Ricky Dimon
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The college football season has come and gone with another National Championship for Alabama, while the resumption of the NFL playoffs is still four days away. Thus it is the NBA’s time to shine on Tuesday, and we have six games on the schedule despite a postponement of the Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls contest. Among the teams in action are the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors.
Let’s take a look at four of the best prop bets for Tuesday’s slate of games.
Lonnie Walker IV Under 19.5 points + rebounds + assists (-115)
Simply playing the percentages, you have to take the under on Walker’s combined numbers when the San Antonio Spurs visit the Oklahoma City Thunder. In seven of the last nine games, Murray has stayed under this 19.5 quota. This total is inflated because San Antonio’s third-year shooting guard erupted for 25 points in Sunday’s loss to Minnesota, but clearly that was an aberration as opposed to the rule. Moreover, Oklahoma City is in the top half of the league in scoring defense and it is the lowest-scoring team in the Western Conference; therefore you can be sure the pace of play here will be slow and possessions will be limited.
Nikola Jokic to record a triple-double (+250)
The Kyrie Irving-less Nets are going to have their hands full with Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. Jokic is averaging a triple-double this season and he has recorded at least a double-double in nine of 10 games. The 25-year-old has grabbed at least nine rebounds in every outing, so really the lone question mark here is assists. Well, he has dialed up double-digit assists on seven of 10 occasions. It does not take a math genius to figure out that +250 odds represent amazing value given those numbers. Jokic should be in line for an even bigger performance than usual against a Brooklyn team that has been horrendous defensively over the past two contests (115 points conceded to a Ja Morant-less Memphis squad and 129 surrendered to Oklahoma City). The Nets also rank third in the NBA in pace of play, and more possessions obviously mean more opportunities for Jokic to rack up stats.
Stephen Curry Over 29.5 points (-102)
Whenever Curry struggles in his previous outing, he generally bounces back in the big way. That has been the story throughout his illustrious, two-time MVP career. As such, the Indiana Pacers could be in trouble when they visit a resurgent Golden State squad. Curry is coming off a 2-for-16 effort during Sunday’s 106-105 win over Toronto. There is no reason to be alarmed, of course; for the most part the former Davidson star has been in great form. He has reached the 30-point mark five times in the last eight games, including a 62-point barrage against Portland on Jan. 3 and 38 points on 9-for-14 shooting from deep last Friday against the Clippers. With Indiana’s defensive strength coming in the paint, I expect Curry to be pouring in more and more three-balls.
Royce O’Neale Over 1.5 threes made (-106)
O’Neale has drained multiple three-pointers in seven of the Utah Jazz’s last eight games. Like with the Walker bet mentioned earlier, you don’t have to overthink this one; there is great value simply on playing the percentages. There is no reason why O’Neale can’t drain at least two triples again when Utah visits the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are incredibly banged up in the backcourt, even needing a hardship exemption from the league to sign additional players for this game. They do, however, have a stellar low-post defender in Andre Drummond. I expect the Jazz to be dialing long distance from start to finish on Tuesday, and O’Neal will certainly be invited to that party.
Pickswise is the home of free NBA picks and predictions. We will cover all the big offseason news before making picks for every game during the 2021 season.
