The NBA has another excellent slate of basketball this Wednesday. So, our staff of basketball betting experts has looked over the latest odds and made five NBA picks for today's slate.
Continue below for our NBA predictions for Wednesday night, provided by the Buckets Podcast crew.
NBA Picks, Predictions, Expert Bets for Wednesday, January 15
Grizzlies vs. Spurs
Look for the Grizzlies to bounce back here after a close loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday night. Morant is really starting to elevate his play, and Jaren Jackson's size and versatility should work to neutralize Victor Wembanyama's inherent size advantage.
The Grizzlies will look to improve on their already impressive 14-6 ATS record at home this season. It's tough to see the Spurs keeping up in Memphis tonight, as the Grizzlies boast the league's fastest pace of play.
Pick: Grizzlies -3.5 (-110)
With fast pace comes lots of scoring. That's what the Grizzlies have been doing recently. They're averaging 122.9 points per game, which is the most in the league this year, and they've just hung 127 and 120 on Minnesota and Houston respectively, who are two of the more defensive-minded teams in the association.
The Grizzlies are 27-13 to the over on their team total this season. Look for Memphis to exceed this number tonight against San Antonio.
Pick: Grizzlies Team Total Over 119.5 Points (-125)
Heat vs. Lakers
This is a good spot to back the Lakers considering this will be the Heat's sixth and final game of a long West Coast road trip. With all the drama and speculation surrounding the team due to the Jimmy Butler fiasco, this team is ready to go home and put it behind them. The Heat were leading at halftime Monday night against the Clippers, but just ran out of gas in the second half.
On top of that, it's a great bounce back spot for a Lakers squad that's lost three straight. They should be able to take advantage of a tired Heat team that could be without team captain Bam Adebayo for a second straight game after falling hard on his back in Portland a few nights ago.
This is a prime spot for LeBron and Anthony Davis to get going. Back the Lakers here.
Pick: Lakers -3.5 (play up to 4.5) (-110)
Rockets vs. Nuggets
This is a good opportunity to bet the Rockets. The Nuggets are on the second night of a back-to-back after playing in Dallas last night. They flew back to Denver late last night after that contest, and have to fly out of Denver again to Miami to play the Heat on Friday night.
Not only are the Rockets the more rested team, but they're the better team between these two squads at this point in the season. Denver is a seasoned team that's looking to peak in April, whereas Houston has a young and spunky crew that will try to win night in and night out. Plus, Denver's stars – including Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray – could be given rest or on a pitch count on the back end of this back-to-back.
Back the Rockets and their stellar defensive play in this one.
Pick: Rockets -2.5 or Better (-110)
Celtics vs. Raptors
This is shaping up to be a high scoring affair for several reasons. First, the Celtics have had some issues defending teams that play with pace this season. Of their 11 losses, eight have come against squads who are in the top ten in terms of pace. Toronto currently sits at ninth.
On the other side of the ball, the Celtics lead the league in three pointers made and attempted on a per game basis, and the Raptors are pretty abysmal at guarding the arc. Toronto is allowing 43% made threes this season.
While the Raptors are not anywhere near contending for a spot in the playoffs, they are a formidable ATS team at home, with a 13-8 record. If the Raptors can keep this somewhat close and play with pace, this over has a good shot.
Pick: Over 229 Points (-110)
