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 Tuesday, January 28th. 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 28th
NBA Best Bets Today – January 28th
Los Angeles Lakers at Philadelphia 76ers – 7:30 pm ET
Los Angeles wasn’t able to step on Charlotte’s throat last night. The Lakers led by as many as 23 points in the game, but they ended up winning by only five. The fourth quarter ended up being incredibly tense, and four of Los Angeles’ starters played at least 36 minutes. Fatigue now becomes a factor against a Philadelphia team that has won two straight games and hasn’t played since Saturday.
Of course, this isn’t a Sixers team that comes into this primetime game with its normal rotation. But nothing is ever normal for Philadelphia, so nothing is all that surprising here. The Sixers continue to be without Joel Embiid, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury. The team also has Paul George, Caleb Martin, KJ Martin and Andre Drummond out for tonight. And Jared McCain is out for the season, so we won’t be seeing the talented rookie until next year. But Philadelphia will have Tyrese Maxey in this game, and that gives the team a puncher’s chance. There is nobody on Los Angeles that can come even remotely close to staying in front of the lightning-fast guard. And the Sixers have some other guys that can take advantage of the Lakers’ tired legs, with Kelly Oubre Jr. being one of them. He plays with a ton of energy. Also, Guerschon Yabusele has been a productive player for Philadelphia all year long, and Eric Gordon has been giving the team some much-needed floor spacing over the last couple of games.
I know the talent mismatch looks rather wide on paper here, but playing fast and playing hard goes a long way against a team on the second night of a back-to-back — and playing its third game in four nights. And Los Angeles is just 3-6 against the spread as a road favorite this season. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is 18-14-3 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 under Nick Nurse.
Bet: Sixers +4 (-108)
NBA Player Props Today – January 28th
Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors – 10:00 pm ET
When looking through the VSiN NBA prop bet analyzer, one of the things that stood out to me is that Collin Sexton has gone Over tonight’s 3-point mark in 24 of his 40 games. Sexton has also made at least two 3s in two of his last three games, and he’s just one game removed from an outing in which he attempted eight triples. Sexton just hasn’t been shy about launching 3-point shots this year, which is wise because he’s shooting a career-high 40.5% from deep.
I know Sexton went 0 for 2 when he faced Golden State earlier in the season, but that was a different Warriors team. Golden State was elite defensively to start the year, but the team has fallen apart lately. In fact, over the last 15 games, only five teams in the NBA are allowing more made 3s per game than the 14.1 the Warriors are giving up. And Golden State is allowing opponents to shoot 38.6% from beyond the 3-point line. That said, Sexton should find that he’ll have better looks in this game than he did in October.
Bet: Sexton Over 1.5 Made 3s (-125)
Milwaukee Bucks at Portland Trail Blazers – 10:00 pm ET
I really wanted to go to a Scoot Henderson prop in this game, as the second-year guard is playing some good ball lately. However, Portland’s logjam at the position makes it hard to trust in Chauncey Billups finding Henderson the minutes he needs to succeed tonight. Instead, I’m going to Jerami Grant to knock down at least two 3s. Grant has made at least two 3s in 25 of the 35 games he has played this season, and he had done so in four straight games before facing the Thunder on Sunday. But I’m not overreacting to his 0 for 2 performance against Oklahoma City, as that defense is swarming. Grant was also in foul trouble and took himself out of rhythm. He should be able to get back on track here, especially if he’s launching eight shots from deep. He did just that in two of his previous three games before facing the Thunder. Grant also shoots 43.1% from 3 at home, which is a stark difference when compared to his 32.7% on the road.
Bet: Grant Over 1.5 Made 3s (-154)
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.
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2024-25 NBA Record: 209-200-2 (+9.83 units)
