Top NBA Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Tuesday (12/6)

Dec 6, 2022 - 1:25 PM

There are only three games on the NBA slate tonight. Two of those three games will be featured on national television via TNT.

Therefore, I will break down those two TNT games and provide the best bets for each game below.

(Odds courtesy DraftKings)

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Los Angeles Lakers are starting to figure out their offense. The Lakers have won four of their last five games, with back-to-back wins on the road against the Bucks and Wizards.

Anthony Davis is coming off a 55-point explosion, and Russell Westbrook has now hit double-figures in assists in back-to-back games off the bench.

Over the last three games, the Lakers have shot an effective field goal percentage above 55% and continue to score a high rate of points per 100 possessions, above 120 per game.

Los Angeles has also done well at limiting turnovers and recently had more success on the offensive glass. Meanwhile, the defense is still a work in progress. They’ll rarely earn turnovers but have at least kept teams off the foul line at a consistent rate.

On the other hand, the Cavaliers are coming off a 92-81 loss to the Knicks on the road. 81 points against the Knicks is pretty embarrassing.

The offense shot a 39.8% effective field goal percentage in that game. In another loss on November 28, the Cavaliers scored 88 points and shot an effective field goal percentage of 42.3%. So the lack of offensive consistency is real. Cleveland has been much better defensively. They’ve earned a ton of takeaways and are limiting teams to a meager effective field goal percentage.

However, the Lakers should be able to get to the line more and won’t allow Cleveland to earn such a high turnover percentage. I’ll back the red-hot Lakers.

Bet: Lakers +4.5 (-110 at DraftKings) 

---

Dallas Mavericks vs. Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets have a ton of injuries that they’ve been dealing with this year. However, the Mavericks are healthy.

The Mavs have won three of their last four games, including a 130-111 win over a very good Phoenix Suns group.

The Dallas offense has been electric. They’ve been taking great shots and scoring at a very high pace while limiting turnovers. The Mavericks won’t dominate the offensive glass or even get to the line at a high rate. But the shot selection and limited turnovers have been an enormous help offensively.

On defense, the Mavericks are a bit more inconsistent. Over the last two games, the Mavericks have looked good, holding teams to a 50% or lower effective field goal percentage.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets will be without Michael Porter Jr. It’s also possible they’ll play this game without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jeff Green, who are both listed as questionable.

Denver’s offense has lagged over its two-game losing streak. But the Nuggets are still getting high-quality looks from the field. They’re just not dominating the offensive glass for second chances. Turnovers have also been near 17% over the last two games.

The Nuggets have struggled defensively, giving up a 62.1% effective field goal percentage to the Hawks and a 58.9% effective field goal percentage to the Pelicans. Most teams have done well on the offensive glass against the Nuggets. Before their game against New Orleans, the Nuggets allowed three straight teams to earn at least 30% of offensive rebounds.

I’ll take the road team in this one as well.

Bet: Mavericks +4.5  (-110 at DraftKings)

Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts

Whether you’re new to sports betting or a betting pro, our How To Bet and Sports Betting Strategy and Advice pages are for you. You can get started with our How To Section — including How to Avoid the 7 Biggest Sports Betting Mistakes — or head to a more advanced strategy — like Thinking Like an Expert Sports Bettor — to learn more.

The post Top NBA Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Tuesday (12/6) appeared first on BettingPros.