NBA Best Bets & Player Props December 23: Victor Wembanyama To Crash The Boards
The Sacramento Kings absolutely destroyed the Phoenix Suns yesterday and in doing so, Domantas Sabonis only recorded three rebounds in the second half. Not to worry, as the column once again ‘Meat Loafed’ it, winning two of three. When the winners are double unit wagers, the earnings are twice as nice. Almost two units were gained yesterday, and the goal is to keep the betting momentum going with a loaded NBA Saturday lineup of thirteen games. The first game today is a nationally televised game on NBATV with a 12:30 PM ET tipoff as Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks host Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks. The best bet features a double unit wager on this matchup. At 7:10 PM ET the Orlando Magic play the Indiana Pacers in a battle of top eight Eastern Conference teams. Fantasy Alarm takes a look at a Tyrese Haliburton line that seems off the mark. There are also several teams playing in back-to-back games tonight, the Dallas Mavericks are one of them. Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs play against the Mavericks, and there is a prop bet that receives a double unit wager in this game.
BET OF THE NIGHT: MILWAUKEE BUCKS ML; TWO UNITS (-130 DraftKings Sportsbook)
As mentioned in this column before, the great Hubie Brown stated, ‘The most difficult game in a stretch of road games is the first home game’. The New York Knicks are finishing up a tough road stretch in which they won three of five games, and granted their last road game was at Brooklynn and similar to a home game… except it was not against the Milwaukee Bucks and it was not at Madison Square Garden. Giannis Antetokounmpo is probable for the match and will be a problem for the New York Knicks. The Bucks will have all of their starters active and rested for this match, and score 124.4 points per game, almost ten more than the Knicks. Oddly enough these two will play again on Christmas Day, which is the NBA’s longest standing tradition. It will be the 76th year the NBA has played a Christmas game, and it has been an unofficial ‘beginning of the season’ prior to this year and the In-Season Tournament. Tonight look for Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, Giannis the Great, Brook Lopez, and Malik Beasley to be too much offense for the New York Knicks to keep up with. Double unit afternoon delight.
VICTOR WEMBANYAMA OVER 11.5 REBOUNDS; TWO UNITS (-130 BetMGM)
The Dallas Mavericks are playing in back-to-back games, will be without starters, and are a continual bankroll builder for Fantasy Alarm NBA Best Bets. They are simply an awful rebounding team, allowing the third most rebounds to opposing teams in the Association. The San Antonio Spurs allow the fourth most, but the Mavericks currently have six players still listed as out or day-to-day. Even with that, they still have a large spread in their favor, -7. Dereck Lively is the Mavericks only good rebounder, and although Victor Wembanyama only had five rebounds against the Chicago Bulls in his last game, he has recorded double-digit totals in every other game this month. He has gone over this line in all but two games this month, and the Mavericks will not have an ability to keep Victor Webanyama away from the defensive glass. This game could be really close, and V. Wembanyama could play more minutes to help earn the twelve needed rebounds. Put two units on the rookie to rebound against their Southwest Division rival.
TYRESE HALIBURTON - UNDER 27.5 POINTS (-115 DraftKings Sportsbook)
Tyrese Haliburton could be the starting point guard for the Eastern Conference in the All-Star game, he is playing that great this season. However since the In Season Tournament, his points have been on a drastic decline. He is also questionable to play tonight with an ankle sprain, but he did play over thirty-seven minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies two days ago. Should he play tonight he could be on limited minutes or taken out in a blowout. Since beating Milwaukee in the In-Season Tournament, he has one game over twenty points and zero above twenty-three. The Orlando Magic allow the seventh fewest points to point guards, and have the length to give T. Haliburton difficulties scoring. The assumption is that he plays tonight, and if he does this line seems like a done deal. If he does not play we will get our money back, so no loss.
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Bet Smart, Be Lucky - Iggy
*All Bets to be placed at 1 unit unless specified otherwise
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Brandin Podziemski had 11 points (3-of-14 FGs), three rebounds, one assist and four steals in Game 4 against the Timberwolves on Monday.
Podziemski was 3-of-14 from the field and missed all four of his three-point attempts. His 22.5 field goal percentage in this series is the worst for any player (min. 35 attempts) since Pero Antic shot 16.7 percent in the Hawks vs. Pacers series in 2014, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press. Down 3-1 in the series now, the Warriors need Stephen Curry to return from his hamstring injury for Game 5, a miracle or both to get back in this series.
Jimmy Butler had 14 points (5-of-9 FGs), six rebounds, three assists and one block in Game 4 against the Timberwolves on Monday.
Despite the Warriors win in Game 1, Butler warned in postgame interviews that Stephen Curry is the team’s best player and it was going to be difficult to win games without him. After what’s transpired over the last three games, which the Warriors have all lost, he might’ve been underselling it. Butler wasn’t able to fill Curry’s shoes in Game 4. In fact, he was a team-worst -30 in 34 minutes in the seven-point loss. The Warriors will have their backs against the wall facing elimination in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Julius Randle had 31 points (11-of-21 FGs), five rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block and four three-pointers in Game 4 against the Warriors on Monday.
Anthony Edwards had 30 points (11-of-21 FGs), four rebounds, five assists, two steals and six three-pointers in the Timberwolves’ 117-110 victory over the Warriors in Game 4 on Monday.
Derrick White had 23 points (6-of-12 FGs), three rebounds, two assists and six three-pointers against the Knicks in Game 4 on Monday.
White was the Celtics second leading scorer in Game 4, but he was the only consistent scorer for Boston outside of Jayson Tatum. The 30-year-old point guard got all of his points on six three-pointers and five free throws. Unfortunately for the Celtics it wasn’t enough as Boston was trailing when Tatum went down with a lower leg injury in the final minutes, essentially taking a comeback off the table. The Celtics will look to stave off elimination with their backs against the wall at home in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Jayson Tatum had 42 points (16-of-28 FGs), eight rebounds, four assists, four steals, two blocks and seven three-pointers against the Knicks in Game 4 on Monday.