Free NBA Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (12/16/23)

December 16, 2023

John Brubaker's top NBA betting picks and best bets for today's NBA games on 12/16/23. His free picks against the spread, teasers, parlays, and NBA player props.

Happy December, RotoBallers! Another day, another dollar in the NBA and we have a solid ten-game slate worth of NBA action on Saturday night. We have some fun matchups tonight, though, with some surprising storylines to monitor.

We have ourselves a handful of teams coming into tonight's slate on a back-to-back; as the Sixers, Hornets, Pistons, Hawks, Pacers, and Knicks suit up for the second consecutive evening.

In this article, I'll be providing my favorite picks against the spread, game totals, parlays, and teasers for the first full NBA slate of the season that tips off at 6:00 PM EST on Saturday, December 16. 

NBA Betting Picks: Totals

Utah Jazz (+9.5) @ Sacramento Kings (241.5 total)

I'll start out in the capital of California as the Jazz come into town to take on the Kings.

In terms of pace, both of the teams are towards the middle of the pack, but both are in the upper half of the league. The reason I'll look at the team total here comes down to an efficiency boost for Sacramento tonight. The Kings come into this one ranked 15th in offensive efficiency, while the Jazz rank 26th in defensive efficiency. The Kings are projected to positively regress in offensive efficiency tonight, projecting to 116.76, which is a 4.26-point boost. My model has their team total at 131.37, so I think we're getting good value here.

The Pick: SAC Team Total OVER 126.5 (-110, FanDuel)

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NBA Betting Picks: ML and Spreads

Philadelphia 76ers (-9) @ Charlotte Hornets (234.5 total)

I'll head back east to Charlotte as the Sixers come to town.

The Sixers come into this one off of a back-to-back following an impressive 124-92 victory against the Pistons last night at home. Charlotte also had a home game last night, falling short against the Pelicans 112-107. Unfortunately for Charlotte; the Sixers, and Joel Embiid in particular, have been playing excellent basketball. They project to positive regress in offensive efficiency (124.36) and defensive efficiency (110.12). Joel Embiid hasn't played a fourth quarter in any of the last four games, so he'll be fresh for the long haul if it comes to it despite the back-to-back.

The pick: Sixers -9 (-110, DraftKings Sportsbook)

NBA Betting Picks: Parlays and Teasers

Favorite ML Parlay: PHI + MIL + SAC (-152, FD)

Favorite Teaser: PHI -3 + MIL -11.5 (-110, FD)

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