Free NBA Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (1/18/22)

We have nine NBA games tonight on which to wager, and I'm geared up for it after a solid slate last Friday and some decent success already this week. My only bet last night was on the Sixers and they pulled it off as slight underdogs. Player props have been going strong now for a while and continue to be where I get most of my action. But I'm still doing daily spread and total projections and trying to find 2-3 spots every slate where I can find an edge.

I'm only picking sides and totals in this article three days a week, so consider subscribing to my sports betting substack here as I put out some DFS stuff and props on most evenings from Monday through Friday, too. Props have been hot lately, too!

In this article, I'll be providing my favorite picks against the spread, game totals, parlays, and teasers for NBA games that tip-off at 7:30 PM EST on Wednesday, January 18th. Let's take a look at the games that I am targeting with wagers tonight in the NBA!

Thunder Dan's NBA Best Bets

• 2022-2023 Overall Record: 90-101-1
• Against the Spread: 42-49-1
• Game/Team Totals: 11-23
• Moneyline Parlay: 13-19
• Teasers: 22-9

NBA Betting Picks: Against the Spread

Sacramento Kings (-4.5) @ Los Angeles Lakers (240 total)

So in the time that it took me to finish my research and wait for all the game totals to come out, this line moved another full point towards the Kings, which bums me out because I loved them at -3.5, but apparently so did a bunch of other bettors, too.

I think they're still a good bet here at -4.5, though, they're playing well right now and they've been a solid team ATS all season, covering 58% of the time.

The Lakers got the best of Sacto in their last meeting, beating them 136-134 in Sacramento. But the Kings won the first meeting handily and are still the better, deeper squad. The Lakers picked up a win against Houston their last time out and have played admirably of late without Anthony Davis, but they're almost entirely dependent on LeBron James and Russell Westbrook carrying them with huge games on a nightly basis.

The Lakers also offer little to no resistance on defense this year and they are winning games only when they're scoring 130 points a night in these shootouts. I just think Sacramento is such a better, more well-rounded squad with Sabonis, Fox, Barnes, and Huerter all playing well and Keegan Murray and Trey Lyles alternating big games as their fifth scoring option. I don't love laying all these points on the road, but I think the Kings can cover here and the Lakers run out of steam eventually.

The Pick: Kings -4.5  (-110)

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Indiana Pacers (+4) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (240 total)

This is a battle between two of the more surprising teams in the league this year in that no one really expected either team to win as many games as they already have. The difference here for me is that the recent trends for each team have been heading in opposite directions.

The Pacers have dropped four straight games since losing their young star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and while they have a solid core of young talent behind him, it's clear that they miss his scoring and play-making abilities.

Meanwhile, OKC has won five of their last six games and they didn't come against pushovers either. In that stretch, they defeated Chicago, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Dallas while their only loss was to Miami by one point.

OKC continues to be the best team in the league at covering the spread and while they're more of an automatic play for me as the underdogs, I think they're still a strong bet today as slight favorites. They should be favored by 6-7 points here by my calculations and I think they can create some separation here in this one and cover this spread with another big win at home.

The Pick: Thunder -4 (-110)

NBA Betting Picks: Parlays and Teasers

MONEYLINE PARLAY

OKC + SAC + DEN = (+219 DK)

FAVORITE UNDERDOG TEASER (buying 4.5 points)

ATL +8, NOP +6, WAS +10.5 = (+150 DK)

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