Trail Blazers-76ers, Damian Lillard prop: Daily Best Bets

Each day, one of our experts at bet.NOLA.com will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks in Louisiana are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.

A reminder for those who haven’t signed up yet: New users can get a risk-free bet at Caesars Sportsbook, meaning that if your first bet loses, you get a free bet for the same amount up to $1,250. New users also get 1,000 Caesars Rewards points to redeem for hotel or casino credit.

Here are our best bets for Thursday, Jan. 19:

TOP PLAY

The play: NBA, Blazers money line over Sixers

The odds/bet: +115 ($20 to win $23)

The book: Caesars Sportsbook

Time/TV: 9:10 p.m. (NBA League Pass)

Our take: We have now successfully given away all our profits from January in just three days. So what else is there to do but jump back on the horse and make sure we get these right today to remain positive?

What do we do when we need a winner in the worst way? Fade the public and go against what seems to be obvious. This is a perfect play for that.

In a “that doesn’t make sense” kind of world, Philadelphia should be a larger favorite that -2 in this one, coming off three straight wins on their West Coast trip, defeating the Jazz and Lakers by 1 and the Clippers by 10 on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, the Blazers lost Tuesday at Denver, but are back at home where they have won two in a row – on back-to-back nights against the Mavericks (both blowouts).

IT’S ‘DAME TIME’

The play: NBA player prop, Blazers’ Damian Lillard to score more than 31.5 points

The odds/bet: -113 ($11.30 to win $10)

The book: FanDuel

Our take: Lillard has been on fire the past couple of weeks, having scored 30 or more points in six consecutive games and more than 31.5 in five of the six. Also in his past four, he has 44 vs. Denver, 40 and 36 against Dallas and 50 last week against Cleveland.

It doesn’t hurt he has been sent to the line 40 times over the past three games and has made ALL 40 free throws.

Expect Lillard to drive into the lane as much as possible, which should help give his scoring a boost and lead Portland to a (mini) upset victory.

HOW WE’VE FARED

NBA: Pelicans +3.5 over Heat (LOST $33)

NBA: Grizzlies -8 over Timberwolves (LOST $11)

Wednesday’s profit/loss: -$44 (0-2)

Originally, we marked a player prop from Tuesday involving Kyrie Irving as a loss. However, Irving did not play, which would make all plays involving him as voided. The totals below reflect that.

Total for the week: -$120 (0-5)

Total for January: +$2.50 (17-17)

Total for 2023: +$2.50 (17-17)

If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)

Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, a $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).