Spencer Closs

The Portland Trail Blazers visit the struggling Los Angeles Lakers.

The pregame narrative: The Lakers are 3-7 across their last 10 games and I expect Portland to cover a teased-up spread. I’m filling out my parlay with prop picks on Deni Avdija and Deandre Ayton.

Check out my Trail Blazers vs. Lakers same-game parlay predictions for Dec. 8.

Trail Blazers vs. Lakers predictions

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Parlay: Trail Blazers +10.5 + Avdija over 11.5 points + Ayton over 0.5 blocks (+310)

Trail Blazers +10.5 (-157): The Lakers are in a cold spell right now at a tough point in their schedule.

The team is about to play its fifth game in eight days before having a five-day break. While the rest is much needed for the veteran-riddled Lakers, they still have Portland to deal with on Sunday.

And the Blazers haven’t been a team to take lightly.

Portland is surprisingly 8-15 on the season but has been blown out in back-to-back games. However, it covered this spread in seven of nine previous contests heading into those losses.

The Blazers are 12-10-1 ATS this season while the Lakers are 9-14-0 ATS. I’ll ride with the better-rested team here on a lofty spread.

SGP legs

Avdija over 11.5 points (-143): Every so often I find a play for the hardcore ball fans and I think I found one here.

Avdija was placed back in a bench role recently but that hasn’t slowed him down. In three games off the bench, the fifth-year pro cleared this line twice, averaging 14.0 points in that span.

On Sunday, he finds himself in a strong matchup with the Lakers.

• Los Angeles has the fifth-worst defensive rating (118.8).

• The Lakers allow the fifth-most points to small forwards (23.6).

Avdija cleared this line in nine straight before dropping six points against the Utah Jazz on Friday.

Ayton over 0.5 blocks (-143): Here’s the situation for the Blazers on Sunday:

• Robert Williams is ruled out
• Donovan Clingan is ruled out

That’s two centres missing from the rotation. That leaves one player that can protect the rim and that’s Ayton.

The big man has a block in four of the past five games and is averaging just under one rejection per game (0.8).

With Anthony Davis hanging out in the paint, Portland will be forced to rely on Ayton which should result in an uptick in minutes.

That’s really the key to this leg. The more Ayton is out there, the more likely he is to get a block on defence.

Picks made at 12:45 p.m. on 12/08/24.

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors run in back on Sunday.

The pregame narrative: Steph Curry and Anthony Edwards headline my +310 wager for this marquee matchup. I am also backing the home team on an alternate spread.

Check out my Timberwolves vs. Warriors same-game parlay predictions for Dec. 8.

Timberwolves vs. Warriors predictions

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Parlay: Warriors +4 + Curry over 22.5 points + Edwards over 23.5 points (+310)

Warriors+4 (-205): This game is basically a pick’em but I decided to buy points for the home side.

It might seem odd as the Timberwolves beat the Warriors, 107-90, on Friday but I expect a better effort from Golden State.

The Warriors are in a bit of a downward spiral at the moment but the Chase Center has been their haven since its inception in 2019.

Nothing has changed this season, here’s Golden State’s recent home results before Friday’s loss:

• vs. Rockets: 99-93 win
• vs. Thunder: 105-101 loss
• vs Nets: 128-120 loss
• vs. Hawks: 120-97 win
• vs. Grizzlies: 112-118 win
• vs. Mavericks: 120-117 win

Bad losses are rare for the Warriors at home and I’m confident they can bounce back and keep this game more competitive.

SGP legs

Curry over 22.5 points (-162): It’s encouraging and a little worrying how consistent Curry has been at landing right around this number.

He is 6-2 against this line over the last eight but he landed right on 23 points three times and 24 points once.

Curry is in a bit of a shooting slump, shooting 14-for-40 (35.0%) over the last two games but he still managed to cash this wager in both outings.

Everyone knows Curry is a scorer in the purest form and he can clear this modest line even in a mediocre performance.

But on Sunday, I have a feeling he puts on a show at home.

Edwards over 23.5 points (-155): Let me flip over and talk about the other team’s superstar.

This is a pretty low line for Edwards who just got out of a recent cold streak. He dropped 30 against the Warriors on Friday but went under this line in the three previous games.

His recent spell wasn’t pretty. He had an eight-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers followed by a 16-point outing against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Ant shot 8-for-27 in those games and played less than 27 minutes in each. That’s a rare occurrence for Edwards who averages 36.4 minutes per game.

In games that Edwards played more than 30 minutes this season, he’s 16-3 against this line.

Picks made at 10:45 a.m. on 12/08/24.

I’ve got three NBA props for Sunday’s slate.

