The 2024-25 NBA season is in full swing. 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, January 10th. 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 January 10th
NBA Best Bets Today – January 10th
Sacramento Kings at Boston Celtics – 7:30 pm ET
De’Aaron Fox is questionable for tonight’s game, but that suggests to me that he’ll try to give it a go. And if Fox is out there, it’s hard to imagine Boston dominating Sacramento. I’m not all that high on this Kings team, but they are seventh in the league in adjusted offensive rating (114.6) this season. And in the six games they have played under interim head coach Doug Christie, Sacramento is eighth in the NBA in defensive rating (110.4). I don’t think Mike Brown was the problem for the Kings. In fact, I genuinely think he’s a good coach. But there’s no denying that Sacramento is playing hard for Christie, and that’s a big part of the reason I’m playing the Kings here. If you play hard against this Celtics team, you can stay within big numbers.
Boston is still the favorite to win the NBA championship this year, but the team has had trouble finding energy on a nightly basis. The Celtics are just 5-7 against the spread as home favorites of 6.5 to 12 points this year, and they’re also just 10-12-1 ATS as favorites of 10 or more.
Of course, the Celtics will have their whole rotation tonight. That hasn’t been common this season. But I don’t think that’s enough to expect Boston to boat-race this Sacramento team. The Kings should be confident coming into this thing on a five-game winning streak, and they’re also coming off three full days of rest.
Keep an eye on Domantas Sabonis in this one. Boston has a lot of talent when it comes to the big-man rotation, but the team has had some trouble defending around the basket this year. Sabonis can impact this game in a huge way if he plays with force.
Bet: Kings +11 (-110)
NBA Player Props Today – January 10th
Milwaukee Bucks at Orlando Magic – 7:00 pm ET
Paolo Banchero is coming off a lengthy injury layoff, so he might be on a bit of a minutes restriction here. However, Orlando isn’t going to shy away from putting the ball in Banchero’s hands as often as possible. The Magic have been desperate for offense in his absence, so he’s going to be thrown into the fire in terms of usage rate. And while I do like Banchero to get some buckets against Milwaukee, I also think he’s going to put a decent dent in the assists column. Before going down with an oblique injury, Banchero was averaging 5.6 assists per game and 11.0 potential assists per game. Sure, that was a small sample size, but Banchero was making good decisions with the basketball. I don’t see that changing the rest of the way, and I definitely don’t see it changing against the Bucks. Milwaukee still has a burnable defense, especially when it comes to defending off the ball.
Bet: Banchero Over 3.5 Assists (-125 – 1.5 units)
Additional Plays
PARLAY: Pelicans Alt Spread +7.5 vs. 76ers & Knicks Alt Spread +7.5 vs. Thunder (+130 – 1.5 units) – I looked into teasing this game, but I ultimately decided that I don’t even want an extra 5, 5.5 or 6 points. I just need a little more. So, I’m playing an alternate line parlay with two games I have strong leans on and couldn’t quite get there because I was looking for the key number of 5 in both.
With New Orleans, it’s just hard not to like the team to hang around with Zion Williamson on the floor. This is going to be a completely different team with the wrecking-ball forward out there, and this matchup is perfect for the Pelicans. With no Joel Embiid, Philadelphia won’t be able to take advantage of New Orleans being weakest at the center position. So, Yves Missi should make a big impact on this game — especially with Andre Drummond also out for the Sixers. And the Pelicans will also have the option of going to Williamson as a small-ball five, which could be the lineup that breaks Nick Nurse’s group here. I’m not sure Philadelphia will have a good answer for that. And overall, I also love that the Pelicans have Herb Jones to stick Paul George. As long as Tyrese Maxey doesn’t go for 40 or more, this should be a very close game. New Orleans might even win.
As for New York, we just saw the Knicks nearly beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City. New York unraveled a bit in the fourth quarter, as Oklahoma City went on a little run and the crowd got involved. That rattled the Knicks. But the opposite could happen this time around. Madison Square Garden is going to be eating this massive regular-season tilt up, and I believe the Knicks have what it takes to play another very close game. If Oklahoma City was at full strength, I’d trust in the Thunder to comfortably beat the Knicks on the road. But without the full suite of players, New York might have a little too much offensive weaponry. If the Knicks bring it defensively, who is going to step up and help Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams get this home? New York has good defensive options for both players, so somebody is going to need to step it up for the Thunder.
This is where I’ll include any late added plays, teasers/parlays or in-season futures. Come back before tip if you don’t want to miss anything. It’s always possible I’ll add something to my card.
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2024-25 NBA Record: 161-157-1 (+5.27 units)
