NBA Odds & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Saturday
Saturday’s NBA slate features seven games, highlighted by a nightcap between the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns. Read on for our NBA best bets for Saturday.
We are ready for a seven-game NBA slate on Saturday, in which the largest spread on the board is a 7-point line. A trio of other games features a spread within 4, including a Western Conference showdown between the Pelicans and Suns to close out the slate.
Here are our NBA best bets for Saturday (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, PointsBet, and Caesars Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Check out our NBA best bets.
Saturday's NBA Schedule and Odds
(odds via DraftKings)
- Washington Wizards vs. Los Angeles Clippers (-6.5)
- Miami Heat (-7) vs. San Antonio Spurs
- Memphis Grizzlies (-7) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Dallas Mavericks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (-4)
- Portland Trail Blazers (-4) vs. Houston Rockets
- Utah Jazz vs. Milwaukee Bucks (-6)
- New Orleans Pelicans vs. Phoenix Suns (-3.5)
Saturday's NBA Best Bets
- Moneyline: Cavaliers (-174 via Fanduel)
- Total: Wizards-Clippers Under 221.5 (-107 via PointsBet)
- Spread: Pelicans +3.5 (-107 via PointsBet)
- Player prop: Zion Williamson Over 28.5 points (-104 via Caesars)
Check out our breakdown of the 2023 NBA Finals odds!
Saturday’s NBA Top Picks
Moneyline: Cavaliers (-174) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Home-court advantage has been a big boost across the NBA this year, and no squad has a better winning percentage at home than the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland is 13-2 when playing inside the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this season. The Cavs are winning by an average of 4.9 points per game at home.
Sure, the Dallas Mavericks have an MVP contender in Luka Doncic and can be a streaky shooting team at times, but the Cavs are the best scoring defense in the NBA, giving up an average of 104.8 points per game. We will side with that here. Place this bet at FanDuel, which is offering -174 odds when most other sportsbooks are listing it at -180 or shorter.
Total: Wizards-Clippers Under 221.5 (-107) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Any total for a game involving the Los Angeles Clippers is worth a look, especially one that is 220 or higher. The Clippers are going under the point total in 64.5% of their games (20/31), which paces the league by a good margin. Their games are cashing the Under by an average of 4.6 points per game, which also leads the NBA.
Los Angeles has delivered three consecutive Under tickets, including a 111-95 loss to the Suns that finished well below the closing total of 218.5. With BetMGM being the only other sportsbook offering this total as high as 221.5, PointsBet is the best shop to play this Under due to its reduced -107 vig.
Spread: Pelicans +3.5 (-107) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Home court is certainly important, but this spread is about a point too high based on my projection. The Pelicans and Suns faced each other twice just last weekend, with New Orleans winning both games at home.
The Pelicans secured a 128-117 win over the Suns as 1-point underdogs on Dec. 9, following that up with a 129-124 overtime win in the rematch as 3.5-point favorites. The Suns have dropped five of their last six games, and need this win in the worst way.
But we will take the 3.5 points with the live underdog, especially at PointsBet, where we can get the -107 juice. This really is a deal compared to the 3-point spread (-110) odds being offered at Caesars Sportsbook.
Player prop: Zion Williamson Over 28.5 points (-104) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
We will be going to Caesars for our final best bet, which has the best deal for a player prop. You can get -104 odds on Pelicans forward Zion Williamson to finish with Over 28.5 points in Saturday's battle with the Suns.
The Pelicans can’t cover a spread without a big performance from their leading man. Zion scored 35 points in both games against Phoenix just last weekend, so we wouldn’t mind a three-peat performance. Williamson went 27-for-38 in those two games and appears to have a matchup advantage against the Suns, who remain without center Deandre Ayton.
NBA best bets made 12/17/2022 at 9 a.m. ET.
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- PointsBet: Earn Five Free Bets of Up to $100 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
- BetMGM: Get a Free Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review
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