NBA Situational Sports Betting Tips December 18-24, 2017
Date 17th Dec 2017
Author Adam Burke
Last Updated: 2017-12-17
NBA situational December 18-24 Every team in the NBA has Sunday off before the marquee games on the Christmas holiday, but we’ve got six long days to get through before that point. The scheduled is really condensed before Sunday’s day off, with three games in four days for a lot of teams Wednesday through Saturday and a good number of teams playing four games in six days.
Opportunities should be present across the league to play on these situational betting spots. We’ll be looking to take advantage of them, as we have throughout the season, but they may carry a little bit of extra weight this week. Unlike the NHL, though, with a three-day break that allows all players to be with their families, Sunday may simply end up being a travel day for teams, so the one-day break isn’t as big of a look-ahead in the NBA as it is in the NHL.
Keep that in mind as we look at the NBA situational betting spots for the week ending December 24:
Monday December 18
New York Knicks at Charlotte Hornets – The Knicks took advantage of a Thunder team in a horrible spot for Saturday’s game and now they’re in a bad spot of their own on Monday. The Knicks are dealing with an injured Kristaps Porzingis. They’ll have to head down to Charlotte for a standalone road game coming out of that huge win against former friend Carmelo Anthony. Charlotte is in the midst of a long homestand, which hasn’t gone well for them, but this spot is a good one and their recent results should keep this line low for us.
Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers – The Pacers are a play-on team on Monday. Boston has been terrific in back-to-backs and scored that big road cover and win against Memphis. Against the Pacers in this spot, Boston may be in line for a little bit of a letdown. After all, this is a stretch of six games in nine nights for Boston. The Pacers are playing their third game in four nights and could be in a tough spot with a back-to-back with travel off of a game against Brooklyn, but that could also lead to a solid bounce back spot. The Pacers have been playing really well of late.
Los Angeles Clippers at San Antonio Spurs – The Clippers are a really, really bad roster right now. San Antonio got rolled by Houston on Friday and narrowly topped the Mavericks on Saturday. This is a get right game for the Spurs. They should hang a number on the Clippers here. This is the last game of a long road trip for the Clippers, but they will only get to stop home for one day. This is a run of six games in nine days for them and they are getting buried in the standings and by the schedule. Facing the Spurs is more of a daunting task than a welcomed challenge.
Portland Trail Blazers at Minnesota Timberwolves – Like the Clippers, the Trail Blazers are wrapping up a long trip. Unlike the Timberwolves, the Clippers are actually a decent team. The Timberwolves have had a hard time really getting on track of late. Portland has played well on this road trip, but it’s fair to wonder if they can rally one more time in this spot to wrap things up. Minnesota has enjoyed a nice long homestand and should clearly be the fresher team in this one. With a visit from the Spurs on Wednesday when Portland gets home, there may be a little bit of a look-ahead to a good night’s sleep at home and a big home game.
Philadelphia 76ers at Chicago Bulls – The Bulls are horrid, as we know, but Monday’s spot isn’t a bad one for them. The 76ers are coming off of that three-overtime thriller against the Thunder and have a home game against Sacramento on Tuesday, which means we probably won’t see Joel Embiid. The Bulls aren’t good, but this looks like a schedule loss for a young team trying to learn how to win.
Tuesday December 19
Cleveland Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks – Tuesday’s light schedule doesn’t feature a whole lot of great betting spots. The Cavs are playing their fourth game in six days against a Milwaukee team coming in with two days rest, so they may be the preferred side here, but the Cavs have been playing well and enjoy slapping down those would-be challengers in games like this. It wouldn’t be a shock to see them do it again.
Sacramento Kings at Philadelphia 76ers – It should be all systems go on the Sixers on Tuesday night, especially if Monday’s game against the Bulls goes poorly. The Kings are in the midst of a lengthy road trip and will wrap it up in Brooklyn on Wednesday, so it is a back-to-back. Road-weary and lacking depth, the Kings are not in good shape here. We’ll see what shape the Sixers are in and can react accordingly.
Wednesday December 20
Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder – The gauntlet was thrown down for Utah last Friday. This run of games features the Celtics, Cavaliers, Rockets, Thunder, Spurs, and Thunder before the Christmas Eve day off. This is the fourth game in six nights and all of them have been on the road. Utah entered this week having lost five of six, with the lone win in Boston. Oklahoma City knocked off Utah not that long ago, so this is a little bit of the Rapid Revenge Theory, but that spot truly comes later this week when the Jazz host the Thunder. In this spot, it’s really hard to do anything but take OKC.
Sacramento Kings at Brooklyn Nets – Obvious spot is obvious here. The Nets host the Kings on a back-to-back before they head home for two days off and one more game before Sunday’s off day. The Nets have two days off before this one. This looks like a “name the score” type of game and it’s Brooklyn or nothing.
