Category: NBA

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers headline a day full of NBA Cup action.

The pregame narrative: The Thunder are a strong defensive team but can struggle to rebound. That’s why I am taking LeBron James to go over his rebound prop. I’m also interested in a pick on Isaiah Hartenstein.

Check out my Thunder vs. Lakers prop picks for Nov. 29.

Thunder vs. Lakers prop picks

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Best Bet: LeBron over 7.5 rebounds (-130)

Since the Thunder are such a good defensive team (No. 1 in defensive rating), I would rather resort to a rebounds prop than a points prop for LeBron.

Plus, LeBron is one of only a few Lakers who can rebound efficiently.

Los Angeles grabs the third-fewest rebounds per game (40.1), but that hasn’t been James’ fault. He’s cleared this line in seven of the last 10 games.

Additionally, OKC isn’t a great rebounding team either, recording the 10th-fewest per game (42.8).

Both teams play at a high pace, which means there should be plenty of opportunities for LeBron to rebound.

Key stat: James is averaging 9.3 boards in his past 10 games.

Quick pick

Hartenstein over 10.5 rebounds (-132): This is a play for the hardcore ball fans, but I love it.

Hartenstein showed what he could for the Knicks in the playoffs last season and now steps into a starting role for the West’s best team while Chet Holmgren is sidelined.

Let’s look at his stats since making his season debut last week:

• Nov. 20 vs. Trailblazers: 28 minutes, 14 rebounds

• Nov. 25 vs. Kings: 31 minutes, 10 rebounds

• Nov. 27 vs. Warriors: 30 minutes, 14 rebounds

The Thunder will continue to lean on Hartenstein until Holmgren returns and I can’t say I blame them.

Fans may remember the lineup OKC used before Hartenstein was available, which included five starters below the height of 6-foot-7.

And as mentioned before, the Lakers struggle to rebound. They allow the third-most boards per game (16.8) to opposing centres.

Hartenstein is the only true big on the Thunder right now and I believe he can compete with Anthony Davis around the basket.

Picks made at 9:31 a.m. ET 11/29/2024.

NBA fans are treated to a 10-game Black Friday slate.

The latest: The Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder travel to L.A. to take on the Lakers. Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics look to extend their win streak when they play against the Chicago Bulls.

Check out today’s basketball betting lines and our NBA schedule for Nov. 29.

NBA odds: Nov. 29

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

New York Knicks vs. Charlotte Hornets

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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks

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New Orleans Pelicans vs. Memphis Grizzlies

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Orlando Magic vs. Brooklyn Nets

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Los Angeles Clippers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

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Detroit Pistons vs. Indiana Pacers

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Toronto Raptors vs. Miami Heat

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Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls

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Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers

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Sacramento Kings vs. Portland Trail Blazers

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Betting insights

• The T-Wolves are 7-3 straight up against the Clips in the last 10 meetings. L.A. has a top-five defensive rating in the NBA (107.6).

• The Cavaliers look for redemption against the Hawks after losing to them on Wednesday, 135-124. Both teams have a top-five overs record. Atlanta is first (14-5-0), while Cleveland is fourth (13-6-0).

• The Pelicans travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies, who have won four straight contests. New Orleans has lost six straight. After a rough shooting performance (5-of-17 from the floor), Dejounte Murray hopes to turn things around in his second game back from injury.

• The defending champion Celtics can extend their win streak to seven tonight. Boston is third in points per game (120.2), while Chicago is fifth (118.0). Boston is tied with OKC for the highest net rating in the NBA (10.7).

• The Thunder have won three straight ahead of this meeting. L.A. is 7-3 head-to-head against OKC in the last 10 games. The Thunder have the highest defensive rating in the association (104.4).

After a one-day hiatus for U.S. Thanksgiving, the NBA is back in full force with 10 Black Friday games.

The pregame narrative: In my three-leg parlay, I’m backing a favourite, an underdog and an alt over. Look for the Brooklyn Nets to stay competitive and for the Indiana Pacers to snap out of a slump against a familiar foe.

Check out the full NBA parlay picks for Nov. 29.

