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Best Bets
Cam Thomas over 23.5 points (-105) at Pistons
FanDuel, 1:12 PM CT
Alex Barutha: Thomas is on a heater, scoring 20 points in five straight games, including 20 points in 28 minutes against Detroit in his Brooklyn's last game. I don't think this will be the spot for the microwave scorer to slow down. He's 8th in the NBA in isolation scoring (4.5 PPG), and the Pistons are allowing the second-most iso points (8.9).
Obi Toppin under 10.5 points (-115) at Rockets
FanDuel, 1:22 PM CT
Alex Barutha: Toppin's workload is fairly inconsistent, and he's averaging 9.9 points in 22.5 minutes over the past eight games. He does most of his damage in transition, scoring 4.1 PPG while on the run -- a huge chunk of his overall average. Houston has the best transition defense in the NBA, allowing a league-low 15.3 PPG.
Anthony Edwards under 28.5 points (-115) at Thunder
PointsBet, 1:27 PM CT
Alex Barutha: The Thunder allow both the second-fewest points in isolation (5.1 PPG) and second-fewest in transition (17.6 PPG). That doesn't bode well for Edwards, who scores 6.4 PPG in transition and 3.6 PPG in isolation. Keep in mind that Karl-Anthony Towns is questionable, so this might be a riskier bet if KAT is out due to Ant's potential volume of shots.
Fred VanVleet over 18.5 points (-113) vs. Pacers
FanDuel, 1:32 PM CT
Alex Barutha: VanVleet has been cold lately, scoring a combined 20 points over his past two games. But this is a potential bounceback spot for the point guard. The Pacers allow the second-most points to pick-and-roll ballhandlers, and 44.4 percent of VanVleet's finished playtypes are as a P&R ballhandler, scoring 7.2 PPG. Plus, it's a big pace-up spot for the Rockets, who ranked 25th in pace compared to the Pacers' 2nd.
Trae Young under 29.5 points (-120) at Bulls
PointsBet, 1:37 PM CT
Alex Barutha: As semi-dysfunctional as Chicago is, they're the best team in the NBA in preventing the pick-and-roll ballhandler from scoring (11.6 PPG). Young is the league's leading P&R ballhandler scorer (13.8 PPG). It's also a pace-down spot for Atlanta, who ranks 5th in pace compared to Chicago's 30th. Plus, Young is dealing with a shoulder injury and is questionable as of this post being written.
Paolo Banchero Over 24.5 Points (-110) and Franz Wagner Over 24.5 points (-102) against the Washington Wizards
FanDuel, 12:35 PM CT
Kirien Sprecher: The Wizards allow a league-worst 126.6 points per game. Banchero and Wagner have each scored at least 24 points in the same game five times this season, including Dec. 23 against the Pacers – who are just ahead of Washington, allowing 125.8 ppg – and Dec. 1 versus the Wizards. During that Dec. 1 matchup, Banchero finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Wagner ended with 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
