Best NBA Bets for Christmas Day: Expect Low-Scoring Games in Hawks-Knicks, Nets-Lakers and More
The NBA’s marquee day is Christmas Day, and this holiday season the BetSided team is gifting a best bet to you all for the NBA action on Saturday.
Here are our favorite picks with all odds via WynnBET Sportsbook:
Best NBA Bets for Christmas Day
- Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks: UNDER 213 (-110)
- Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers: UNDER 226 (-110)
- Utah Jazz -12 vs. Dallas Maverick (-110)
Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks: UNDER 213 (-110)
If there’s anything you do this Christmas, it should be fading the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
New York is just 5-12 against the spread at MSG this season, one of the worst records in the NBA, and it has struggled mightily on defense lately.
The Knicks are 23rd in the NBA in defensive rating and are still dealing with several players in the league’s health and safety protocols and will be without Derrick Rose (ankle surgery) for the next two months.
While I think Hawks +5 is a great bet, my best bet has to do with the total in this game.
Our Ben Heisler pointed out that unders on Christmas Day in the NBA are 35-20-1 since 2005, and for the games that started between noon and 5:30 p.m. EST, unders have gone 26-9 ATS.
The Knicks hit the under in 53.1 percent of their games this season, and with Young out the last two games, Atlanta has scored just 98 points in each contest.
New York is 26th in the NBA in pace, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Knicks try to slow things down, to come away with a win. – Peter Dewey
Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers: UNDER 226 (-110)
There's a lot of uncertainty due to COVID-19 protocols for the Christmas slate, but it seems that we have a firm grasp on who the Nets are going to have available on Christmas, namely James Harden and not Kevin Durant.
The Nets have gone under in two of three games without KD and I expect the team to be a bit rusty after key players such as Harden and DeAndre’ Bembry missed more than two weeks with COVID-19 and the team had their last three postponed. This may be more of a slog than expected, especially given the fact that the Nets have been a top five defense per 100 possessions this season. – Reed Wallach
Dallas Mavericks vs. Utah Jazz: Jazz -12 (-110)
Luka Doncic is the sun and the moon for the Dallas Mavericks and he is currently in the health and safety protocol. Doncic won’t even travel with the team, which means it's going to be a tough Christmas night for the Mavericks. The Jazz have the best offensive rating in the league, and are 0.6 points from being in the top five in defensive rating. Add that to the fact they are 12-6 at home and it’s a recipe for an easy win for Utah.
Dallas is 3-7 this season without Doncic, and I expect that record to go to 3-8. – Donnavan Smoot