NBA Best Bets Today: Free Picks for New Year's Day

NBA Best Bets Today: Free Picks for New Year's Day

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

For the latest NBA Odds, including NBA Futures and NBA player props, visit RotoWire's NBA Betting page. We also have betting tools like Historical NBA Odds and ATS Standings. For up-to-date NBA player news and NBA Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NBA Lineups page.

Not sure where to bet? Check out our information on NBA Betting Apps and NBA Betting Sites.

If you play fantasy basketball, check out RotoWire's NBA Fantasy Advice and helpful tools like our Current Fantasy Basketball Rankings and NBA DFS Lineup Optimizer.

Best Bets

Tyrese Haliburton over 25.5 points (-115) at Bucks

FanDuel, 3:20 PM CT

Alex Barutha: Haliburton has gone over this mark in 12 of his 28 appearances, and twice in three regular-season games against Milwaukee this season. The Bucks allow the most points to pick and roll ballhandlers (22.6), while Haliburton has scored 11.0 of his 24.6 PPG as a P&R ballhandler. This is also expected to be one of the highest-scoring games of the year, with the over/under sitting at 261.0 points.

Damian Lillard over 25.5 points (-105) vs. Pacers

BetMGM, 3:24 PM CT

Alex Barutha: The logic for taking Lillard's over is the exact same as Haliburton's. The Pacers allow the second-most points to pick-and-roll ballhandlers (22.1), and Lillard scores 10.6 of his 25.9 PPG as a P&R ballhandler. He's only averaging 22.5 PPG in two regular-season appearances against Indiana this season, but I'll lean on the process here with such a talented scorer in a great situation.

Fred VanVleet over 19.5 points (-112) vs. Pistons

FanDuel, 3:28 PM CT

Alex Barutha: Congrats to the Pistons on winning a basketball game, but they're still bad, and I'm still targeting their backcourt defense. They allow the third-most points to pick-and-roll ballhandlers (21.4), and VanVleet scores 40.2% of his points in that playtype. FVV has gone for 20+ points in 11 of his 29 appearances.

Michael Porter Jr. over 2.5 threes (-130) vs. Hornets

FanDuel, 3:42 PM CT

Alex Barutha: Porter has been inconsistent lately, averaging only 13.2 PPG on 41/48/75 shooting in 29.8 minutes, but he's still launched 6.2 threes per game during this stretch. This is an excellent opportunity for him, as 36.7% of his points come as spot-up makes, and the Hornets are allowing the third-most points off spot-ups in the NBA (33.1). Last time these teams played, Porter went 5-for-8 from distance.

RotoWire Community
Join Our Subscriber-Only NBA Chat
Chat with our writers and other RotoWire NBA fans for all the pre-game info and in-game banter.
Join The Discussion
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Friday, December 13
NBA DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Friday, December 13
NBA Player Props and Picks Today: Bets for Friday, December 13
NBA Player Props and Picks Today: Bets for Friday, December 13
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Who to Add for Week 9
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Who to Add for Week 9
NBA DFS Picks: FanDuel Lineup Plays and Strategy for Friday, December 13
NBA DFS Picks: FanDuel Lineup Plays and Strategy for Friday, December 13
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Week 9 Streaming Targets
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Week 9 Streaming Targets
NBA Fantasy Waiver Wire: Six Players Ready To Step Up
NBA Fantasy Waiver Wire: Six Players Ready To Step Up