RADIO
I hope you all had a nice New Year's and start to the new year. We have a massive 12-game slate tonight, and hopefully, winners to find. I'm going to continue to find some first-quarter and first-half spots that I like. In the beginning of the season, I was forcing a lot with over/unders, and that's just not my game.
On Monday night, I was able to go 3-0 on my single-game picks. Milwaukee easily covered -2.5 in the first quarter, and the Jazz won outright to cover +4.5. I needed a Jalen Duren putback layup with 0.5 seconds to cash Pistons +5.5, which led to a sweep.
In this article, I'll be providing my favorite picks against the spread, game totals, parlays, and teasers for NBA games that tip off at 7:00 PM EST on Wednesday, January 3. Follow me on Twitter/X, @Jwiesel13. I hope it's a great year for all of us, and thank you as always for reading!
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NBA Betting Picks: ML and Spreads
Chicago Bulls (+9.5) @ New York Knicks (218.5 total)
OG Anunoby made his debut for the New York Knicks on Monday, and he fit right in. New York was down 32-23 at the end of the first quarter but had a huge 38-17 second quarter to take a 61-49 halftime lead. Minnesota battled back, but ultimately the Knicks pulled away and won 112-106.
I'm looking for the Knicks to have a good start and do it in the first half. I just think they match up well against the Bulls. Chicago is in the bottom five in scoring in the last 10 games in the first half. They have also shot an uninspiring 46.9 percent on their field goals. From three, I wouldn't expect the Bulls to light it up. Chicago has shot 32.9 percent from deep in their last 10 contests.
For the Knicks, I can only judge them based on the last game, but I liked what I saw. They only hit 20/47 (42.6%) field goals and 8/22 (36.4%) threes. New York was aggressive in getting to the line, hitting 13-of-14 attempts. Despite the poor shooting numbers, they still put up 61 points, and there's a lot of opportunity for growth. Jalen Brunson did not shoot the ball well.
The Knicks go up against a Bulls team that was 26th in defensive rating on the road in the opening half of games in December. I also know Tom Thibodeau would love to stick it to his former team. The Knicks feel like they have some new-found swagger, and the Bulls are on the second end of a back-to-back after getting punk'd by the Sixers.
The Pick: Knicks First Half -5 (-110 Caesars)
Detroit Pistons (+9) @ Utah Jazz (240.5 total)
I'm going back to the Jazz at home after they covered for me on Monday night. I'm not a fan of the game spread, but I do like them to cover the first quarter.
Utah jumped out to a 37-26 first-quarter lead Monday thanks to shooting 5-for-9 from deep. The Jazz have been a pretty good first-quarter team at home all season. They are in the top 10 in points per game at 30.1. Detroit is averaging 24.9 points in the first quarter on the road this season.
The Jazz are also in the top eight in first-quarter three-pointers. They may not shoot 55.5 percent like they did against the Mavericks, but knowing they're capable of that is encouraging. Detroit is only hitting 2.1 threes in the opening 12 minutes and shooting 31.5 percent, which is in the bottom five of the league. Utah is also in the top five in first-quarter free throw attempts. This is something that oftentimes can be a differentiator.
Will Hardy's squad is a strong rebounding team and averages the most second-chance points in first quarters.
Utah's first-quarter defense hasn’t been great, but they just held a Luka Doncic-led team to 26 first-quarter points. I think they could have good success against a Pistons defense that has not been good in the opening 12 minutes of games. According to Fantasy Pros, Utah is great at defending point guards. That could make life difficult for Cade Cunningham.
The Pick: Jazz First Quarter -2.5 (-115 FanDuel)
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Orlando Magic (+4) @ Sacramento Kings (233 total)
Both teams are in the second half of back-to-backs coming into this game.
I like the Kings at home. Sacramento is a top-seven-scoring team at home this season. In nine December games, the Kings shot 49.4 percent on field goal attempts and 41.6 percent from three. That three-point percentage was good enough for third in the NBA among home teams. They also pass the ball well and limit turnovers.
Orlando is one of the lowest-scoring teams on the road. They haven't shot it well and are the only team in the NBA averaging less than 10 three-pointers. The Kings love to shoot the three and have shown they can do it efficiently.
On defense, Sacramento's numbers do not look good, but I found something that could explain it. They are allowing the 12th- most field goal attempts, and opponents are shooting the seventh-best percentage. That means opponents are shooting it efficiently against the Kings' defense. Orlando struggles with field goal percentage and could have trouble keeping up scoring against a high-octane Kings offense.
The Kings also do a good job limiting fast break points, which would be an easy way for Orlando to generate some easy buckets.
The pick: Kings -4.5 (-115 BetMGM)
Favorite ML parlay: NYK+ SAC + LAL (+170 DK)
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