NBA Best Bets Today: Free Picks for Tuesday, January 16

NBA Best Bets Today: Free Picks for Tuesday, January 16

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

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Best Bets

Nikola Jokic under 24.5 points (+100) at 76ers

FanDuel, 5:26 PM CT

Alex Barutha: Taking unders on Jokic is not something I make a habit of, but this matchup is highly anticipated for a reason. Joel Embiid is anchoring the NBA's fifth-best defense -- one which, not surprisingly, is great at preventing opposing teams from scoring in the post. The 76ers allow the second-fewest points off post-ups, and Jokic is the second-leading post-up scorer (6.6 PPG) in the NBA -- ironically, only behind Embiid. In his past five matchups against Embiid, Jokic is averaging 22.8 PPG.

Domantas Sabonis O7.5AST at Suns

DraftKings Sportsbook, 2:30pm CT

Nick Whalen: Sabonis has been on an extended heater, registering a double-double in every game since the start of December and piling up seven triple-doubles in his last 13 games. One of those came against the Suns on Dec. 22, when he racked up 12 assists in 35 minutes. In general, Phoenix ranks well in terms of opponents' assist rate, but I'll happily take the O7.5 on a player who's averaging 9.3 assists per game over his last 15.

James Harden O2.5 made threes vs. Thunder

DraftKings Sportsbook, 2:30pm CT

Nick Whalen: Harden has gone over this number in eight of his last 16 games, but he's averaging 7.1 three-point attempts per game in that span and shooting better than 44 percent. He's thrived as more of a facilitator over the last month-plus, but the Thunder allow the third-most three-point attempts per game and the fourth-highest three-point attempt rate in the NBA. I also like Harden to go O8.5 assists tonight -- of note, 89 percent of opponents' made three-pointers have been assisted against the Thunder this season. That's the second-highest mark in the NBA behind only Chicago (89.9%).

Kawhi Leonard over 6.5 rebounds versus the Thunder (-136)

FanDuel, 3:18pm ET

Ken Crites: With Ivica Zubac out (calf), veteran Daniel Theis will get the start at center for the Clippers. Theis will need all the help he can get inside versus a young OKC squad led by Chet Holmgren in the front court. The Clippers don't have any other centers on the roster, so Leonard will need to act like a true power forward tonight. The Thunder, and all their youthful skill, are not good rebounders.  They rank 28th in the Association with only 41.3 team rebounds per game. That all said, the K-Train is on a four-night negative slide, so certainly feel free to fade!

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Ken
An early RotoWire contributor from the 90's, K-Train returns with the grace of Gheorghe Muresan and the wisdom of Joe Gibbs. Ken is a two-time FSWA award winner and a co-host on the RW NBA Podcast. Championships incude: 2016 RW Staff NBA Keeper, 2019 RW Staff NFL Ottoneu Keeper, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Experts, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Kamla Keeper and 2023-24 FSGA NBA Expert Champions. Ken still owns a RotoNews shirt.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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