There are ten games on the NBA state, including two prime time matchups. Damian Lillard, of the Milwaukee Bucks will have his homecoming against his former team, the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland (14-33, 8-13) will host the Bucks (32-15, 11-10 away) tonight, after knocking off the 76ers, 130-104. Aired on ABC, the Brooklyn Nets (19-27, 12-12 home) will host the Phoenix Suns (27-20, 13-9) at the Barclays Center. For the western conference, there's a top seeded rematch between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets. Conversely, there are a few lopsided matchups, especially in the eastern conference.
I have four picks that I love for today. For my picks, I took them all as straight bets, no more than 1 u on each. Here you will find the NBA betting odds, stats, trends, player prop bets, and predictions for Wednesday, Jan. 31.
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Odds are current as of Jan. 25, at 12 p.m. ET.
SJ's NBA Player Prop record this season: 21-18-1: +11u
SJ's NBA Spread record this season: 6-4-0
🚨The Wednesday NBA Slate
— Ballislife Bets (@BallislifeBets) January 31, 2024
Clippers (-12) @ Wizards (+500)
Pistons (+550) @ Cavaliers (-12.5)
Bulls (-4.5) @ Hornets (+160)
Kings (-105) @ Heat (-1.5)
Mavericks (+700) @ Timberwolves (-14)
Magic (-5) @ Spurs (+160)
Pelicans (-2.5) @ Rockets (+114)
Nuggets (-105) @ Thunder… pic.twitter.com/ZfjubyaWC6
NBA Bet #2: Brook Lopez O 19.5 PRA (-125) DraftKings
Splash Mountain goes back-to-back! pic.twitter.com/WBRNb42siJ
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 30, 2024
Season Stats PPG: 13.1 | FG: 49.1 % | 3 PT: 34.6 % | FT: 82.6 % | REB: 5.5 | AST: 1.6 | STL: 0.6 | BLK: 2.8
One of my favorite props for tonight, I have Brook Lopez, of the Milwaukee Bucks to have over 19.5 points, rebounds, and assists. Found at -125 odds on DraftKings, this prop has a hit rate of 62 percent on the season.
If you're betting on the NBA, Lopez has been a vital part of this Bucks team. Hitting over this prop in six straight games, the big man is coming of 19 point, two assist, and two rebound performance against Denver. He's been especially hot the last ten games, averaging 15 points, 2.2 blocks, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Shooting 42.6 percent from deep over the last ten matchups, I expect him to keep that up tonight.
There's a slight chance his prop could be overshadowed by Lillard's emotional return to Portland tonight. Although it's a national game, there's always a chance this could be a blowout. Either way, he's been automatic, hitting this number in 90 percent of the last ten games.
Missing just once since Jan 8, Lopez will face a Portland defense, who allow the 18th most points in the NBA (116.7). In addition, they are a weak rebounding team, allowing the 24th most boards per game (44.7). Additionally, the Trail Blazers allow the 22nd most assists per game in the league at 27.5.
In the month of January, Portland allowed Nikola Vucevic, Andre Drummond, Alperen Sengun, Chet Holmgren, Anthony Davis, Myles Turner, Nic Claxton, and Rudy Gobert to all have over 19.5 points and rebounds.
Averaging 14.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in January, Brooks is playing hefty minutes, nearing 34 a game. Shooting close to 40 percent from deep since the new year, the Center has a 90 % hit rate when he plays at least 33.7 minutes.
Brook Lopez has a great matchup vs. Portland
For this prop, I chose not to "juice" or take the alternate line. If you're looking for better value, this line is currently listed for -105 on BetMGM. I love this line for a few reasons: he's averaging 25 points, rebounds, and assists over the last three matchups against Portland. Hitting the over in 67 percent of their meetings, Lopez last had a combined 19 PRAs back in November.
In 21 road game, his production is slightly less, adding 11.8 points, 1.6 assists, and 5.7 rebounds. Those numbers add up to 19 total points, assists, and rebounds, which includes him shooting an underwhelming 29.8 percent from the three-point line. In 25 career games against Portland, the big man averages 19.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, which is way over the 19.5 line for tonight.
