, but due to matchups, I’m targeting Milwaukee’s other star.

Damian Lillard has only cashed this prop eight times this season, but against a Lakers team that gives up most of their opponent’s first scores to guards, it’s a strong play. Lillard hasn’t always made the shots, but he’s taken the first Milwaukee shot in over a quarter of the games he’s started. He should get early chances again here, and I like his odds to get us a First Basket.

Bet: Damian Lillard First-Basket Scorer (+550)

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NHL Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Detroit Red Wings @ Arizona Coyotes

This is a game where analytics and spot clash. The Yotes are playing their second game in a row at home, while Detroit has lost three straight games after being the talk of the NHL the previous week.

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The analytics suggest taking the team in the less-than-favorable spot. Arizona has been the far better team in terms of generating scoring chances and controlling play, with a 54.8 xGF% over their last 10 games. Meanwhile, Detroit has posted an xGF% of 43.84% despite an Actual Goals For percentage of 54.55%.

We should see Connor Ingram take the crease for Arizona, which could be a good thing. My hesitation comes from the fact that Ingram allowed four goals on 31 shots to the lousy Chicago Blackhawks in an embarrassing 5-2 loss earlier in the week. With Detroit set to take on Vegas Saturday night, I’d expect James Reimer in-net.

While I think a play on the Coyotes is viable, they’re just too untrustworthy to make it a recommended play. Instead, it’ll be a lean to the over. Detroit should show up in this spot, while Arizona has yielded plenty of goals to far less explosive opponents.

Bet: Over 6.5 Total Goals (-110)

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Premier League Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Arsenal vs. Brentford

Mikel Arteta and his squad are on fire right now, and they’re looking to build on a 6-0 road beatdown of Sheffield last weekend. They’ll return home to host Brentford, who rose to 15th in the table (26 points) after securing a 2-2 road draw against Chelsea. This contest is the Saturday nightcap, which kicks off at 12:30 p.m. ET from Emirates Stadium in London, England. 

I’m locking in the over in this Saturday clash, but I will play it conservatively and take the total down to a flat 3.0 goals. Mainly, I want to be cautious since the Gunners have a huge Champions League match on Tuesday, where they must erase a 1-0 deficit at home against Porto. Perhaps Mikel Arteta gets a comfortable lead on Saturday and opts to rest his starters ahead of the second UCL leg.

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Other than that, this match has all the indicators of a barnburner. Arsenal’s offense has been on a tear on the domestic front, averaging an insane 4.4 goals per game over their current 7-0-0 stretch in the PL. Meanwhile, the Bees’ defense is slowly becoming one of the worst in the league, sitting at 17th in overall defense (50 goals allowed). Offensively, with the return of Ivan Toney, who already has four goals in eight matches back, this Brentford offense shouldn’t be taken lightly. Let’s sit back and watch these dynamic offenses go to work. 

Bet: Over 3.0 (-150)

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BettingPros Staff