NBA parlay picks

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Parlay: Nets +7.5 + Celtics/Bulls over 234.5 points + Pacers -3.5 (+258)

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Nets +7.5 (-180): Big ups to Brooklyn for breezing through its recent three-game West Coast road trip. The Nets beat the Kings, Warriors and Suns as 9-point underdogs or larger in each game.

Brooklyn’s ATS record (13-5-1) is the second-best in the NBA, so I’m happy to back this squad with a bunch of extra points on its own court.

In fairness, Orlando has a solid record ATS record as well (12-8). But the Magic have some notable home/road splits:

• Home: 8-1 ATS, +16.4 net rating, 117.0 offensive rating
• Road: 4-7 ATS, -3.7 net rating, 105.1 offensive rating

The Nets have covered this number in 14 of 19 games this season. Last year, they beat the Magic in both matchups in Brooklyn.

Other picks

Celtics/Bulls over 234.5 points (-210): The Celtics score because they’re efficient. The Bulls score because they’re fast.

Either way, both teams rank in the top five in points per game, averaging 238.4 points collectively.

Last year, the over went 3-0 in the Celtics/Bulls matchups. And seven of Chicago’s past nine games have cleared this total.

Pacers -3.5 (-182): The Pacers are in a rough spot right now, going 0-5-1 ATS in their past six games. But a matchup against the Detroit Pistons should cure that.

Detroit is on a five-game ATS losing streak, and Indiana has owned this head-to-head matchup in recent meetings.

Since the start of last year, Indiana is 5-0 straight up and ATS against Detroit. The Pacers have won each of those games by at least six points, with an average victory margin of 14 points.

One of these teams will break out of a slump, and I don’t see why it’d be the Pistons.

Picks made at 1:00 p.m. on 11/28/2024.

Tonight’s NBA prop bets aren’t hurting for star power, as I’m targeting Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OG Anunoby.

The pregame narrative: The Gilgeous-Alexander prop is a fade in Wednesday’s nightcap against the Golden State Warriors, but I like overs for the other two players. Jokic draws a juicy matchup despite being on the road and Anunoby is on fire as a shooter right now.

Check out the best NBA prop bets on Nov. 27.

NBA prop bets

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Best bet: Jokic over 1.5 threes (-107)

Jokic draws a dream matchup on Wednesday against the Utah Jazz.

Both the Denver Nuggets and the Jazz rank in the top 12 in pace, which is part of why this game has a solid scoring upside. It’s tied for the fourth-highest projected total (229.5 points) on the 14-game slate.

Looking specifically at Utah, it’s a pretty grim picture on the defensive side of things.

• The Jazz rank 29th in defensive rating and 27th in opponent points/game.

• Opposing centres are averaging 27.4 PPG (second-most) and 2.3 threes (most) vs. Utah.

• In general, opponents are averaging the third-most made 3s (14.6) and attempted 3s (40.0) per game against Utah.

Jokic doesn’t attempt a ton of 3s, which is why this line is so low despite his staggering 52.7% 3-point percentage on the season.

Still, it’s a bit too low in my opinion. During a year in which Jokic is shouldering more of the scoring load than ever before, he’s attempting a career-high 4.2 threes per game.

That still isn’t a huge volume, but his efficiency has made up for it. And with such a gem of a matchup tonight, I think somewhere around four to six attempted 3s is reasonable.

Jokic, who fired seven 3s apiece in back-to-back games, has cashed this bet eight times in 13 matchups.

Key stat: On Nov. 2, Jokic went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc against the Jazz. He had 27 points and 16 rebounds in just 30 minutes.

Quick pick

Anunoby over 23.5 points/rebounds (-121): Anunoby is on a tear as a scorer right now, and not just because of his career-high 40 points last time out.

Over his past nine games, Anunoby has cashed this points/rebounds line six times on points alone. In that span, he’s averaging 23.2 points and 6.1 rebounds (29.3 PR).

Tonight’s Knicks vs. Mavericks game has the second-highest projected total on the schedule (233.5 points), and this looks like a good way to buy in.

