NBA bets: Take the Sixers and Warriors on ESPN Wednesday night

The NCAA Tournament might be underway, but there is a seven-game NBA slate Wednesday night with playoff seeding implications on the line.

That is especially true for the ESPN doubleheader, which kicks off with the Philadelphia 76ers visiting the Cleveland Cavaliers. That’s a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s third and fourth seeds. That game is followed by the Golden State Warriors visiting the Los Angeles Clippers, two teams with identical records (36-33) on the verge of falling into the play-in.

Here are our favorite bets for Wednesday night’s NBA action.

This is a big spot for the Sixers, winners in five straight. With a win, Philadelphia will move four games clear of Cleveland and one step closer to running down Boston for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The teams have split their season series, each winning a game. But Cleveland’s blowout November win over Philly came with James Harden out. Right now, Harden is rolling. The veteran guard is posting 23.2 points, 11.7 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game this month while connecting on 43.5% of his 46 three-point attempts.

The Sixers and Cavs met a month ago in Philly, and the Sixers were cruising to a blowout win before a late Cleveland surge.

Cleveland played Tuesday night (a win over Charlotte), and even though Donovan Mitchell sat out and will likely play Wednesday and be rested, count on the better team (the Sixers) to get a road win and continue its win streak.

» READ MORE: Why Arizona State is the pick to advance out of Dayton Wednesday night

How do you shake off a three-game losing streak? By beating Milwaukee and Phoenix in back to back games.

The Warriors have not often looked like The Warriors this year, in part because Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have missed a combined 38 games.

Both are back, and this is a Warriors team that blew the Clippers out on March 2 without Curry in the lineup. That was Russell Westbrook’s fourth game with the Clippers. They are 3-5 in games he’s played in since switching LA teams.

That March 2 game was in northern California, though, where the Warriors have been dominant. But on the road? Golden State is 7-26. That trend is among the biggest home-road differences in NBA history.

It’s tough to make sense of that stat, so let’s bet on the Warriors to buck the trend and pick up a road win — or at least cover — Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

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