Tonight, he'll go against Deandre Ayton, and Portland, who ranks 22nd defensively against center this season. Hitting in 60 percent of road games this season, Brooks last had 36 total points, rebounds, and assists against the Trail Blazers back in the road, in early 2023. Averaging 12.6 field goal attempts and 34.6 minutes in the last three games, I like the chances for this to his tonight.
NBA Bet #2: Giannis Antetokounmpo O 11.5 REB (-135) DraftKings
Beast of the East. pic.twitter.com/2pqZaUX4PK
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 29, 2024
Season Stats PPG: 31 | FG: 60.7 % | 3 PT: 26 % | FT: 66.1 % | REB: 11.7 | AST: 6.2 | STL: 1.3 | BLK: 0.9
Tonight, I have Giannis Antetokounmpo to have over 11.5 rebounds against the Portland Trail Blazers. With odds of -135 on Draft Kings, Giannis has put up 10+ rebounds in his last seven games. If you're betting on the NBA, he's hit over 11.5 rebounds in four of the last six games, including 12 against Denver and New Orleans.
The "Greek Freak" is grabbing 11.7 rebounds on the season, which has been fairly consistent with his stats over the last four seasons. Tonight, he faces the Trail Blazers, who rank 26th against power forwards. With Ayton at the five, Giannis should go head-to-head with Jabari Walker and Jerami Grant.
Although this prop has an underwhelming hit rate of 36 percent on the season, Antetokounmpo gets a prime matchup against Portland, who gets bullied on the glass. An 80 percent hit rate in the last five games, Giannis has a combination of 29 rebounds in the past two road matchups. Recently, Victor Wembanyama, and Jeremy Sochan, of the Spurs, combined for 26 rebounds on Jan 26.
Sixth in the NBA in blocks, Giannis is averaging nine rebounds alone defensively on the season. In fact, he's been incredible, averaging 29.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 24.8 minutes in the last nine games played. Given he dominates mainly on the offensive boards, the Trail Blazers are ranked 24th in defensive rebounds per game (34). As I mentioned prior, this very well could be a blow out, and Giannis may see less minutes. Given it's a prime-time matchup, along with Lillard's homecoming, expect him to be heavily involved.
Milwaukee now has a new coach in Doc Rivers, a Giannis is coming off 16 rebounds against Portland in November. Although the value could be slightly better, I'm not fading this prop tonight.
NBA Bet #3: Franz Wagner O 1.5 3PTM (-125) DraftKings
Season Stats PPG: 20.4 | FG: 46.4 % | 3 PT: 30.9 % | FT: 85.5 % | REB: 5.7 | AST: 4 | STL: 1.1 | BLK: 0.3
Franz Wagner is back, and he's been playing lights out. A matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, Wager has a nice matchup for over 1.5 three-pointers made.
The Spurs haven't been great on defensive, allowing the 27th worst three-point percentage (38.8 %) and three-point attempts per game (13.8 %). The Spurs rank 30th defensively against forwards, and Wagner certainly has the opportunity to cook tonight.
Having a career year, Wagner has been incredible in his last ten games, averaging 17.2 points, on 41.9 percent three-point shooting. Given he's shooting under 30 percent from downtown this season, he's trending in the right direction.
Wager is a versatile player, no doubt. However, he's averaging 30.6 minutes, 17.2 minutes, and 41.7 percent three-point shooting since his return from injury. In the last five games alone, the wingman attempts 6.2 shots from long range, which is a considerable amount.
Able to find his shot back, he's hit this prop in five straight games, and has 13 cumulative three-pointers made over that stretch. Corey Kispert, of the Washington Wizards, is coming off two made three-pointers in his last matchup against San Antonio. Since coming back from injury, wager hit this prop in back-to-back road games, racking up seven combined three pointers, against Memphis and Dallas.
Three in a row, he takes the second most three-point attempts out of any player on the Orlando Magic. A 70 percent hit rate in the last ten games, he's made over 1.5 made treys 20 games this season.
Bonus Bet: Chicago Bulls -4.5 spread (-112) DraftKings
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Sara Jane Gamelli is a full-time Sportswriter, Content Creator and Social Media Manager for Ballislife Bets. She has a focus on the NBA, WNBA, NCAA Basketball, and the NFL. Sara Jane currently resides in Connecticut/NYC area with her Cat and Dog. SJ has her undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut in Economics, with a minor in business administration.