Also, the Mavericks are allowing the seventh-most rebounds per game to opposing power forwards (11.4), per Betting Pros.

Gilgeous-Alexander under 1.5 threes (+116): It isn’t fun to fade a red-hot star, but I think there’s a practical argument for taking the under on SGA’s 3s prop tonight.

Gilgeous-Alexander is a respectable 3-point shooter, but he’s far from the best the Thunder have to offer.

In fact, among six OKC players averaging 3.5 or more 3-point attempts per game, his 35.5% scoring clip ranks last.

Tonight’s matchup is as bad as it gets for Gilgeous-Alexander, who went 0-for-2 from deep and 6-for-17 from the field when he last faced the Warriors.

• SGA is averaging 1.3 threes on 3.4 attempts in his past eight games vs. Golden State (since January 2023).

• The Warriors allow the lowest 3PT% (31.8) and the fifth-fewest made 3s per game (12.5).

Picks made a 9:07 a.m. ET on 11/27/2024.

The top teams in a loaded Western Conference meet in the Bay Area tonight as the Golden State Warriors host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The pregame narrative: Golden State and OKC tend to play high-scoring games, so I’ve added an alt over to my +460 SGP. I’m also taking the over on various prop bets involving Steph Curry, Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Check out my Thunder vs. Warriors same-game parlay predictions for Nov. 27.

Thunder vs. Warriors predictions

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Parlay: Over 224.5 points + Williams over 21.5 points + Hartenstein over 9.5 rebounds + Curry over 3.5 threes (+460)

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Over 224.5 points (-186): Since January 2023, the Thunder and Warriors have cashed the over in nine straight games. Their lowest total in that span was 237 points.

If you’re just looking for a straight wager on this game, taking the over at 229.5 points might be the move. I’ve teased it down a bit for extra cushion, but that probably won’t be necessary.

Golden State ranks seventh in offensive efficiency and fifth in pace. OKC is 10th in offensive efficiency and eighth in pace.

In other words, they both play fast and know how to get buckets.

On Nov. 10, the Warriors and Thunder breezed past a 228.5-point projected total in Golden State’s 127-116 win.

SGP legs

Williams over 21.5 points (-205): Williams finished with 20 points when he saw the Warriors two-and-a-half weeks ago, but that was a game in which he only attempted a pair of 3s.

• Since then, Williams has shot 40.5% from 3-point range on 6.0 attempts per game.

• He’s averaging 26.4 PPG over his past seven games, scoring 25+ points six times in that span.

Williams has always been a stellar 3-point shooter, scoring at a 39.4% clip from deep in his career. If he can stay around 5.0 attempted 3s per night, it’ll really boost his ceiling as a scorer.

Add that to the fact that he’s attempting a career-high 16.9 FGA and shooting 83.7% from the free-throw line, and it’s easy to see how J-Dub can continue to produce.

Hartenstein over 9.5 rebounds (-124): I like this as a straight wager based on Hartenstein’s matchup and opportunity.

Golden State is allowing the most rebounds per game to opposing centres (17.1), per Betting Pros. Five opposing players have cashed this total in the Warriors’ past five games.

Hartenstein missed OKC’s first 15 games with a fractured hand. He returned a week ago and snatched 14 rebounds in just 29 minutes against the Trail Blazers.

On Monday, Hartenstein’s workload ticked up (32 minutes) and he grabbed 10 rebounds against the Kings.

I could see another slight increase in Hartenstein’s minutes, but even if he stays around the 30-minute mark, he should take advantage of this matchup.

Curry over 3.5 threes (-240): This is the most juiced leg on the ticket, but it correlates positively with the alt over and lifts the SGP price from +320 to +460.

Oh, and Curry has crushed this line in recent matchups against the Thunder:

• 4+ threes in 10/10 games vs. OKC since 2021-22
• Averaging 6.1 threes on 12.3 attempts (49.6%) in those games
• Is collectively 23-for-46 from deep vs. OKC since 2023-24

Curry has cleared this line in 10/14 games this season on 44.4% shooting from 3-point range. He’s remarkably reliable at this number.

Picks made at 10:40 a.m. on 11/27/24.