On a 71 percent premium NBA play run this month, Stephen Nover has found a top underdog play on the Wednesday menu. Read what makes this underdog so special and keep turning a profit knowing you have Stephen's expertise, elite information and hot hand in your corner.
Member Notes
Today’s Free Picks
| Sport | Game Selection | Game Time |
|---|---|---|
| NBA | (545) Miami Heat at (546) New Orleans Pelicans | 8:10pm EST - Feb 11/2026 |
The PLAY: Miami Heat +1.5 (-115)
I don't see ace coach Erik Spoelstra and his Heat going into the All Star break with consecutive losses to the Pelicans and Jazz. But that would be the case if Miami were to lose this game following its, 115-111, home loss to Utah this past Monday.
The Heat are down several rotation players, Norman Powell and Pelle Larsson, but still are more talented than the Pelicans.
New Orleans is 15-40 and rank 21st in scoring and 28th defensively. Miami is 28-27 and rank fourth in scoring and 21st defensively.
The Heat have dominated this series winning 10 of the past 11 meetings. This includes a 125-106 beating of the Pelicans on Jan. 4.
While the Heat are anxious to put past their embarrassing loss to the tanking Jazz, the Pelicans are fat and happy following their largest victory margin this season beating the hapless Kings, 120-94, at home two days ago.
(Editor's note: Stephen Nover has three premium NBA plays today headed by his NBA Total of the Year in addition to this free selection, looking to go 8-2 this month on his NBA premium plays.)
Consultant Bio
Stephen Nover is unique among professional handicappers. A multiple award-winning sportswriter for numerous newspapers, including the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nover has one the best combinations of gambling and media sources in the world.
The author of two sports gambling books, "Las Vegas Sports Beat" and "Sports Gaming Beat", along with a book on fantasy football titled, "Winning Fantasy Football", Nover is a former professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas having taught a football handicapping class there. He also was the co-host of the Sunday night sports betting radio show "The Stardust Line" during the 1990's.
Parlaying nearly 50 years worth of professional gambling experience with tremendous knowledge of the players through elite deep-roster Rotisserie leagues and building on copious gaming and media sources - having worked for newspapers in the Midwest, South and West and also for legendary Hall of Fame oddsmaker Roxy Roxborough - Nover is a true Las Vegas wise guy. He helped learn his craft from such masters as Roxborough, Dave Malinsky, Lem Banker and Russ Culver.
Part of what makes Nover so special is the pride he takes in writing his deep-dive analysis, which always is unique, well-researched and sometimes entails out-of-the-box thinking.