by AAA Sports
Sunday, Dec 24, 2023The NBA already has opened its Christmas present – the In-Season Tournament during which no stars suffered a major injury and the LeBron Lakers raising a trophy on national television – so it’s on to December 25 and the unofficial real start of the season. The 10 teams with the most hoop sex appeal will go at it in a smorgasbord of basketball before the hype machine takes a month off rather than fight the NFL playoffs, then we head into high gear again leading into the All-Star Game.
To the Christmas menu:
MILWAUKEE (-3.5) at NEW YORK – The Knicks will be trying to hang on while they hope against hope that C Mitchell Robinson will not be done for the season as New York continues to carve out a spot in Tier 2 of the Eastern Conference. The Bucks, meanwhile, are experiencing some major defensive problems after essentially replacing Swiss Army Knife Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard’s offense. Win now and worry about tomorrow tomorrow is Milwaukee’s motto, but when veteran teams start to fade (cough Golden State cough), there aren’t many alternatives.
INTERESTING BETTING NOTE: Bucks have been a solid over team this season
GOLDEN STATE at DENVER (-5.5) – Klay Thompson bristles when asked about the drop in production, and he has been better as of late. It needs to continue, with Draymond Green suspended until who-knows-when and the pressure on Steph Curry building even more. It’s beyond weird to see the Warriors below .500 and staring at a possible re-visit to the lottery, but here we are. The defending-champion Nuggets, meanwhile, appear to have shaken off some early-season issues and a few uneven performances by Nikola Jokic.
INTERESTING BETTING NOTE: At home, Denver is 11-2 SU and 7-6 ATS
BOSTON (-4.5) at LOS ANGELES LAKERS – LeBron James may take a few games off to rest his 39-year-old legs, but this is not likely one of them. LBJ has had some epic efforts against Boston, and this looks like a message-sending game in case that the two cornerstone franchises meet again in a playoff Finals that would answer a lot of dreams in the NBA offices. The Celtics have stayed at or near the top of the NBA with a powerful Front 6 as they deal with expected injuries to Kristaps Porzingis and Holiday’s slow assimilation. Boston rains 3s – sometimes they fall, occasionally they don’t.
INTERESTING BETTING NOTE: Jayson Tatum has only the 6th-best odds (+1600) to win the MVP Award
PHILADELPHIA at MIAMI (-1.5) – After escaping Toronto and getting rid of his James Harden migraine, Sixers HC Nick Nurse must feel like he’s been let out of jail. He has the 76ers on a pace to win 59 games – maybe or maybe not enough to overtake Boston but good footing heading into the playoffs. Casual fans used to seeing the ISO James Harden will be introduced to speedy Tyrese Maxey on Xmas Day. Miami’s modus operandi will remain unchanged – don’t fret too much about the regular season, get healthy for the playoffs and see if Jimmy Butler can carry them to a few series upsets.
INTERESTING BETTING NOTE: Jaime Jaquez Jr. is playing huge minutes for the Heat and is behind only favorites Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama in the Rookie of the Year odds. JJJ is at +5000.
DALLAS at PHOENIX (-5.5) – When having three veteran stars doesn’t move the needle, what’s the next step? Four? To be fair to the Suns, because of injuries, we haven’t really seen what the Durant-Booker-Beal Troika can do when firing on all cylinders. But Phoenix’s sluggish start is still a disappointment, and maybe a cautionary tale to teams chasing names. After 25 games this season, Brooklyn (which dumped Durant, Harden and Kyrie Irving) and Phoenix had each won 13. The Mavericks, strangely, have been better on the road than at home.
INTERESTING BETTING NOTE: Over players on the Mavericks have been able to cash regularly (18-10)
To the Christmas menu:
MILWAUKEE (-3.5) at NEW YORK – The Knicks will be trying to hang on while they hope against hope that C Mitchell Robinson will not be done for the season as New York continues to carve out a spot in Tier 2 of the Eastern Conference. The Bucks, meanwhile, are experiencing some major defensive problems after essentially replacing Swiss Army Knife Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard’s offense. Win now and worry about tomorrow tomorrow is Milwaukee’s motto, but when veteran teams start to fade (cough Golden State cough), there aren’t many alternatives.
INTERESTING BETTING NOTE: Bucks have been a solid over team this season
GOLDEN STATE at DENVER (-5.5) – Klay Thompson bristles when asked about the drop in production, and he has been better as of late. It needs to continue, with Draymond Green suspended until who-knows-when and the pressure on Steph Curry building even more. It’s beyond weird to see the Warriors below .500 and staring at a possible re-visit to the lottery, but here we are. The defending-champion Nuggets, meanwhile, appear to have shaken off some early-season issues and a few uneven performances by Nikola Jokic.
INTERESTING BETTING NOTE: At home, Denver is 11-2 SU and 7-6 ATS
BOSTON (-4.5) at LOS ANGELES LAKERS – LeBron James may take a few games off to rest his 39-year-old legs, but this is not likely one of them. LBJ has had some epic efforts against Boston, and this looks like a message-sending game in case that the two cornerstone franchises meet again in a playoff Finals that would answer a lot of dreams in the NBA offices. The Celtics have stayed at or near the top of the NBA with a powerful Front 6 as they deal with expected injuries to Kristaps Porzingis and Holiday’s slow assimilation. Boston rains 3s – sometimes they fall, occasionally they don’t.
INTERESTING BETTING NOTE: Jayson Tatum has only the 6th-best odds (+1600) to win the MVP Award
PHILADELPHIA at MIAMI (-1.5) – After escaping Toronto and getting rid of his James Harden migraine, Sixers HC Nick Nurse must feel like he’s been let out of jail. He has the 76ers on a pace to win 59 games – maybe or maybe not enough to overtake Boston but good footing heading into the playoffs. Casual fans used to seeing the ISO James Harden will be introduced to speedy Tyrese Maxey on Xmas Day. Miami’s modus operandi will remain unchanged – don’t fret too much about the regular season, get healthy for the playoffs and see if Jimmy Butler can carry them to a few series upsets.
INTERESTING BETTING NOTE: Jaime Jaquez Jr. is playing huge minutes for the Heat and is behind only favorites Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama in the Rookie of the Year odds. JJJ is at +5000.
DALLAS at PHOENIX (-5.5) – When having three veteran stars doesn’t move the needle, what’s the next step? Four? To be fair to the Suns, because of injuries, we haven’t really seen what the Durant-Booker-Beal Troika can do when firing on all cylinders. But Phoenix’s sluggish start is still a disappointment, and maybe a cautionary tale to teams chasing names. After 25 games this season, Brooklyn (which dumped Durant, Harden and Kyrie Irving) and Phoenix had each won 13. The Mavericks, strangely, have been better on the road than at home.
INTERESTING BETTING NOTE: Over players on the Mavericks have been able to cash regularly (18-10)
