NBA Best Bets & Player Props November 17: Houston Rockets Look to Upset the Los Angeles Clippers
Happy Friday, it’s a special day for the NBA, and the Fantasy Alarm NBA Best Bets are fresh off of a perfect performance, three of three. It is special for the NBA as there are eleven In-Season Tournament group games today. Six games in the Eastern Conference, two per group, and five in the Western Conference. The nationally televised games are on ESPN and feature the Sacramento Kings at San Antonio Spurs with a tip-off of 7:30 PM ET.
The second game is the Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz and begins at 10:00 PM ET. There are great games outside of ESPN as the Boston Celtics travel to Toronto to take on the tough Raptors. There is a prop bet in the Denver Nuggets at New Orleans Pelicans that will actually be teased up, and a huge discrepancy in a game of great curiosity featuring former teammates, and several Hall of Fame players at the latest tip-off time. Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets travel to Los Angeles to take on Kawai Leonard and the Clippers in a 10:30 PM ET matchup.
Bet of the Night
Aaron Gordon 8+ Rebounds (Alternate line) (+140 at DraftKings)
Although the game script will probably be different than a 20-point comeback for the Denver Nuggets against the New Orleans Pelicans, the game will still be a competitive one. As mentioned, all of today’s games are in-season tournament games, and Aaron Gordon was on national television, declaring, ‘The intensity is up… the In-Season Tournament is creating it.’ The Denver Nuggets are utilizing Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon as the bench players in the absence of Jamal Murray.
Aaron Gordon’s one-two game with Nikola Jokic is the best since his arrival, and Gordon has played at least thirty-four minutes and twenty-four seconds in every game since J. Murray’s departure… There are only forty-eight minutes in a game. He is an elite baller, even by the NBA’s standards. He earned 12 rebounds when they played eleven days ago and went over this teased-up line five games in a row prior to the game against the Clippers Tuesday.
The Pelicans allow the fourth most rebounds per game in the Association, with 56.5. Proposition betting lines will rarely be teased up, but Gordon to have one more rebound than the set line is too good to pass up.
Parlay of the Night
Boston Celtics & Sacramento Kings Money Line (-109 at DraftKings)
These two teams are on the road tonight but are still large favorites. They both begin at 7:40 PM ET and should have their superstars playing tonight. The Boston Celtics are 7.5 favorites over the Toronto Raptors in the international showdown, and the Sacramento Kings are 8.5 favorites against the San Antonio Spurs who have been struggling.
Professional teams are more inclined to focus on one game at a time, but if the Celtics win this game they have an easy route to go undefeated in group East C. The Celtics are on top of several people’s power rankings and should win this game, they beat Toronto without some of their starters by 23 points on the eleventh. They should win this game relatively easily.
The Sacramento Kings are in first place in the Pacific division and are undefeated in group play. They are an underdog to win the In-Season Tournament but they should win this game against the worst team in the league. This game is a marquee game tonight, and there could be plenty of live betting options. Domantas Sabonis should have a great game, and the Kings should win in the second-largest spread of the day. Trust the parlay with large spreads.
Straight Bet of the Night
Houston Rockets Money Line (+240 at BetMGM)
The Los Angeles Clippers are hosting the Houston Rockets tonight in the nightcap. The Clippers are seeking their first win with James Harden on their roster. The Houston Rockets are 6-3, and fourth in the Western Conference. They have beaten the Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Pelicans, and Los Angeles Lakers. They are severely disrespected on the money line and the Clippers are being overvalued.
The Clippers may have the better roster and a championship head coach, but those days are in the past for almost all of them. The Rockets have a mix of youth and veterans and are playing excellent defense, allowing the third-fewest points per game in the NBA, 105.8 ppg. It is a perplexing money line, and this could be the game that the Clippers get it together, but the Rockets have had five days to prepare for this game. The Clippers are all but eliminated from the in-season tournament and the Rockets are undefeated in the group stage. The Houston Rockets are worth a wager.
Remember to check out Fantasy Alarm for all your NBA fantasy needs. Basketball stats, rankings, DFS picks, tools to help your lineups, and of course the NBA DFS show with Jon and James.
Thank you for reading.
Bet Smart, Be Lucky - Iggy
*All Bets to be placed at 1 unit unless specified otherwise
Player News
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Day’Ron Sharpe will sign a two-year, $12 million deal to return to the Nets.
Sharpe finished with 7.9 points and 6.6 rebounds across 18.2 minutes in his fourth season, setting new career-best marks in all three categories. In Year 5, he’ll compete with rookie Danny Wolf for backup minutes behind Nic Claxton.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Joe Ingles will sign a one-year, $3.6 million deal to return to the Timberwolves.
Ingles will be back for a 12th NBA season, and he’ll likely play a role similar to the one he played in 2024-25. The veteran logged just six minutes per game across 19 appearances for the Wolves a season ago, and he’ll be a locker room guy rather than an impactful, on-court option. Fantasy managers can safely leave him on the waiver wire in 2025-26 drafts.
Collin Gillespie will sign a one-year deal to remain with the Suns, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Gillespie played his first season with Phoenix on a two-way deal, but he’ll get a standard contract after solid play in 2024-25. Gillespie could see meaningful rotation minutes for a new-look Suns team that’s still figuring out its identity post-Kevin Durant.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that the Jazz are waiving Johnny Juzang.
Over the last two seasons, the UCLA product has averaged just over eight points and 1.7 triples while shooting 38.4% from downtown. He should have no problem landing with a new team that can utilize his floor-spacing abilities.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Ziaire Williams will sign a two-year, $12 million deal to return to the Nets.
Williams averaged 10 points and 4.3 boards across 63 games with Brooklyn last season. His impact in the realm of fantasy hoops was muted, and even on a rebuilding Brooklyn team, his impact in 2025-26 will likely be the same.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports the Trail Blazers and Deandre Ayton are finalizing a contract buyout that will make him an unrestricted free agent.
Sunday’s news adds another intriguing option to free agency, which officially opens on Monday at 6 PM Eastern. The Trail Blazers clearly needed to clean up their center rotation as far back as the February trade deadline, but they did not move Ayton or Robert Williams III. The need to move someone increased when Portland selected Yang Hansen with the 16th pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft. Ayton was limited to 40 games this past season, averaging 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.0 three-pointers in 30.2 minutes. With Ayton no longer in Portland’s plans, the biggest fantasy winner is Donovan Clingan, who finished his rookie season as the starting center. Clingan could vie for top-100 value in fantasy leagues this year.