Skip to main content

NBA Odds & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Tuesday

Zachary Hanshew

Last Updated: January 24, 2023 7:03 PM EST • 3 min 18 sec read.

Best bets today from around the NBA.
Best bets today from around the NBA.

Underdogs feature prominently on Tuesday’s seven-game slate. Check out our NBA best bets for Tuesday based on the top NBA odds.

As the season progresses, NBA teams are often forced to wage a war of attrition, and it’s no surprise that injuries weigh heavily in Tuesday’s best bets.

The New Orleans Pelicans get a home matchup with a Denver Nuggets team that lists Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. as questionable, and the Miami Heat host a hobbled Boston Celtics squad that will be without three starters.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks (sans Christian Wood) host the Washington Wizards, while former Mav Kristaps Porzingis is sidelined.

Finally, the slate’s nightcap presents a Battle of Los Angeles between the Clippers and Lakers, with no love lost between the two squads.

Here are our NBA best bets for Tuesday (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, and PointsBet; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Check out our best NBA parlays today, as well as our Cavaliers vs. Knicks picks and Clippers vs. Lakers picks.

Tuesday’s NBA Schedule and Odds

(odds via DraftKings)

  • Chicago Bulls (-2) at Indiana Pacers
  • Boston Celtics (+3) at Miami Heat
  • Cleveland Cavaliers (-3.5) at New York Knicks
  • Denver Nuggets (-1) at New Orleans Pelicans
  • Washington Wizards (+7.5) at Dallas Mavericks
  • Charlotte Hornets (+7) at Phoenix Suns
  • Los Angeles Clippers (-5) at Los Angeles Lakers

Tuesday’s NBA Best Bets

  • Upset: Pelicans (-102 via FanDuel) vs. Nuggets  ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Prop bet: Bam Adebayo Over 24.5 Points (+210 via PointsBet) vs. Celtics  ⭐⭐⭐
  • Spread: Wizards +7.5 (-108 via FanDuel) vs. Mavericks ⭐⭐⭐
  • Spread: Clippers -5 (-110 via DraftKings) vs. Lakers ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Check out our NBA Finals odds and NBA MVP odds.

NBA Top Picks

Upset: Pelicans ML vs. Nuggets (-102 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Pelicans are still without Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, but the team has adjusted to this “new normal” and continued to play well in front of its home crowd. New Orleans has played seven of its last eight on the road and lost four straight, so a return home is just what the doctor ordered. The Nuggets may be without Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr., and without "Joker," Denver is a very different team.

The Nuggets are the NBA’s best team at home, but on the road? Not so much. As the away team, the Nuggets are 11-10 against the spread and 9-12 straight-up. The Pels are 13-10 ATS as the home team and 9-7 as home favorites, but New Orleans is 17-6 SU as the home team and 13-3 as the home favorite.

The Pelicans beat the Nuggets by 15 points in their only other matchup this season, and we’re betting on another victory Tuesday.

Prop bet: Bam Adebayo Over 24.5 points vs. Celtics (+210 via PointsBet) ⭐⭐⭐

The Celtics are likely to be without Robert Williams (knee), and Al Horford (rest) is out for the second leg of Boston’s back-to-back set. That leaves some combination of Luke Kornet, Blake Griffin, and Grant Williams to hold things down at center. In other words, Adebayo should feast against this thinned-out defense.

His points prop is set at 20.5 or 21.5 depending on the book, but we always like to peek at the alternate lines, and both FanDuel (+180) and PointsBet (+210) offer it at 24.5 for plus-money odds.

In three prior matchups with Boston this season, Adebayo posted totals of 28, 23, and 19 points. Over his last 15 games, he’s averaged 22.7 points and scored at least 25 in five of them.

Spread: Wizards +7.5 vs. Mavericks (-108 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

Dallas is the worst team ATS in the NBA with a 16-30-2 record. That includes an 8-13-1 record as a home favorite. Dallas is 15-7 SU as the home favorite, but the Moneyline odds for the Mavs are too short to provide any value. That’s why we’re targeting the spread.

The Wizards are just 9-10-2 ATS as road dogs this season, but the team has covered in three of its last five on the road and in both of its last two games overall. The Wizards covered against the Mavericks in their only prior meeting this season, and they can do so again Tuesday.

Without Wood in the lineup, Dallas is just 2-4, and without his scoring and defense, Luka Doncic will be burdened with an even heftier workload. Dallas might emerge victorious, but this one will be closer than 8 points.

Spread: Clippers -5 vs. Lakers (-110 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Battle of Los Angeles has been a one-sided rivalry since LeBron James came to town, and it’s hard to call this one a rivalry at all considering how little success the Lakers have had against the Clippers.

The Lakers are 4-13 SU and 4-13 ATS since the 2018-19 season, and the Clippers come into this one on a nine-game winning streak against their Crypto.com Arena counterparts. The Lakers have covered in just one of those nine games. Anthony Davis is still sidelined and James is questionable, but regardless of the latter's status, we’re confidently wagering on the Clippers to win a 10th straight over the Lakers and cover the modest spread.

NBA best bets made 01/24/2023 at 11:15 a.m. ET.

Here are our best NBA betting sites:

(21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER)

* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.

Related Pages

Written By:
Zachary Hanshew
Zak is a lucky husband and blessed father of four. He’s been writing about sports since 2018 with prior stops at FantasyPros, RotoWire, and FantasyLabs. In addition to Sportsbook Review, you can find his work at NBC Sports Edge, Yahoo, and OwnersBox. When he’s not writing, Zak can be found playing the guitar, hanging out with his family, coaching his son’s basketball team, or laughing way too hard at old Simpsons episodes.