Category: NBA

There’s no shortage of prop betting opportunities with 11 games on Tuesday’s NBA Cup slate.

The pregame narrative: Isaiah Hartenstein has been a wrecking ball for the Oklahoma City Thunder and draws a perfect matchup. I expect him to stuff the stat sheet and am also backing Jordan Poole and Norman Powell.

Check out the best NBA prop bets on Dec. 3.

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Best bet: Hartenstein over 24.5 points/rebounds (-117)

The one risk with this play, in my mind, is blowout potential.

OKC is a 13-point home favourite over the Utah Jazz, meaning Hartenstein could be pulled early if things get out of hand.

But my bold take is this: He could clear this number in the first half.

Hartenstein has averaged 15.2 points and 13.8 rebounds (29.0 P/A) in five games with the Thunder, going over this number in every contest.

He’s only playing 30 minutes a night anyway and is easily the team’s top rebounding threat with Chet Holmgren sidelined.

The Jazz are a decent rebounding team, allowing a middle-of-the-pack 15.1 rebounds per game to opposing centres, per Fantasy Pros.

Hartenstein should be active on the glass and I expect him to feast in the short midrange and the paint. Check out how Utah ranks defending those areas of the court, according to Cleaning the Glass:

• 71.4 opposing FG% at the rim (30th in NBA)
• 44.8 opposing FG% in the short midrange (26th in NBA)

This looks like a smash play even in a contest with reduced minutes potential.

Key stat: Hartenstein takes 93% of his shots at the rim and in the short midrange (four to 14 feet from the basket).

Quick picks

Powell over 20.5 points (-130): Powell has really stepped up for the Los Angeles Clippers with Kawhi Leonard sidelined.

He’s averaging 23.6 points a night, shooting a clinical 49.2% from the field and 49.6% from deep.

The guard has gone over this mark in 11 of 16 games, including a 30-point performance against tonight’s opponent, the Portland Trail Blazers, in October.

Powell just dropped 28 and 23 points against the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors in his last two games.

He shouldn’t have an issue clearing this mark against a Portland squad sitting 21st in defensive rating.

Poole over 3.5 threes (+128): This is another game with blowout potential as the last-place Washington Wizards take on the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers.

That said, Poole isn’t shy to let loose from deep and Cleveland has been awful at defending the 3-point line.

Poole has only cleared this line in six of 16 games but he’s landed on exactly three 3s four times. He’s attempting 7.6 threes a night and went 4-of-7 from deep against the Cavs earlier this year.

Cleveland has the second-highest opponent 3-point percentage (38.3) in the NBA.

Picks made at 10:19 a.m. ET on 12/03/2024.

I’ve got prop bets on three of Monday’s four NBA games.

The pregame narrative: Jayson Tatum is having an MVP-calibre season and should take charge on an injured Boston Celtics team tonight. I’m also backing Nix Claxton and fading LeBron James’

Check out the best NBA prop bets on Dec. 2.

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Best bet: Tatum over 3.5 threes (-130)

Tatum has been on a scoring binge this season. Check out his numbers through 20 games (NBA ranks in parenthesis):

• 29.0 PPG (fifth)
• 4.0 threes/game (fifth)
• 10.5 threes attempted/game (fourth)

The five-time All-Star is shooting with frequency and accuracy from deep, boasting a respectable 38.1% 3-point percentage.

Last night, Tatum put up 33 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers while making 4-of-9 threes. He dropped 35 with four triples against the Chicago Bulls the game before that.

Boston is on a back-to-back and will potentially be without Derrick White (foot) and Jaylen Brown (illness), neither of whom played yesterday.

On top of that, it’s expected Boston will rest 38-year-old Al Horford alongside Kristaps Porzingis, who just returned from a lengthy injury stint.

That means Tatum and Jrue Holiday could be the only members of Boston’s starting five in the mix.

The Celtics are still heavily favoured against a mediocre Miami Heat team which allows opponents to shoot a middling 36.1% from deep.

Key stat: Tatum has cleared this mark in 10 of his last 13 games.

Quick picks

Claxton over 22.5 points and rebounds (-120): The Brooklyn Nets are also banged up with Cam Thomas and Noah Clowney out.

Dorian Finney-Smith didn’t play last night and Ben Simmons (shocker) left the game early with a knee contusion.

Someone is going to have to pick up the slack and I think it’s Claxton.

The 6-foot-11 centre is only averaging 8.5 points and 7.6 boards but he’s going to have an outsized opportunity against an awful defensive team.

The Nets take on a Chicago Bulls squad sitting 29th in defensive rating and allowing the third-most points per game to opposing centres, according to Fantasy Pros.

