NBA Betting Expert Picks for Wednesday (1/8/20)

The Rockets and Hawks represent a matchup of contrasts. Houston is still trending upward in the West as always while Atlanta is currently the worst team in basketball with an 8-29 mark. Houston has won two straight and seven of their last ten. 

The Hawks come in losers of eight of their previous ten contests and allow 117.3 points per game. Houston allows nearly 114 points per game on the road. It is partly why the over/under has been pushed up so much here. 

However, this will not be as easy as it looks. Atlanta is 4-13 straight up at home on the season but is 9-8 ATS at home while Houston is just .500 at 9-9 ATS on the road. That just seems to make some hesitant. However, giving up eight points to Atlanta is not terrible. It's even better when one considers that the Hawks have been outscored by 9.8 points per game this year and that number jumps into double-digits at home recently. The over still looks good but if this goes much above 236, then stick with the spread. 

The Jazz is hitting all the right notes during a six-game winning streak and is winners of nine of their last ten. That includes going 4-1 ATS in their last five. Utah overall is just 8-8 ATS at home while New York is a slightly better 11-9 on the road. The Knicks have played better of late even if the record has not shown to be so. New York is 3-2 ATS in their previous five contests even though they have lost three consecutive games. 

One might be inclined to look at that over and again that is enticing. However, with two middle-paced teams (they are tied for 18th in the NBA) facing each other, this game could be inconsistent offensively. The spread is not that safe either but sometimes one just has to get bolder with the picks here. If the spread goes back to 11, then Utah is our pick. If not, take the Knicks at +12.5 as that is too high of a number to pass up.

The most prudent thing is to take the under on Wednesday night. It could be a closer game than expected and Utah could be due for a bit of a flat first-half performance.

It is safe to say that Milwaukee has just rolled along over the last ten games -- going 8-2 in that span. They are an astonishing 14-4 on the road and have outscored opponents by a whopping 11.9 points per game. Golden State is just back to meandering again as they have dropped five straight after a stretch where they won four of five.

The first half over/under was pondered. On the other hand, this game could turn hot in the second half. The overall over/under carries some intrigue here as it is only 220. That is a reasonable number. Some sites even trended closer to 222 for a bit but that has backed off some. Does it get back to that number later? That remains a question.

However, the safest bet on Wednesday here is likely the over. Consider that Golden State has been outscored overall by a margin of just 7.8 points per contest. That number drops to around six points a night since December 18th. There is some risk given that Golden State is just 8-10 ATS at home given their start and Milwaukee is 10-8 on the road ATS. On the other hand, Golden State could be a late hammer if the number stays near +13.5.  If this gets to +12 or less, then stick with the over at 220 as a solo bet.