NBA Odds, Picks & Predictions: Sunday (1/19)
There's a solid slate of games in the NBA on Sunday. With seven games on the schedule, there are plenty of sides and totals with value. Here are a few of my favorite plays for the NBA Sunday games.
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Sunday's Best NBA Picks
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat
This matchup doesn't have the sizzle as it would have 10 years ago but these are two fairly evenly matched teams in 2025. Miami's struggles both on and off the court have been well documented but they're still in the hunt for the Playoffs. Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama has the Spurs playing better than their 19-21 record indicates.
The Spurs have been strong defensively all year. Their effective field goal percentage (eFG%) against is in the top 10 in the league.
With an elite rim protector like Wembanyama, they are allowing just 60.5% shooting at the rim, which is third-best in the NBA. If Miami isn't able to get anything easy at the rim they'll have to rely on mid-range and three-point shooting. Fortunately, those are areas where they thrive, shooting 42.2% and 36.7%, respectively.
In recent weeks, both teams struggled against good teams and beat up bad ones. Both Miami and San Antonio are middle-of-the-road teams.
The major difference here is Miami will once again have Jimmy Butler back, who played well on Friday despite the loss to Denver. The matchup favors the Heat and I'll be backing them as short favorites at home.
Pick: Heat -2.5 (-110)
Philadelphia 76ers at Milwaukee Bucks
The Philadelphia 76ers have been showing all season how important Joel Embiid is to this team. Philadelphia is only 8-19 straight up (SU) and 9-16-2 against the spread (ATS) with Embiid off the court.
On Sunday, they'll take on a Milwaukee team starting to find their stride.
After winning the NBA Cup, the Bucks were 6-6 SU and 5-7 ATS until this week. Milwaukee rallied off three consecutive wins by an average of 19.3 points. Elite offense paved the way with 127.3 points per game (PPG).
It seems Milwaukee might finally be turning a corner in January as their offensive rating ranks near the middle of the pack on the season. However, they've repeatedly been one of the best in the league over the last few years.
The Embiid injury has been a killer for Philadelphia. They haven't been able to produce any kind of post-defense presence and are allowing over 67% from the field at the rim.
Milwaukee is a team that shoots well in the paint and is led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is one of the best paint finishers in the league. So long as Embiid is out, Philadelphia is going to find it tough to win games against good teams.
Milwaukee is on a roll and I expect them to win this one handily.
Pick: Bucks -10 (-110)