We have just four NBA games on this light Tuesday night, but that doesn’t mean we are without any drama. Headlining the action is the return of Ja Morant for the Memphis Grizzlies, but we’ve also got a Phoenix Suns team now down a major player, a Milwaukee Bucks squad playing the Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs, and what would be a night of drama without the Golden State Warriors hosting the best team in the NBA? Maybe it’s the Boston Celtics handing Golden State another home loss or the Spurs shocking the Bucks, but either way — there’s plenty of action for a Tuesday night. Here are the best NBA side and total bets for Tuesday, December 19.
Best NBA Bets Today: +EV NBA Side and Total for Dec. 19
Best NBA Side: Suns (-7) at Blazers
Phoenix announced Bradley Beal will miss a couple of weeks with an ankle injury, already souring a season without much of their Big Three — at least not together. The Suns are still with some talent; Kevin Durant is averaging 30 a night and Devin Booker is chipping in 28 per contest. That’s still a lot of scoring coming from two superstars, something the Blazers can’t stop or even slow down.
The Suns are just 10-15-1 ATS this year despite sitting two games above .500 at 14-12. They are in a solid buy-low spot as a talented team still trying to figure out a broken identity, primarily due to injury. Don’t think for a second there’s any home-court advantage for the Blazers, not even hovering around the main key number of seven.
Most books have this game lined at 7.5, but thanks to OddsShopper’s tools, we can easily find the -7 still out there for the Suns. That’s great news for anyone backing the Suns, as Portland is just 3-8 ATS at home, failing to cover by an average of 9.5 points per game. Look for Portland to lose its eighth straight game tonight and by more than 7 points.
Best NBA Side Bet: Suns -7 -110 at PointsBet
OddsShopper’s betting model reveals a pricing disparity in the odds for tonight’s Spurs-Bucks game: FanDuel has Zach Collins under 24.5 points, rebounds and assists at odds of -122, below the true odds of -134 and the odds of -125 — for the 23.5! — at Pinnacle, a sharp book. The model tells us that the under is a +EV Bet — and it’s one a bettor with a $1,000 bankroll should put $23 on. For the rest of our model’s projections, subscribe to OddsShopper Premium!
Best NBA Total: Spurs at Bucks O/U 250
The hype will have to wait tonight in Milwaukee as San Antonio will be without Victor Wembanyama due to an ankle injury. There isn’t much left on this Spurs team, which is one of the worst in the NBA. They don’t have nearly enough ammo to keep up with Milwaukee despite the Bucks insisting on giving up nearly 120 points per game. Just because defense has been optional at times for the Bucks doesn’t mean the Spurs are good enough to take advantage.
In fact, it’s probably the opposite. Another possession or two for San Antonio isn’t going to mean the difference between them scoring 82 or 100 points.The Bucks certainly struggle on the defensive end this year. Without San Antonio’s top kid, it’s hard to see where the Bucks get bit by the Spurs. This total has ballooned to 250, making it a great spot for us to buy the under with the Bucks 18-8 to the over this year. Fade this offensively challenged Spurs team.
Best NBA Total Bet: Under 250 -110 at DraftKings
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