NBA Best Bets Today | Friday, Dec. 22
The NBA regular season continues tonight with a six-game slate, and our NBA betting experts are ready with four best bets. They have totals, spread bets and player prop picks among their best bets for Friday, December 22 including bets for Nuggets vs. Nets, Mavericks vs. Rockets, Hawks vs. Heat and more. Find their best NBA bets for today below.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7:30 p.m. | |
  | 8:00 p.m. | |
  | 8:00 p.m. | |
  | 10:00 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. | ||
Nuggets vs. Nets
By Joe Dellera
This is the first game of a back-to-back road set for Denver before heading back home to host the Warriors on Christmas Day. The spread in a bit shorter in part because Denver has not been as good on the road as at home this year.
Jokic has a strong matchup against Claxton who is obviously a great defensive player but he's undersized compared to Joker. This has translated to huge rebounding games for Jokic. Over the last two seasons, Jokic has grabbed 20, 17, and 14 rebounds on an average of 24.3 Rebound Chances per game against Claxton, per NBA Advanced Stats.
Jokic has exceeded this line in 57% of games this season and I expect him to do so once again tonight.
Pick: Nikola Jokic Over 12.5 Rebounds
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Mavericks vs. Rockets
Even if you're a contrarian bettor, I'm not sure how you make a case for the Mavericks with so much of their scoring offense unavailable to play. It doesn't feel like this is one of those "next man up" situational spots.
However, this is professional sports so anything can happen.
If you're getting involved in this game, it might make sense to consider a same game parlay with the Rockets. Usually, I'd look to mix in a player I can isolate on the opposing team, like Tim Hardaway Jr., but sportsbooks have yet to post Mavericks' player props.
My reasoning for Hardaway is that since he ranks third in scoring (17.4 points per game) for the Mavericks, he's less likely to have the variance you might associate with some of the fringe players.
But since that option is unavailable, I'll have to load up on the Rockets for my parlay.
I've noticed that sportsbooks offer three-way moneylines that tend to have slightly better odds because they include the possibility of a tie. Bettors can take advantage of this option at PointsBet, where you can parlay the Rockets to have the lead at the end of the first quarter (-165), first half (-240) and the fourth quarter (-350).
This same game parlay results in +110 odds, which offers better value because of the possibility of an additional 10% return on my original stake.
Pick: Rockets 1Q ML / Rockets 1H ML / Rockets ML
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Hawks vs. Heat
By Alex Hinton
Herro has played just 10 games so far this season. However, in those games, he has scored at least 24 points six times. He scored 22 points in two other games and left another early due to injury. Since returning to the lineup, Herro has scored 25 and 28 points in his last two games.
We've had a lot of success targeting both for and against the Hawks this season and they present an elite matchup for Herro as well. The Hawks are giving 123 points per game and are 28th in the league in points allowed per game. They are allowing 13.5 3s on 38.5%, ranking 22nd in 3s allowed per game and 25th in 3-point percentage defense. It is worth noting that Herro has went over in just one of the last five meetings against the Hawks, but that came when he scored 26 points in his last game against them last April.
Volume is one of the things I like to target, particularly with points props, and Herro has never been shy once he gets his opportunity. He is averaging a career-high 18.7 field goal attempts per game and 7.2 3s per game. He is shooting 47.1% from the field and 41.7% from deep, both career-highs as well. Additionally, he is shooting nearly 91% at free throw line.
The Heat will need even more scoring from him with Jimmy Butler out tonight. At 23.6 points per game, we essentially need an average game from Herro here. However, he has also scored 30 and 35 points in two games this season. You can take Herro for 30 at +230 and 35 at +650.
Pick: Tyler Herro Over 23.5 Points
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Suns vs. Kings
By Chris Baker
The Suns rank 20th in adjusted defensive rating on the year and they’ve begun to lean more into their offense first approach with Grayson Allen and Eric Gordon receiving more minutes.
Josh Okogie hasn’t been in the lineup over their last few games and when he has been in the lineup he has only played limited minutes. Okogie and Jordan Goodwin are the Suns best perimeter defenders but their minutes have been trending down as they continue to provide next to nothing on the offensive end.
The five-man lineup of Eric Gordon, Grayson Allen, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Jusuf Nurkic has been absolutely elite offensively as they have a 130.0 offensive rating. They should have no issues scoring against this Kings defense that is completely devoid of competent perimeter defenders.
The Kings rank just 22nd in adjusted defensive rating on the year. The Kings don’t have great matchups for Devin Booker or Kevin Durant so I would expect both of these offenses to feast here.
Pick: Over 244.5
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