Another week of NBA betting action is in the books. It’s hard to believe that we have already eclipsed the quarter mark of the season but here we are. The Dallas Mavericks have been the most profitable team to bet on ATS, while Memphis, the Clippers, Charlotte, and Denver aren’t too far behind. Meanwhile, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Houston continue to suck the cash out of the wallets of their backers. Let’s take a look at the best NBA bets for the upcoming week.
New Orleans Pelicans at Boston Celtics-Monday, December 10th
Here we have two teams going in opposite directions. The Pelicans got themselves a road win last week versus Charlotte, but they have lost five of their last six and 10 of their last 12 road games. It’s no secret that the Pelicans are not a very good defensive team but they seem to tighten things up away from home. However, they score a lot less than they do at home too.
As for the Celtics, they look like they might be turning things around after winning and covering five of their last six games. Their offense is clicking and they are scoring at a rapid pace. These two teams met a couple of weeks ago in New Orleans and the Celtics won 124-107 as two-point underdogs to kick off their current four-game winning streak. Look for Boston to stay hot against the struggling Pelicans.
My Pick: Boston Celtics ATS
Toronto Raptors at Los Angeles Clippers-Tuesday, December 11th
After stringing together eight straight wins, the Raptors have stumbled a bit, losing two of their last three with their latest loss coming at the hands of the lowly Brooklyn Nets. Still, they are the best team in the league and they have been monsters on the road with five wins in their last six and nine wins in their last 11 away from home.
Related: NBA Betting Guide | NBA Props
The Clippers have also been pretty hot but, like Toronto, they have stumbled in their last few games having lost two of three. One of the biggest differences between these two teams is that the Clippers have been much better at covering spreads recently. They have also been on a tear at home where they have won nine straight and covered in eight of those. It’s going to be an entertaining game.
My Pick: Los Angeles Clippers ATS
Toronto Raptors at Golden State Warriors-Wednesday, December 12th
We’re going to go with another Toronto game. The Raptors will be playing Warriors the night after they face the Clippers. As great as the Raptors have been, they are coming off of a rough week, while the Warriors have managed to win three in a row. Granted, two of those wins were against Cleveland and Atlanta but their road win in Milwaukee should give them confidence. It’s also worth mentioning that Golden State has covered four of their last five games after being one of the biggest ATS fades for several weeks.
These two teams met a little over a week ago and Toronto squeaked past the Warriors 131-128 as 9.5-point favorites.
My Pick: Golden State Warriors ATS
Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets-Thursday, December 13th
Although they lost against the Spurs, Los Angeles has remained pretty hot with four wins in their last five games and seven wins in their last ten. However, they haven’t been all that hot away from home, especially when it comes to covering spreads.
The Rockets continue to disappoint and have now lost three in a row and seven of their last nine. They have also covered just two spread in their last ten outings. Fortunately, they will be at home for this one where they have won five of their last six and covered four of those six. They have won five of the last six meetings between these two teams in Houston and the Rockets won and covered against the Lakers in Los Angeles earlier this year. Houston has won six of the last seven meetings overall between these two teams and 15 of the last 18.
My Pick: Houston Rockets ATS
Indiana Pacers at Philadelphia 76ers-Friday, December 14th
Indiana is coming off a successful week in which they won three games in a row but getting the win in Philly is going to be tough. The Sixers have won five of their last six games and nine of their last eleven. They have also been making their spread backers a bit of dough with four covers in their last five games. They are a staggering 13-1 SU at home this year but just 8-6 ATS in those games.
One common theme that has emerged for both of these teams in recent weeks is their ability to keep games from going over the total. Not only does Philly look good to win this, but the under also looks like a solid bet.
My Pick: Under