The pregame narrative: Jalen Suggs will be without Franz Wagner’s help, so I will be backing Orlando’s point guard to have a productive outing. I also like prop picks on Ja Morant and Pascal Siakam.

Check out the best NBA prop bets on Dec. 8.

NBA prop bets

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Best bet: Suggs over 2.5 threes (-136)

The Magic’s top scorer, Wagner, is out on Sunday with an oblique injury, which means someone will need to step up on offence.

And the obvious candidate is Suggs.

Besides Paolo Banchero, who’s only played five games this season, Suggs is the second option on the Magic.

For the season, he averages 2.2 made threes on 7.0 attempts, and that surely will increase with Wagner sidelined.

The other encouraging news is that Suggs is on a heater right now. He is 8/20 from 3-point range across his last two games, clearing this line in both.

Additionally, the Suns are a much worse team without Kevin Durant who will be out again tonight. In games without KD, Phoenix allows an average of 119.9 points per game.

That would be the third-worst scoring defence in the NBA over the entire season.

Key stat: Suggs is 7-2 against this line in games where he takes eight or more threes.

Quick picks

Morant over 22.5 points (-113): I’m looking to ride with Morant during this strong stretch of play.

The star PG has 30-plus points in two of the last three games including a 32-point outburst in a win against the Boston Celtics on Saturday.

On top of that, the Washington Wizards provide a juicy matchup.

• They allow the second-most PPG to opposing PGs (26.7).

• The Wizards give up the most threes to PGs per game (4.1)

The biggest worry here is a blowout with the Grizzlies being 11.5-point favourites but I think this game will stay close.

That’s because Memphis had to travel overnight for this second half of a back-to-back and I believe fatigue will be an underlying factor.

Even if it is a blowout, I am confident Morant can clear this modest total before it gets out of hand.

Siakam over 19.5 points (-120): It’s hard to back Siakam with all the options in Indiana, but I love this matchup.

• The Charlotte Hornets allow the third-most PPG to power forwards (25.4).

• Siakam has cleared this line in 2/3 games against Charlotte since joining the Pacers.

To expand on that last point, Siakam has 20 or more points in eight of his previous nine games against Charlotte, dating back to his time with the Toronto Raptors.

Picks made at 8:45 a.m. ET on 12/08/2024.

On Saturday, the Toronto Raptors welcome another Western Conference powerhouse in the Dallas Mavericks.

The pregame narrative: Toronto lost by 37 points to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday but I feel good about the Raptors putting in a better effort tonight and covering a teased-up spread. I’m including prop picks on Scottie Barnes and Dereck Lively to close out the parlay.

Check out my Mavericks vs. Raptors same-game parlay predictions for Dec. 7.

Mavericks vs. Raptors predictions

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Parlay: Raptors +12.5 + Barnes over 1.5 threes + Lively over 7.5 rebounds (+295)

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Raptors +12.5 (-190): Thursday’s 129-92 blowout loss hasn’t made me forget how competitive the Raptors have been at home this season.

They were coming off four straight home wins over the Indiana Pacers (twice), Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat — all of which are formidable opponents.

Toronto has failed to cover this lofty spread just twice now in 11 games at Scotiabank Arena. The first time was against the Cleveland Cavaliers on opening night.

The Raps have a 6-5 home record despite being 7-16 overall which makes sense considering the youth on the squad.

The team plays hard every night and is more effective offensively at home, which has led to many competitive games.

Dallas has won seven straight on the road but only covered this spread once against the Washington Wizards.

SGP legs

Barners over 1.5 threes (-130): Since returning from injury, Barnes has been quite the volume shooter.

• He’s averaging 2.3 made 3s on 7.3 attempts over the past eight games.
  
• Barnes made 2+ threes in seven of those contests.

Although the efficiency isn’t where it needs to be (31.5% over the last eight, 29.0% on the season), this leg is more about volume, which has been there consistently.

Barnes has taken five or more threes in eight straight games and I don’t see any reason why that would change on Saturday.

Lively over 7.5 rebounds (-175): The second-year pro has seen his role expand as the season rolls on.

Jason Kidd is trusting Lively more than ever, and the youngster’s rebounding numbers have been great.

• Lively had 10+ rebounds in back-to-back games and cleared this line in three of the last four.

• The big man played a season-high 32 minutes on Dec. 3 against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Lively only played 19 minutes last time out, but that was due to Dallas’ 36-point blowout win over the Wizards.

The good news is he still managed to pull down 11 rebounds. If Jakob Poeltl (questionable) is good to go Saturday, Lively’s size will be needed to compete on the glass.

Toronto allows the ninth-most rebounds per game to opposing centres (15.4).

Picks made at 9:19 a.m. ET 12/07/2024.