The 2024-25 NBA season is in full swing. Make sure you check out the fantastic work of Jonathan Von Tobel, who will be writing NBA deep-dive features for us this year. And try to listen to A Numbers Game every morning, as Kelley Bydlon often dishes out his favorite NBA picks. But I’ll be giving out NBA best bets and player props here as often as possible, and I’ll also occasionally write up features on big news that shakes up the league. So, make sure you check out my work throughout the season. With that out of the way, let’s get into some NBA best bets and NBA player props for Friday, December 20th. Also, make sure you check out the picks page (linked right below) before games tip off. I occasionally add picks throughout the day.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on December 20th
NBA Best Bets Today – December 20th
Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat – 8:00 pm ET
This is a brutal scheduling spot for the Thunder. While the trip from Orlando to Miami is easy, this is the second night of a road back-to-back for Oklahoma City. The Thunder also had to play in the Emirates NBA Cup final just a couple of days ago, so they were working while everybody else was on vacation. Meanwhile, Miami is going to be hungry for a win after letting a game get away in Detroit earlier in the week.
The Heat also happen to be a good defensive team, so they’ll look to try and rattle the Thunder like the Bucks did in Las Vegas. Erik Spoelstra is as good as it gets as a head coach when it comes to preparation and game-by-game strategy, so he’ll surely watch that film and see what he can do to replicate the Milwaukee defensive performance. Some of it came down to poor shooting from Oklahoma City, but the Bucks were also contesting everything and forcing the Thunder into the types of looks they aren’t looking to regularly take. And for what it’s worth, one of Miami’s weaknesses this season is its 3-point defense. But Oklahoma City isn’t exactly the best team in the world when it comes to launching triples — especially with Chet Holmgren out. The Heat are also shooting the ball very well from 3 lately, so it isn’t out of the question that they’ll win the math battle tonight.
I also like some of the defensive matchups we’ll see here. Miami will feel good about Jimmy Butler and Haywood Highsmith defending Jalen Williams. And while the team doesn’t have much of an answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Heat will take their chances if they’re doing their jobs on everybody else. And Miami is one of the few teams in the league with a big man that can match the energy of Isaiah Hartenstein, as Bam Adebayo is a relentless player and will do everything he can to keep the Oklahoma City center from dominating the glass.
By the way, I mentioned this is a bad scheduling spot for the Thunder, but they’re just 9-14 straight-up when playing the second leg of a road back-to-back under Mark Daigneault. It’s a real issue for every team, and this one is no exception. Meanwhile, the Heat are 60-27 straight-up when playing with three or more days of rest, and their loss to the Pistons was on Monday.
Bet: Heat ML (+102 – 1.5 units)
NBA Player Props Today – December 20th
Charlotte Hornets at Philadelphia 76ers – 7:00 pm ET
LaMelo Ball has recorded a double-double with points and assists in three of his last five games. And in one of the two games in which he didn’t, he recorded a double-double with points and rebounds. Also, Ball just faced this Philadelphia team on December 16th, when he had 15 points and 11 assists in just 26 minutes of action. I just don’t think it’s crazy to think he’ll do it again, so I’m putting a little sprinkle on it at +190 odds. This game does have the potential to get out of hand, as the Sixers could get Joel Embiid back and they’re favored by double digits. But Ball is no stranger to putting up big numbers in losses. And overall, Philadelphia’s backcourt struggles to guard, so this is a good matchup for him.
Bet: Ball To Have Double-Double (+190 – 0.5 units)
Parlays/Teasers/Late Added Plays/In-Season Futures
Nothing yet.
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2024-25 NBA Record: 123-112 (+10.34 units)
