Football Friday
February 3, 2023
SuperBook Insider: Props and More Props
“This place is humming.”
The words of SuperBook Sports influencer, Aniello Piro, spoken loudly, above the hum that surrounds a typical Thursday night of college and NBA basketball at the SuperBook – as in, the one in Las Vegas, the original, the big one.
Piro has made the pilgrimage from his hometown of Denver to Sin City. Sure, there’s a lot going on in Denver – Sean Payton, Russell Wilson, 3X MVP Nikola Jokic and his Nuggets covering against the Warriors – but he’s not “there.” He’s in Vegas, baby.
Props, Aniello. Props.
Translation: Props. No, not “congratulations.” Literally, props.
“People are excited for the big game,” says Piro. “You can tell people are getting ready to wager on Philly-Kansas City. Bets as far as the eye can see!”
One game. Thousands of bets. All beginning with prop bets, which were just released by SuperBook Sports Chief Oddsmaker Jay Kornegay and his team.
“Find a few props you like and stick with them,” Piro advises. “You don’t want to spread yourself too thin and add more variables to the mix. You can have fun with prop bets, but don’t get carried away by all the hype. Stick to your guns and bet smarter not harder.”
Easy for you to say, Piro. Then again, his first trip to the window is a simple mission.
“Travis Kelce is that dude! I think K.C. starts this game off hot – Mahomes finds Kelce in the end zone to get things started.”
Follow Piro’s lead or not. Kelce “first touchdown scored” is coming in at 7/1. And, oh, Philly fans, you may not like the sound of that.
“If I’m looking Philly, let’s go with a Jalen Hurts anytime TD scorer,” he adds. “Could be a sneaky play.”
The only thing sneaky is Piro dipping out of work on a Thursday to enjoy The Book. You don’t have to. Open that app and enjoy.
From Now ‘til Then
A few bets that could hold you over until Super Sunday
Atlanta Hawks at Utah Jazz
Vivint Arena – Salt Lake City, UT
9:00 PM ET
SuperBook Line: Utah -1.5
When it comes to wins and losses, you can’t get closer than these two teams. The Jazz are 27-26 (ninth in West) and the Hawks are 26-26 (eighth in the East).
For Utah, this was expected. The Jazz are amidst a rebuild after losing two All-Stars in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
But for Atlanta, the middle of the road is not where it wanted to be. The Hawks have one of the best guards in the game in Trae Young and they added Dejounte Murray, who scores 21 points per game to be his wingman. Their struggle is not ideal.
Atlanta has been especially bad as of late, having lost four out of their last six games. However, things are looking up, as they are coming off a 132-100 blowout win over the Suns on Wednesday.
Utah is still favored in the matchup, however, as they have won five out of their last seven games. Most recently, they beat Toronto in a high-scoring 131-128 thriller on Wednesday night.
Lauri Markkannen and Jordan Clarkson lead the team in scoring with 24.9 and 20.9 points per game, respectively. This season, the teams have played each other just one time.
In that game, Atlanta got the win in a 125-119 game. Murray had 26 points and Young added 22. They’ll need to have that kind of stat line on Friday night if they want to do it again.
Considering how dominant the Hawks were on Wednesday night and given the fact that they have the better roster, they are the better pick in this one.
Jason Schlefsky’s pick: Atlanta M/L (+105)
***
Hornets at Pistons
Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
7:00 PM ET
SuperBook Line: Detroit -1.5
This one is bottom of the barrel. The Hornets are 15-37, 14th in the Eastern Conference. The only team worse than them in the East? The Pistons. Detroit is 13-39 and are dead last in the entire NBA.
Despite adding Bojan Bogdanovic (who is currently their leading scorer with 21.4 points per game), the Pistons are still in shambles. Former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham is also having a decent year, scoring nearly 20 points per game, while also adding 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
But as bad as the Pistons are, they are favored in this game by 1.5 points. Detroit ranks 22nd in the league in points scored per game and 29th in opponent points per game.
However, Charlotte is worse, as the Hornets are 25th in points per game and 28th in opponent points per game. Needless to say, both of these teams are bad. Neither one of them have an All-Star or anyone who even came close. LaMelo Ball (the Hornets best player) hasn’t even played half of the games this season.
Fans of either of these teams will be waiting a while for playoffs, let alone a championship. It’s a double dumpster fire type of game and in those, it’s best to base it off predetermined factors.
We know that according to stats, Detroit is better. But that’s not the reason they are favored. The reason? They are the home team. Yes, it’s that simple.
These teams are dead-on even and the only thing giving Detroit a slight advantage is the home crowd cheering on their dreadful team. Sure, it might only be half full, but who cares?
The lights will be flickering red and blue and the PA announcer will hype up the team. It’s things like these that can spark a win between two teams with players who are just trying to get their paycheck.
Jason Schlefsky’s pick: Detroit -1.5 (-110)
***
Yale at Harvard
Lavietes Pavilion – Boston, MA
5:00 PM ET
SuperBook Line: Yale -3.0
These two prestigious universities are not known for their basketball. But Yale and Harvard are off to decent starts in the Ivy League.
Yale is 14-6, third in the Ivy, while Harvard is 12-9 and sit fifth in the league. Harvard will host the game, one in which they are a 3.0-point underdog.
Last time these two squads met, Yale won by four points, earning a 58-54 victory. This time around, Chris Ledlum and Harvard will play host.
Ledlum is pacing the Crimson in scoring with 19.2 points per game, along with 8.7 rebounds, which also paces the team. He is the only player averaging double-digit points.
On the other side of the court will be the Bulldogs. Yale has only four players who average more than 10.0 points, with their leading scorer being Matt Knowling at 14.4 per game.
The Bulldogs are very balanced and are very efficient. They average 75.5 points per game and give up just 61.6. They shoot 48% from the field and hold their opponents to under 40%. They also out-rebound their opponents by nearly eight per game and average more assists, steals and blocks than their opponents.
All of this comes together to produce a 14-6 record and a likely shot at the league title as the season nears its end in early March. While the road makes it a little more difficult, expect the Bulldogs to take care of business in this one
Hoops Harlen pick: Yale -3.0 (-110)
Prop Shop
Jayson Tatum under 30.5 points (-124)
Boston’s All-Star forward averages 31.1 points per game, so it’s tempting to take him to hit the over against Phoenix. But the Suns are good defensively. Yes, they gave up 132 points their last time out, in a blowout loss to the Heat. But on the season, Phoenix gives up just 111.8 points per game, which makes them the fifth-best defensive team in the NBA. The Celtics average 118.2 points per game, so expect them to be a little below their average. That’s put Tatum slightly under his, as well.
