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 Thursday, January 30th. 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 30th
NBA Best Bets Today – January 30th
Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers – 7:00 pm ET
The Hawks aren’t exactly spreading their wings and flying right now. Atlanta comes into this primetime matchup on a six-game losing streak, and the team just found out that Jalen Johnson will be out the remainder of the year. However, Cleveland isn’t playing its best ball right now either. The Cavaliers should be able to find a way to win this game outright, but they’re just 5-7 against the spread in their last 12 games. This is also the second night of a back-to-back for Cleveland, which just played a road game against Miami last night. So, you have to wonder how much energy the Cavaliers will have tonight.
The Hawks also happen to be 2-0 both straight-up and ATS when facing the Cavaliers this season, so they’ve been one of the few teams in the league that has had their number. The reason is that Trae Young is such a special offensive talent that he can overcome a great defensive scheme. And that’s especially true when the team he’s facing is weakest guarding the point of attack. In two meetings with the Cavs this year, Young is averaging 20.5 points and 16.5 assists per game. He’s going to look to pick apart this defense once again, and it’s hard to come up with many reasons he won’t be able to do it. Johnson being out undeniably hurts. But it helps that Atlanta is very deep on the wing, where De’Andre Hunter can slide in and play a bigger role.
I also like the lineup we’re going to see from Atlanta defensively in this one. Dyson Daniels should be able to handle one of the guard assignments rather well, and the Hawks should hold their own on the wing. They just need Onyeka Okongwu to do a good job battling inside, but I like the way he moves his feet defensively on the perimeter and I don’t view him as a downgrade from Clint Capela.
The only place I’m worried Atlanta could get killed is on the boards, as Cleveland will have a big size advantage in the frontcourt. The Hawks need to fight to make sure the Cavaliers aren’t getting a million second chances.
Either way, I like Atlanta’s chances of avoiding a blowout in this game, and Daniels’ in-your-face defensive style is a big part of that. The Cavaliers are just 3-7 both SU and ATS when facing teams that average at least 9.0 steals per game this season. Perimeter disruptors can prevent Cleveland from getting into Kenny Atkinson’s highly efficient offense.
Bet: Hawks +10.5 (-115)
Minnesota Timberwolves at Utah Jazz – 9:00 pm ET
The Timberwolves just won a hard-fought game against the Suns last night, and it’s always difficult to get up on the second night of a back-to-back. And that’s especially true when you’re playing against one of the worst teams in basketball. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if Minnesota dips a little defensively this evening, and that’s not something the team can afford to do. While Utah might seem like a miserable team, the Jazz are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games. And they can win games when they have some of their better players out there. And according to the early injury report, we should see Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen. Also, John Collins and Walker Kessler are both questionable. If one, or both, of those guys joins Sexton and Markkanen, this could very well be a game.
Under Will Hardy, the Jazz are 35-24-1 ATS when playing as home underdogs, and they’re also 53-37 ATS as underdogs of 3.5 to 9.5 points. Also, Utah tends to like facing teams that focus their energy on the defensive end, as the Jazz are 10-8-1 ATS against teams that allow 108.0 or fewer points per game. I believe that speaks to the dip you see from good teams against a weak opponent like Utah. If you don’t bring your A-game on defense, the Jazz are good enough to score a good amount of points. And Minnesota isn’t good enough offensively to slack off defensively.
Bet: Jazz +7.5 (-109 – 1.5 units) & Jazz ML (+240 – 0.5 units)
NBA Player Props Today – January 30th
Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers – 7:00 pm ET
Hunter has been thriving as a sixth man this season, so Quin Snyder probably won’t move him into the starting lineup to replace Johnson. However, Hunter is very likely going to see 30 or more minutes more often than he did earlier in the year, and he should be able to do a ton of damage as a scorer moving forward. Hunter’s shot has abandoned him a bit in January, but he should find his confidence again soon. He’s just going to be relied on a little more to score, and every player in the league wants that. And I really can’t see Hunter struggling in this specific matchup.
In two meetings with the Cavaliers this season, Hunter is averaging 24.5 points per game on 57.1% shooting from the floor and 56.3% shooting from 3. For as good as Cleveland can be, the team doesn’t have the best options for a big wing like Hunter. He can shoot over the top of smaller defenders, or he can go by some of the bigger, slower ones. And he will likely see a bit of the latter here, as I can see one of the two bigs covering him in this game.
Bet: Hunter Over 17.5 Points (-110)
Houston Rockets at Memphis Grizzlies – 9:30 pm ET
One of the plays that jumped out to me when looking through the VSiN NBA prop bet analyzer was Jaylen Wells to score 10 or more points. Wells has done so in 28 of the 42 games he has played this season, and one of those games came against this great Houston defense. Wells just had 14 points in 30 minutes in a meeting with the Rockets on January 13th, and I don’t think it’s crazy to expect another performance like that. Wells is such a good perimeter defender that Taylor Jenkins is always going to want him out there for 30 or so minutes — especially considering how reliable he is as a 3-point shooter. And if Wells does play that much, he really should do some damage offensively. This game has the highest total on the board (238), so it should be an up-and-down affair.
Bet: Wells Over 9.5 Points (+100)
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: 213-204-2 (+8.28 units)
