Happy Friday, basketball fans! Nick Marro here, providing you with my best bets for today’s (12/16) NBA slate. I plan to provide these ‘Nick’s Picks’ articles about twice a week for the entirety of the 2022-2023 season. I don’t like playing heavy juice, so all of my picks will be priced at line of (-150) or better. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter with any questions.
We bounced back nicely with a 3-0 sweep last time out, so we improved to 13-14 on the young season. We’ve endured a few bad beats over the past few weeks, but I’m confident our luck will continue to improve as the season progresses and we get more data. We have a solid slate of NBA action tonight, so I’m eager to see if we can build some momentum.
MLB Season Record: (57-51)
NBA Season Record: (13-14)
Overall 2022 Bets Record: (70-65)
Brooklyn Nets @ Toronto Raptors @ 7:30 EST
Nick’s Pick: Brooklyn Nets, ATS -1 (-110)
The Brooklyn Nets are 8-6 Against the Spread on the Road so far this season. They rank 7th in Offensive Efficiency and 3rd in Effective Field Goal Percentage.
The Toronto Raptors are just 10-16-3 Against the Spread in 2022-23, and only 5-9-1 as a home team. They rank just 25th in Adj. Net Rating and 19th in Defensive Efficiency. Both of these teams should be well rested heading into this match-up. I like the Nets to cover the one point spread on the Road (-110).
Indiana Pacers @ Cleveland Cavaliers @ 7:30 EST
Nick’s Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers, ATS -8 (-110)
The Cavaliers rank 2nd in the NBA in Adj. Net Rating. They’ve been one of the best teams in the NBA to start the season. The Indiana Pacers rank just 22nd, and it seems likely they’ve been overachieving. The Cavaliers are 16-11-2 Against the Spread this season and 11-2-1 Against the Spread this season as a Home team. The Pacers rank 22nd in Offensive Efficiency and 24th in Defensive efficiency. The Cavaliers rank 11th and 1st respectively.
The 8-point spread seems more than reasonable here. I like the Cavs to cover at Home.
Portland Trailblazers @ Dallas Mavericks @ 8:30 EST
Nick’s Pick: Game Total, Under 223 (-110)
The Dallas Mavericks rank 29th in the NBA in PACE. The Portland Trailblazers rank 28th.
The Mavericks have had issues offensively outside of their star PG, Luka Doncic. The Trailblazers rank 3rd in the NBA in length of possession and the Mavericks are right behind them ranking 2nd. I’m a bit surprised by the 223-point total here. Given the high total, I’ll comfortably back the Under (-110).
-Nick Marro
Twitter: @NickMarroDFS