Filip Tomic
January ends with a bang in the NBA as a total of 10 games are being played, including a pair of homecomings as Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard both face their former teams. I’ve prepared a 3-team NBA mega parlay for tonight’s action, which includes siding with a massive road underdog. You can also read our NBA picks for tonight’s matchups, but for now, let’s dive into my favorite NBA parlay picks.
Pistons ML (+560)
Nuggets +1.5 (-110)
Bucks -9.5 (-110)
NBA parlay odds: +2305
Detroit Pistons ML over Cleveland Cavaliers (+560)
The Pistons managed to avoid yet another negative record as they finally beat a team that’s over the .500 mark, taking down the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-104 on Sunday. Heading into the game, the Pistons were 12.5-point underdogs and without their best player in Cade Cunningham, but that didn’t stop them from upsetting one of the best teams in the NBA right now. The 2 meetings so far this season were decided by just 8 and 9 points, so even though they’re massive underdogs here, perhaps the Pistons can pull off the upset.
Cleveland is 15-4 over their last 19 games after taking down the LA Clippers at home by double-digits. However, my concern with them lies in the fact that Darius Garland is returning from injury. With him on the court this season, the Cavs are just 11-9, while without him they’re 17-7. We all know the Cavs are the clear favorites here, but from a betting perspective, it makes more sense to me to go for the upset. Detroit has won 2 of 3 games, covered in 7 of their last 8 and they get their best player back. So why not test our luck on the road team at +560 odds here? Let’s kickstart this NBA mega parlay by shooting for the moon and taking the Pistons on the money line.
Read our full Detroit Pistons vs Cleveland Cavaliers predictions
Denver Nuggets +1.5 over Oklahoma City Thunder (-110)
Some people were questioning the defending champions in their last game against the Milwaukee Bucks, but once again the 2-time MVP Nikola Jokic and his men responded. With that win, the Nuggets are now just a half-game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves, who occupy the #1 seed in the West. That is concerning if you are one of the teams chasing the Nuggets, as it feels like this team hasn’t even hit top form and they’re right up there with the best of them.
Oklahoma City actually leads the regular season series 2-1, but with this being the 4th and final meeting I do think the Nuggets will be extra motivated to even things out. Add to that the possibility of either one of Chet Holmgren and/or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander potentially missing this game, backing the Nuggets at plus odds to get a road win is very tempting. Denver has beaten the Thunder 14 times in the last 20 meetings, including 6 of the last 7 played in OKC. In the win over the Bucks, Denver scored just 4 total threes, but the greatness of this team lies in the fact that they find ways to win games even when they’re not shooting the ball well. I’ll be backing them to cover against the Thunder here.
Milwaukee Bucks -9.5 over Portland Trail Blazers (-110)
Damian Lillard finally makes his return to Portland, having spent a decade of his career playing for the Trail Blazers prior to his move to the Bucks this offseason. Doc Rivers took over from Adrian Griffin, so I think we’ll see an improvement by the Bucks on the defensive end in the coming weeks. In his first game in charge, Milwaukee allowed 113 points to the Nuggets, which is encouraging, but a 6-point loss was not the outcome they were hoping for.
Against one of the weaker teams in the league, I am expecting the Bucks to show who they really are. This team is loaded with talent and with not a single player on the injury report, they should be able to dominate a severely limited Blazers team. The Bucks are 9-1 in the last 10 meetings and have covered the spread in 13 of the last 20 head-to-head. They made 16 threes against Denver and 20 threes prior to that in the win over the Pelicans. Don’t be surprised if Lillard goes off here. I’m taking Milwaukee to win in a blowout.
