Free NBA Betting Picks and Best Bets (1/26/24)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers! We have eight games on the NBA slate tonight to get your weekends started.

After a few recent bad outings, I was able to go 2-1 on my picks Wednesday. I'll totally admit I got lucky with Washington hitting a three to cover with 20 seconds left, but a win is a win. Milwaukee handled business, covering the 6.5 and ending Cleveland's win streak. The two play again tonight in Milwaukee with the same 6.5-point spread. I will not be making a pick for that game, but I'm curious to see how Cleveland responds. My only loss was the Thunder-Spurs first half-over. I'm not a fan of totals, and that being the only loss of the three just reiterated that sentiment.

In this article, I'll be providing my favorite picks against the spread, game totals, parlays, and teasers for the NBA slate that tips off at 7:00 p.m. EST on Friday, January 26. Follow me on Twitter/X, @Jwiesel13.

NBA Betting Picks: ML & Spreads

 Orlando Magic (-5) at Memphis Grizzlies (231 total)

This is a bit of a weird line. Memphis comes into this game winners of two straight. They recently picked up a win in Toronto as a 7.5-point underdog. Two days later, they went into Miami as an 11.5-point underdog and won. Meanwhile, Orlando hasn't played since Monday and got crushed 126-99 at home in their last game against the Cavaliers.

I'm going to bet against some Memphis regression here and take Orlando. They were just on the road, and this is their fourth game in six days. The Magic play a physical style and take a lot of shots late in the shot clock. That can slow a team like Memphis down but also tire them out by forcing them to defend late into the clock. Some may see Orlando's slower style as a plus for a Grizzlies team that could be tired, but I see it as a negative.

Orlando has struggled on offense recently. In January, they are only scoring 107.7 points per game. The 45.2 percent on-field goal attempts place them in the bottom seven. Three-point shooting is around league average, hitting 36.6 percent of their attempts. On drives to the basket in January, they are tied for last with the Washington Wizards. Thankfully, all that same information can apply to the Grizzlies offense.

Orlando is 3-0 ATS this season as an away favorite. Let's improve that to 4-0 tonight.

The Pick: Magic -5 (-110 DraftKings)

Oklahoma City Thunder (+1)  at New Orleans Pelicans  (239.5 total)

New Orleans is another team with a rest advantage that I'm backing. The Pelicans are coming off scoring a franchise record 153 points in a home win over the Jazz on Tuesday night. They shot 60/104 (58%) on field goal attempts and 23/46 from three. Oklahoma City is allowing the 20th-most three-point attempts in January. In their last 10 games, New Orleans is making 15.2 threes per game and shooting 43.3 percent. Only the Clippers have shot it better from deep in that 10-game sample.

Both of these teams have been putting up a lot of points and shooting similarly on field goal attempts. I can see three-pointers being a big difference here. I'm also factoring in that the Thunder play with one of the highest paces in the league, and this is their third game in four nights.

Oklahoma City has averaged the most points on drives in the NBA this season. New Orleans is good at defending the paint and also limits fast-break chances. The Pels don't play particularly fast, but they are in the top 12 in fast break points per game. If they sense some tired legs on the Thunder side, this team could decide to push pace and has shot it well from deep.

New Orleans is 14-9 ATS at home, and Oklahoma City is 13-8-1 ATS on the road. What the Pelicans did to the Jazz on Monday night was impressive; I'm going to roll with them here as small favorites.

The Pick: Pelicans ML (-112 FanDuel)

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NBA Betting Picks: ML & Spreads

Portland Trail Blazers (+3) at San Antonio Spurs (233.5 total)

The Portland Trail Blazers have put a little distance between them and the other worst teams in the NBA. After winning a thrilling overtime game in Houston on Wednesday night, Portland improved to 13-31. The Spurs dropped to 8-36 after getting crushed by the Thunder on Wednesday night.

I just prefer the talent on the Trail Blazers over San Antonio, and Portland is putting in a lot of effort in these games. I'm not going to shoehorn myself in for this whole game, so I like Portland in the first half. Jerami Grant (11.0) and Anfernee Simons (9.9) average more points in the first half than Victor Wembanyama (9.6) and Devin Vassell (9.2).

In their last three games in the first half, Portland is hitting seven threes and shooting 40.4 percent. Opponents are shooting 39 percent from three against the Spurs in the opening 24 minutes of games this season. I won't sit here and try to convince you that the Blazers have a good defense because they don't; they stink on that end.

This is more of a bet on guys like Jerami Grant, Simons, Malcolm Brogdon, and Deandre Ayton being better than the guys on the other side. I quietly like this Blazers team and was impressed with how they out-rebounded Houston in their last game.

The Pick: Blazers First Half +1.5 (-105 DraftKings)

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