The NBA season continues on Wednesday with six games on the evening slate. Our Action Network NBA betting experts are ready with their four best bets for tonight, featuring spread picks for each matchup.
Below, find their NBA best bets and expert picks for Wednesday!
NBA Best Bets Today | Expert Picks for Wednesday
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our NBA betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7:30 p.m. | |
  | 8 p.m. | |
  | 8 p.m. | |
  | 8:30 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NBA Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Bucks vs. Nets
Yesterday I bet the over on Cade Cunningham's points + assists prop for our Best Bets file, but accompanying that on the Action App, I played Pistons +6.5 with a sprinkle on Pistons moneyline.
The Nets gave them every opportunity, but as has been the case for now 27 games, the Pistons couldn't execute down the stretch, but the Nets didn't cover, winning by five thanks to a late 1-for-6 surge on free throws. Brooklyn is now 2-7 against the spread in their last nine after a hellacious 16-4-1 start to the season ATS. They just barely won in Detroit last night and are playing the Milwaukee Bucks, who just lost to the Knicks on Christmas.
Milwaukee has been in New York for longer than the Nets have, and in this unique scenario, I'll take them to win and cover, though they haven't been great against the spread as a road favorite (5-6) — Brooklyn, however, is 3-3-1 ATS as a home dog.
ESPN Bet Sportsbook is now another option to maximize your Bucks vs. Nets action. You can now use our ESPN BET promo code TANBONUS for a new user welcome.
Pick: Bucks -4
| | | |
Knicks vs. Thunder
New York has shown to be one of the better teams in the league. The question is whether it can take that next step when facing the top teams. In recent memory, OKC hasn't been a top team in the league, but it's managed to give New York fits in this series. The Thunder have won seven of the past 10 meetings outright and ATS.
Over the past six seasons, OKC has been the most profitable team for NBA spread bettors. According to our Action Labs database, the Thunder is 230-181-7 during that span for 34.34 units. While bookmakers have somewhat undervalued the Thunder, I'm unsure how this team continues to fly under the radar. They are one of three teams in the top 10 for offensive and defensive efficiency. Interestingly, the Thunder ranked 16th in both categories last season. Hence, this team has improved dramatically on both sides of the floor.
When facing teams with a winning percentage of .550 or better, the Knicks are just 4-9 ATS, and they've yet to cover consecutive games in this spot. Moreover, when facing a team with a winning percentage of .650 or better, New York is just 1-7 ATS. The Knicks put forth a max effort to end their skid against the Bucks. I'm not sure they have enough in the tank for another game against a quality opponent. It's worth noting that road underdogs are on a 0-5 ATS run when coming off a win against Milwaukee. I don't think that's a coincidence, given the effort required to beat this Bucks team.
After running the numbers, my model has the Thunder undervalued by the market yet again as I have Oklahoma City closer to a six-point favorite. I'll comfortably lay the 3 points at FanDuel and side with the home team.
Pick: Thunder -3
| | | |
Suns vs. Rockets
By Chris Baker
The Suns have been hearing all of the media criticism over the past few weeks and I fully expect them to come out with urgency here.
On top of the motivational factor, the Suns should be getting back Jusuf Nurkic here. Nurkic has been their most impactful player in terms of net-rating swing as the team is a massive +15.6 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor. Nurkic will be huge for this matchup as he has the strength to defend Alperen Sengun in the post.
Additionally, the Rockets will be without their best defender Dillon Brooks as Brooks suffered an oblique strain in yesterday’s game versus the Pacers. Brooks would have been very useful as a defender against Kevin Durant and Devin Booker here. The Rockets are also coming off a fast-paced loss to the Pacers so fatigue could certainly be an issue here as this a second night of a back-to-back for them.
Pick: Suns -3
| | | |
Cavaliers vs. Mavericks
By Alex Hinton
The first thing that stands out about this matchup to me is the injury report. There will quite a bit of star power on the sideline with Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Kyrie Irving on the mend. The Cavaliers may get Donovan Mitchell back tonight as he is questionable and Luka Doncic is questionable as well for Dallas. However, there were no questions about his game on Monday night.
Against the Suns, Doncic became the fourth player in NBA history to score 50 points on Christmas. For good measure, he also had six rebounds and 15 assists. While it was a virtuoso performance for most players, it was just par for the course for Doncic of late.
Since Irving went down at Portland on December 8th, Doncic is averaging 37.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 11.1 assists per game. In that span, the Mavericks are 5-3 in games that Doncic has played in and 5-4 overall. However, he has gotten more help of late than we are accustomed to seeing from the Mavericks when he does not have Irving- or Jalen Brunson.
This season, Tim Hardaway Jr. is averaging 17.6 points per game, the most he has averaged in his Mavericks tenure. Dante Exum is averaging 15.6 points per game in December. Additionally, against the Suns, Derrick Jones Jr. had 23 points and Dereck Lively II had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Lively II will be counted on to limit Jarrett Allen's impact.
The Cavaliers have been competitive without Mitchell, going 2-1 in his recent absence. However, the lone current playoff team they have faced in that stretch was the Pelicans and they lost by 19 points at home.
This is a play contingent on Doncic being in the lineup. However, if he is in, I like the Mavs whether Mitchell is in or not. Doncic has won three of his last matchups against Mitchell and the Mavericks are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 games.
Pick: Mavericks -2.5
| | | |
