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 Saturday, January 25th. 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 25th
NBA Best Bets Today – January 25th
Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic – 7:00 pm ET
The fact that the Magic are available at this moneyline price means we’re ignoring a massive chunk of the season. I know Orlando hasn’t been great as of late, but that’s entirely because of the time Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs have missed. Well, we’re going to see at least Wagner and Banchero out there, and Suggs is questionable. So, I think we need to get back to treating the Magic like a top-10 team in the league pretty quickly. That said, I’m playing Orlando as a small home favorite against an average Detroit team. Even with everything the Magic have dealt with this year, they have a better adjusted net rating (-0.7) than the Pistons (-1.7). And while a lot has been made of Orlando’s mediocre offense, I believe the team will smother Detroit tonight. The Magic have the wing defenders you need to frustrate Cade Cunningham, and I don’t see a Jamahl Mosley-led team making too many off-ball mistakes on some of the Pistons shooters. So, I’m not sure Orlando’s offense needs to be all that good to win this one.
Bet: Magic ML (-130 – 1.5 units)
Utah Jazz at Memphis Grizzlies – 8:00 pm ET
This feels like too many points for a competitive Utah squad. The Jazz just played the Thunder extremely close in Oklahoma City, covering the spread for the eighth time in their last 10 games. Utah is now 15-9 against the spread when playing on the road this season, and we know Memphis is going to be missing some key pieces here. With that in mind, I’m not looking to overanalyze things. I’m grabbing the points with the Jazz, who are much better than people think. Over the last 10 games, they actually have a positive net rating (0.3). And with Utah having not played last night, you’re probably going to see most of the starters out there. That’s not always a given with a Jazz team that does a good job of quietly tanking.
Bet: Jazz +11.5 (-112)
Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Clippers – 10:30 pm ET
It seems like the Clippers will have Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac for tonight’s game, making it tough to understand why they’re not favored by a little bit more. The Clippers actually stack up favorably against the Bucks in adjusted net rating this season, as Los Angeles is at +3.4 and Milwaukee is at +2.7. That’s interesting considering how little we have seen the Clippers healthy. And things look even better for Los Angeles when talking about this game being at Intuit Dome. The Bucks have a net rating of just -2.4 on the road this season, while the Clippers have a home net rating of +7.9. I’m just not sure I trust Milwaukee to consistently produce good offense against a Los Angeles team that is second in the NBA in adjusted net rating (109.9). And with Leonard and Harden out there, I’ll never worry about the Clippers’ ability to generate offense in a half-court setting. Also, while I do credit Doc Rivers for some of the things he has done this season, I view this as a massive coaching mismatch. Ty Lue is one of the sport’s best X’s and O’s tacticians, so I expect Los Angeles to be more prepared than Milwaukee.
Bet: Clippers -2.5 (-108 – 1.5 units)
NBA Player Props Today – January 25th
Boston Celtics at Dallas Mavericks – 5:30 pm ET
The VSiN NBA prop bet analyzer shows that Derrick White has gone Over a total of 19.5 combined points, rebounds and assists in 30 of the 43 games he has played this season. That’s not all that surprising given how good the two-way stud has been all year. And I really have no idea why this total is so low, but I’ll admit that the low number is the only reason I’m not going bigger on this one. It almost feels like a trap. I know White just had three points, three rebounds and three assists in a loss to the Lakers, but what about the 20 points, six rebounds and four assists he had against the Clippers the night before? And how about the fact that he’s averaging 15.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, putting his nightly averages well Over tonight’s mark? Oh, and in last year’s NBA Finals, White averaged 13.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in the five-game series. That’s 21.2 combined points, rebounds and assists per game, and this game certainly won’t be played with the same intensity of those other five. He should do quite a bit of damage offensively — especially from 3. And he’ll chip in plenty with the little things. Let’s just hope he doesn’t chip another tooth.
Bet: White Over 19.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-115)
Additional Plays
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.
PARLAY: Pacers +7.5 Alt Spread vs. Spurs & Timberwolves +10.5 Alt Spread vs. Nuggets (-130 – 1.5 units) – I put this play up on the Pro Picks page this morning, as the Spurs game starts early and I knew I wouldn’t have time to write it up. But I’d simply be surprised if Indiana doesn’t bounce back against an inferior San Antonio squad. And I trust the Timberwolves to play well enough defensively to avoid a blowout against the Nuggets.
PARLAY: Nets +16.5 Alt Spread vs. Heat & Bulls ML vs. 76ers (+104 – 1.5 units) – I think the Nets have a shot at covering the normal number, but I’m giving myself some extra wiggle room in a two-leg parlay. Miami will probably come out with some intensity after a poor showing against Milwaukee, but this Brooklyn team is feisty. I’m putting a little trust in the Nets not to get blown out to get a better moneyline number on the Bulls. I like Chicago returning home after a rough performance against Golden State, and I love that Philadelphia is coming off an upset win over Cleveland. This is quite the letdown spot for the Sixers, who should find that defending this Bulls team is tougher than expected.
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2024-25 NBA Record: 202-195-2 (+5.93 units)
