ESPN’s fantasy basketball and basketball betting tips cheat sheet is your pregame destination for basketball betting predictions and our best intel and data to help you make smart fantasy and wagering decisions. NBA game odds for December 26th are provided by Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is based on ESPN 10-team leagues.
Points-apalooza: Sportsbooks are anything but shy when it comes to posting over/unders for the Blazers or Hornets separately, so yea, put both teams on the same court and the projected total is going to be overwhelming. And it might not be high enough. This season, overs are 7-2 when Portland is favored by more than three points and 16-9 when the Hornets are ‘dogs. Both of those boxes are checked tonight: fire up anyone you want for DFS get ready for a fun one!
Sprinkling on the Pacers: The Pacers are a big underdog tonight in New Orleans … right where bettors want them. If you’ve bet Indiana on the moneyline every instance this season when they are getting at least five points (tonight lines up to be the 13th such game), you are up 12.3 units. Not. Too. Shabby.
Bearish on the Bulls: The number will fluctuate throughout the day, but Chicago is going to go off as a favorite as they host Houston tonight and that gives you license to fade them. The Bulls have failed to cover six of their past seven games when favored, losing five of those games outright.
— Jim McCormick and Kyle Soppe
Game of the night
Minnesota Timberwolves at Miami Heat
7 p.m. ET, FTX Arena, Miami, Florida
Line: Heat (-3)
Money line: Heat (-155), Timberwolves (+130)
Total: 221.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 231.3 points
BPI Win%: Heat (57.6%)
Questionable: Caleb Martin, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler
Ruled Out: Taurean Prince, Jordan McLaughlin, Kyle Anderson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Dewayne Dedmon, Gabe Vincent
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play
Fantasy Streamer: Naz Reid (available in % of leagues). Reid has been productive in the games he has played since Karl-Anthony Towns’ injury. He has scored in double figures eight times over his past 11 games and has averaged 13.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.4 3PG, 1.0 BPG and 0.7 SPG in 21.6 MPG. — Snellings
Best Bet: Anthony Edwards over 23.5 points. Edwards has been on a tear over the past week. He has averaged 29.3 PPG over his past four outings with at least 23 points scored in each game. In his last three games against the Heat, going back to last season, Edwards has averaged 23.3 PPG even while playing alongside Towns. With Towns still out, Edwards should get a big share of the offense on Monday. — Snellings
Breaking down the rest of the slate
Brooklyn Nets at Cleveland Cavaliers
7 p.m. ET, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Line: Cavaliers (-2)
Money line: Cavaliers (-140), Nets (+118)
Total: 221.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 233.1 points
BPI Win%: Cavaliers (65.3%)
Ruled Out: Joe Harris
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play
LA Clippers at Detroit Pistons
7:00 p.m ET, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Line: Clippers (-5.5)
Money line: Clippers (-225), Pistons (+185)
Total: 222.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 230.1 points
BPI Win%: Clippers (65.2%)
Ruled Out: Kawhi Leonard
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play
Fantasy Streamers: Norman Powell (available in 83.4% of leagues), Terance Mann (available in 96.0% of leagues) and Luke Kennard (available in 98.5% of leagues) are all reasonable streaming options with Kawhi Leonard out Monday night. All three have a 20-point effort in recent games, with Powell returning from injury and dropping 21 points in 23 minutes on Friday. Kennard scored 20 points with four…
Read More: Fantasy basketball tips and NBA betting picks for Monday