Miami Heat at Boston Celtics – Could this be a flat spot for Boston? Miami comes to town on a little two-game road trip and the Heat may want to see how they stack up with one of the best in the East. The Celtics take on the Knicks the next night on TNT, so there’s a little bit of a look-ahead angle to be had here in this one. Miami will be catching a healthy number and they are worth a look in this situation.
Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks – Speaking of flat spots, this looks like one for Indiana on Wednesday night. The lowly Hawks aren’t much, which is why this is a tough one coming off of three games in four nights with Detroit, Brooklyn, and Boston. The fourth game in six nights as a road favorite against an inferior opponent seems like a really tricky spot to back a team. The Hawks plus the points will interest me on Wednesday night.
Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Clippers – The Suns have a really good shot at grabbing a road win in this one. The Clippers stop home from a long road trip with a standalone home game and then head right back out on the NBA highway again. This feels like a real throwaway game for a team with some serious problems and the Suns have a chance to secure a nice victory. They do have a night off in LA prior to the game, which could throw that hope for a loop, but the spot looks pretty interesting.
Thursday December 21
San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz – The Jazz return home off of a grueling four-game trip, but it doesn’t happen under the best conditions. The San Antonio Spurs are in town. On the other hand, the Spurs have a tough back-to-back from Portland to Salt Lake City. This is the fifth game in seven days for the Spurs and they’re just trying to get back to normal with Kawhi Leonard. The Jazz are also playing their fifth game in seven nights. All of these angles create a challenging handicap, so it’s best to stay away.
Toronto Raptors at Philadelphia 76ers – This is the start of a home-and-home set between Eastern Conference contenders. This one is a back-to-back for Toronto with a flight in from Charlotte in the early morning hours. The NBA requires teams to be in the city that they play the night before, so Toronto will get in very early. Philadelphia is playing a third game in four days, but has Wednesday off. They’re the side to look at in this one.
Friday December 22
New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons – The Pistons’ good fortune at Little Caesars Arena should continue in this one, as the Knicks are in a pretty terrible spot. This is a standalone road game with a back-to-back off of playing the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. The Pistons are home from Thursday’s off day until the following Thursday, so they’ll enjoy the comforts of home for a little while. Detroit has been great in the new barn and should continue that trend here against a tired Knicks team that probably won’t be very invested.
Charlotte Hornets at Milwaukee Bucks – We’ve got another home-and-home set to consider here, but this one is a back-to-back between the Hornets and Bucks. Charlotte’s standalone road game portion of this set comes on Friday and Milwaukee’s comes on Saturday. The Hornets are not playing well and they have been awful at home. The Bucks have two days off to either lick their wounds from the Cavs game or avoid the letdown of a victory. That puts them in a real juicy spot here. You’ll be laying a number, but it looks like the right side.
Los Angeles Clippers at Houston Rockets – Hide the women and children. Don’t let them see this carnage. This game should be a bloodbath for the home favorites. The Clippers stopped home momentarily and then hit the road again for a back-to-back before the break. The Rockets have a day off prior to this one and two days off after this one. This is a true “name the score” type of scenario and the Rockets can pad their stats a little bit against Chris Paul’s former team with him in the lineup.
Atlanta Hawks at Oklahoma City Thunder – We should have a barking dog in this one, solely because of the spot for OKC. The Hawks are the sandwich game between matchups against Utah, a divisional foe. Atlanta does host a winnable game on Saturday, so this spot isn’t ideal for them, but the Thunder will be tasked with covering a very large number here. Even though this is a standalone road game for Atlanta, they should come with some sort of effort here. If they come with any effort at all, they should be able to cover.
Saturday December 23
Milwaukee Bucks at Charlotte Hornets – The Rapid Revenge Theory is clearly in play here for the loser of Friday’s game, which will probably be Charlotte. The Bucks need to bank wins, so it may not matter a whole lot. Milwaukee returns home and hosts a couple games out of Sunday’s off day, so there’s a lot to like in that regard. We’ll have to see how much recency bias influences the line because the Bucks project to be the right side in both games.
San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings – The Kings might be able to cover this home number against the Spurs. This is the last of three games in four nights and six games in nine nights for the Spurs, who have to be eager to get home and get situated. Teams usually throw their best shots at the Spurs, so the Kings should be in line for a positive effort here. If that’s the case, what is San Antonio’s incentive to cover a healthy number on the road? I don’t see one.
Philadelphia 76ers at Toronto Raptors – The Raptors return home for a Rapid Revenge Theory spot of their own against the 76ers. Toronto isn’t in a great spot for Thursday’s game. If things shake out as expected, they’ll be in a premier bounce back spot with a good home court advantage on Saturday. Hopefully the line isn’t too high because I’ll be looking to hit the Raptors heading into the off day.