NBA basketball is a Christmas Day staple. Five games will take place on this year’s holiday slate. There are a lot of exciting betting opportunities for the five holiday contests.
Here are three teams that should cover on Christmas Day.
New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat
Best Bet: Heat (-5)
New Orleans and Miami competed in the preseason, and Miami took the game by a score of 114-92. I know that was preseason basketball, so you must take that game for what it’s worth. However, Miami is five points better than New Orleans when the stars for each franchise take the court.
Miami lost in the NBA Finals earlier this year to the Los Angeles Lakers. This team is hungry to prove to the league that it is good enough to win a title.
I think the Heat will cover -5 with a lot of room to spare. The Heat are led by Jimmy Butler, who averaged 20 points per game last season. Butler is the team leader and the main reason the Heat are at the top of the league.
Butler brings a level of grit that can’t be matched by many opposing players in the NBA. The Pelicans have the ability to score points. They were fifth in the league last season in points per game.
Nevertheless, defense is not a strong suit for the Pelicans. Last season, the team was 27th in the NBA when it came to points allowed per game.
Miami is much stouter in the backcourt. This is what separates it from the Pelicans, and it will allow it to cover -5.
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Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Lakers
Best Bet: Lakers (-6)
The Los Angeles Lakers are the defending champions of the NBA. They took down the Heat in the Finals this past fall and went 4-0 in preseason play. However, they were defeated in their regular-season opener by the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Lakers fell apart in the second half, and they couldn’t defend Paul George. George scored 26 points in the second half to propel the Clippers to an underdog victory over the Lakers.
The Lakers were sloppy all night. They’re a better team than what they displayed on Tuesday.
The Lakers are a six-point favorite on Christmas Day against the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers will need to tighten up their defense to cover against Dallas.
LeBron James is listed as day-to-day, but he’s expected to play on Christmas. The Mavericks will be without Kristaps Porzingis, which will hurt the team’s ability to score.
Porzingis is the do-all player for Dallas, so his presence will be missed. The Lakers need to bounce back in a big way. They’ll do this by covering -6 on Christmas at home.
LA Clippers at Denver Nuggets
Best Bet: Clippers -1
The Clippers made a statement on Tuesday night when they took down the defending champs of the NBA. The Clippers defeated the Lakers 116-109 on opening night.
This made them 1-0 on the season and 1-0 ATS to start the year. The Clippers looked strong against the Lakers.
The Clippers seemed to hit their rivals on an off night. Despite this, they outplayed the Lakers in most phases of the game.
George will need to have another big night on Christmas for the team to cover. He dropped 33 points against the Lakers.
Denver doesn’t have the firepower to go shot for shot with the Clippers if Los Angeles starts rolling.
Denver is led by Nikola Jokic. Everything on the court is connected to Jokic in some capacity. If the Clippers can contain the 7-foot center, they win with ease.
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