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Tides’ Takes: Free NHL & NBA Betting Picks For Today – Thursday, Feb. 24

Timothy Buell Thu 2/24 2:00pm PT
Image Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

ScoresAndOdds analyst Timothy Buell gives free expert advice and betting picks for Thursday night’s NHL and NBA slates.

Happy Thursday, everyone! Welcome to this new article for ScoresAndOdds, where we will offer betting picks and advice for multiple sports that are happening on a given day.

Now that the NFL season has unfortunately come to an end, we will be focusing on both NHL and NBA odds and bets for the foreseeable future.

We will also be throwing in some traditional parlays and some same game parlays as we see fit.  

Make sure to use our tools at ScoresAndOdds to find the best lines at your favorite legal sportsbook.  

The NBA All-Star Break has ended, so we will resume our regular content of NBA and NHL.

We have an eight-game NHL slate and a seven-game NBA slate to choose from, so let’s get started!

Free NHL Betting Picks For Today

Columbus @ Florida

It’s not everyday that we get an NHL total at 7 goals, but I think it’s fully justified in this instance. 

Both of the Blue Jackets’ top-two goalies are out with injuries and they’ve had to rely on J-F Berube.

Berube, a veteran, has been solid in his previous two starts, but I think this is going to be too much for him to handle.  The Panthers play at one of the quickest paces in the whole league and will really dominate possession. 

The Blue Jackets don’t have the talent or depth to be able hold back the Panthers and they should see plenty of  high-danger chances. 

Assuming the Panthers send out Bobrovsky tonight to defend the cage gives me even more confidence in this over wager.  He gave up four goals to this very same Blue Jackets just under a month ago and has been wildly inconsistent. 

If the Blue Jackets can get 2-to-3 goals on him, the Panthers should be able to take care of the rest. 

Dallas @ Nashville

Dallas had a tough overtime win last night and now must to travel to another divisional rival game with huge playoff implications. 

I am going to assume that the Stars don’t give Oettinger the start tonight, which will put Holtby in net. 

If it is indeed Holtby vs. Saros, that is going to give the Predators a huge edge in net. 

Saros is at the very least a top-5 goalie in the NHL and Holtby is far past his prime years.

The Stars also have a lot of older skaters on their team that won’t respond as well to a back-to-back. 

I expect this game to be tight checking and slower paced, but I think the Predators get out to an early lead and hold onto it throughout.  

Free NBA Betting Picks For Today

Memphis @ Minnesota

Both of these teams are far improved from years past both offensively and defensively.

However, I am going to give the Grizzlies the edge in this one, despite playing on the road. 

Steven Adams should be able to neutralize Karl-Anthony Towns in both scoring and rebounding. 

The Grizzlies are the best rebounding team in the NBA and that is going to make a pretty big difference when it comes to a close spread. 

Ja Morant is matchup proof, even against the defensive specialist in Pat Beverley. 

Morant will be able to drive the lane in this matchup against the soft interior defense of the Timberwolves, allowing for some easy buckets.  

Denver @ Sacramento 

Simply put, I don’t think this is enough points against the dreadful Kings’ defense, who rank 29th in defensive rating, facing off against Dever, the 7th best offensive-rated team in basketball. 

I also really like the fast pace that the Kings play at, which will only lead to more possessions for Nikola Jokic, who should absolutely feast in this matchup. 

The more possessions for Jokic, the better it is for the Nuggets as a whole. 

I don’t see how the Kings can keep this game close, especially now that the Kings have traded away some of their depth pieces.  I plan on betting more than one unit on this game.