Filip Tomic
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It is a special day in the NBA this Wednesday as 10 teams hit the hardwood on Christmas Day. Among the 5 games being played, two in particular stood out for me, so I’ve prepared a pair of best bets for them. Catch the Lakers vs Warriors tip-off at 8 pm ET on ABC, followed by the Denver Nuggets vs Phoenix Suns.
Continue reading below to see my bets, but also don’t forget to check our NBA Picks for selections on the side and total for all five NBA Christmas Day games.
LA Lakers vs Golden State Warriors best bet: LeBron James Over 22.5 Points (-140)
You just know LeBron James will show up big time in one of the biggest games there is in the NBA regular season. In just 5 days the King will turn 40 years old and there is a possibility that we might be witnessing his final NBA Christmas Day game. Just for that matter alone I think it’s worth backing him to have a solid scoring night here. LeBron has broken almost every single longevity record there is, why not add to his current point total on Christmas Day which currently stands at an all-time high of 476?
Matching up with Stephen Curry and the Warriors only adds to the motivation for LeBron, as Steph is one of the rare players in the NBA that has a better head-to-head record against him. We just saw him score 28 and 32 in his last two games against Detroit and Sacramento, over his last 10 he’s averaging 25.3 per game. Regardless of the outcome of the game, I think LeBron will do anything in his power to reach the 26.4 points per game that he averages on Christmas Day.
Denver Nuggets vs Phoenix Suns best bet: Nikola Jokic 2+ Made Threes (-155)
Jokic to drain a pair of threes has been one of the most consistent bets in the entire NBA over the past month or so. The 3-time MVP from Serbia is shooting the three-ball at an unreal 49% over his last 10 games, breaking all kinds of all-time records set by historically great players before him. In the month of December, the Joker has drained 2 threes in 8 of 10 games, while for the season he has done so 17 times in 24 appearances total.
We just saw him go 4-for-6 from deep vs the Suns on Monday, there’s a very high chance he repeats that on Christmas Day as the Suns have really struggled containing him. Opponents have shot 42.1% from downtown against Phoenix in their last 3 games, the Suns rank just 26th in three-point percentage allowed for the year. I say we stick with the hot hand of Jokic here and watch him torture the Suns from distance all night long.
