RADIO
After a Thursday night of only two games, we are back with a full NBA slate Friday night. There are 13 games and 26 teams in action tonight across the association.
Continuing with the theme this season, I'll be targeting a few games and taking my best swing. On Wednesday night, I swept the board with my three straight picks, money line parlay, and teaser. I hope to recreate those results tonight.
In this article, I'll be providing my favorite picks against the spread, game totals, parlays, and teasers for games that tip off at 7:00 PM EST on Friday, December 8. Follow me on Twitter @Jwiesel13.
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NBA Betting Picks: Spreads & ML
Atlanta Hawks (+8) @ Philadelphia 76ers (242 total)
The Sixers come into this game off of a win in Washington on Wednesday night. Joel Embiid scored a season-high 50 points in the contest. Atlanta lost a close game at home to the Nets on Wednesday and has lost four of its last five games.
Atlanta may not be good at finishing games, but my play is on them in the first half.
In the last 10 games, the Hawks are first in first-half points per game at 64.0. This is five more than the Sixers' average of 59.1. Atlanta is shooting 48.5 percent on their field goals, which is around 15th in the league. From three, they hit nearly eight per first half. They are hitting 42.2 percent of their attempts, second only to the Brooklyn Nets. I also like that the Hawks average a lot of shots early in the shotclock; they give themselves opportunities to score and average the most field goal attempts.
The Hawks are a top-eight team in points off turnovers; Philly is a bottom-six team in allowing them.
Philly has scored less and shot lower percentages than Atlanta in the first half in the last 10 games.
In terms of defense, Atlanta is 28th, allowing 63.1 points in the first half. The Sixers aren't far behind, allowing 59.7 points, 23rd in the NBA. Teams are also shooting 51.4 percent against the Sixers compared to 48.8 percent against the Hawks.
These two teams played in Atlanta on November 17. The first half ended with the Sixers up 57-56. I would gladly take that score right now. Jalen Johnson is hurt for the Hawks, but I still like them to cover this number in the opening 24 minutes.
The Pick: Hawks First Half +5.5 (-120 FanDuel)
New York Knicks (+6.5) @ Boston Celtics (220.5 total)
I love my Knicks, but this feels like a bounce-back spot for Boston.
Both teams come into this game off of losses. The Knicks watched Milwaukee put up 146 points in a 146-122 defeat Tuesday night. Boston watched Indiana go on a late run Tuesday night to knock them out of the In-Season Tournament.
Boston has been great at home this season. In TD Garden, they are 9-0 and 6-3 ATS. The Knicks are 7-4 ATS on the road but just 2-4-1 ATS as away underdogs.
At home, the Celtics are averaging the fourth-most points (123.0) in the NBA. They are also shooting 50.2 percent on their field goal attempts, second behind Denver. The C's lead the NBA in home three-pointers made per game (17.3) and three-point percentage (40.6%).
The Knicks have been pretty pedestrian on the road. They are 16th in scoring (111.3) and only make 44.7 percent of their field goals. New York has been a decent three-point shooting team, and if you want to knock the Celtics on anything, it's their three-point defense.
Boston has been allowing opponents to hit 13.1 three-pointers per game in TD Garden this season. This is right around the Knicks' average of 13.2 on the road. The Celtics have still only given up 105.4 points per game, which is the fifth-best of any home team.
The last time these teams played in Boston on November 13, Jayson Tatum & Co. won 114-98. Kristaps Porzingis has been out for the Celtics but will play tonight against his former team. KP has averaged 25.5 points on 57.7 percent shooting in two games against the Knicks this season.
The Pick: Celtics -6.5 (-115 PointsBet)
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NBA Betting Picks: Game Totals
Chicago Bulls (-2.5) @ San Antonio Spurs (225.5 total)
I'm going back to a first-half bet here with the under.
The Bulls are dead last in the NBA in points per game on the road in the first half. They average 49.0 points and hit 41.1 percent of their field goals. Chicago is tied for eighth in first-half road threes, and they do shoot the fourth-best percentage. I'm not too worried about the Bulls lighting it up from deep in the first half. San Antonio isn't great at defending the three, but they aren't awful.
Also, keep in mind that the Bulls just lost Zach LaVine for a number of weeks. LaVine has been averaging 10.9 first-half points on the road this season, which is tops for the Bulls.
San Antonio has been okay in the first half at home this season, scoring 58.0 points. That's still only 17th in the NBA, and they shoot an uninspiring 47.3 percent on their field goals. The Spurs are in the top 10 in threes made per game but fall closer to 15th in percentage.
The loss of the aforementioned Zach LaVine will only help the Bulls' defense. LaVine had a career-worst 115.7 defensive rating before getting hurt. It's no surprise that in the three games LaVine has been out, the Bulls' first-half defense has looked better. For reference, they have been giving up 7.2 threes and 54.6 points. In the last three games, those numbers have dropped to 5.0 threes and 53.3 points.
Gregg Popovich's team really hasn't been that bad at home in the opening two quarters. The Spurs are allowing 55.2 points, which is tied for the 12th-best in the league.
According to EV Analytics, the Bulls are 9-13 to the under in the first half this season. San Antonio is an even 10-10.
The Pick: Spurs-Bulls First Half Under 111.5 (-110 FanDuel)
Favorite ML Parlay: TOR + BRK + BOS (+163 DK)
Favorite Teaser: ATL +13.5 - UTA +13 (-110 FD)
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