James under 9.5 assists (-129): LeBron hasn’t skipped a beat in season 22 and is currently dishing out the third-most assists per game (9.4).

He’s cleared this mark in three of his last four and is exactly 50% against this line on the season. Paying -129 juice to take the under might seem like a bad bet then, but I disagree.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have done well to keep LeBron in check as a facilitator.

He only had four assists against them earlier this season and has gone under this mark in nine straight games against the T-Wolves dating back to 2021.

In that span, LeBron has only logged more than six assists once.

Picks made at 12:09 p.m. ET on 12/02/2024.

There are four NBA games on tap to start the week.

The latest: The Boston Celtics are back in action after blowing a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. They host the Miami Heat while a struggling Minnesota Timberwolves squad welcomes in LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Check out today’s basketball betting lines and our NBA schedule for Dec. 2.

NBA schedule: Dec. 2

Visit all of tonight’s NBA markets. Click on game odds below to bet now.

New Orleans Pelicans vs. Atlanta Hawks

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Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics

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Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

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Brooklyn Nets vs. Chicago Bulls

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Betting insights

• Atlanta enters this contest on a three-game winning streak, two of which came against the East-leading Cavaliers. The Hawks host a Pelicans team still without Zion Williamson and potentially Brandon Ingram. New Orleans is 4-17 with a 7-14 ATS record.

• Boston is 7-2 at home but has only covered the spread in three of those games. Since the start of last season, the Celtics are 12-5 ATS on no rest. The Heat also played yesterday and lost to the Toronto Raptors. Miami is 7-7-1 ATS on no rest since 2023.

• The T-Wolves are 1-4 in their last five games and are a miserable 6-13 ATS this season. That includes a 2-8 ATS record as home favourites. Los Angeles is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 and will be without Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell.
  
• Brooklyn is 13-7-1 ATS and is a heavy road underdog in Chicago. The Bulls have only been favoured at home once this season and lost that game outright by nine points. Cam Thomas — Brooklyn’s leading scorer — is out.

The Los Angeles Clippers host the Denver Nuggets in Sunday’s NBA nightcap.

The pregame narrative: Los Angeles has been chugging without Kawhi Leonard and I like it to cover an alternate spread at home. Player props on Nikola Jokic and James Harden round out this ticket.

Check out my Nuggets vs. Clippers same-game parlay predictions for Dec. 1.

Nuggets vs. Clippers predictions

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Parlay: Clippers +7.5 + Jokic over 7.5 assists + Jokic over 1.5 threes + Harden over 1.5 threes (+420)

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Clippers +7.5 (-245): L.A. has been without its biggest star all season but that hasn’t stopped the squad from being competitive.

The Clippers are 12-9 on the season with a stellar 14-7 ATS record (fourth-best in the NBA). That includes a 4-2 ATS record as home underdogs, which they are tonight.

Denver is a competent team but it doesn’t look like a title contender right now.

The Nuggets are 10-7 and have lost four of their last seven. The roster lacks depth and Jokic can’t do it all with Aaron Gordon injured and Jamal Murray underperforming.

Los Angeles has won six of its last eight, covering this number in seven of those games. I expect the Clips to keep things close at home.

SGP legs

Jokic over 7.5 assists (-230): Jokic has one hand on the MVP trophy and it’s only December.

The Serbian superstar ranks fourth in scoring (29.7), first in rebounding (13.1) and second in assists (10.6) while shooting a clinical 53.4% from deep — but more on that later.

I want to get in on Jokic’s assist prop against the Clippers for a few reasons.

Firstly, he’s living at this number on a nightly basis, clearing this number in nine of his last 11 games with at least seven assists in each of those contests.

And Jokic has seen success against L.A., going over this mark in five of his last six games (though he is 0-1 against this line vs. Clippers this season)

Jokic over 1.5 threes (-124): It’s kind of unfair that Jokic just decided to make it rain this season.

He’s averaging career-highs in 3-point makes (2.2) and attempts (4.1) per game and is shooting nearly 14% better than ever before from deep.

The Clippers are a good defensive team but they allow the fifth-most 3s per game to opposing centres, according to Fantasy Pros.

Jokic has gone over this mark in five straight and hit seven triples against the Clippers earlier this year.

Harden over 1.5 threes (-305): On the other end of the spectrum is Harden, who is chucking up threes at a heavy rate.

The former scoring champ is averaging 2.8 threes on 8.1 attempts per night and has cleared this line in 13 straight games and 19 of 21 games on the season.

He’s hit 16 threes in his last four games — making at least three 3s in each of them — and should keep firing tonight.

Picks made at 11:37 a.m. on 12/01/24.