Tuesday’s Best Bets: NBA, College Basketball & NHL (January, 31 2023)
No matter your sport of choice, there’s always sports betting action to be had. We’ll have you covered each and every day with our daily best bets. Here are all of our best bets across each major sport in action today.
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Today’s Best Bets
Here are today’s best NBA bets.
NBA Best Bets
NBA Same Game Parlay
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks
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- Knicks Moneyline (-130)
- Julius Randle o11.5 Rebounds (-115)
- RJ Barrett o2.5 Threes (+150)
The Knicks are the better of the two teams. Bottom line. Los Angeles continues to garner unwarranted respect in the betting market, and we’ll take advantage of such misjudgments. Even with the return of Anthony Davis (and the trade for Rui Hachimura), the Lakers severely lack depth and will be playing on tired legs in Madison Square Garden tonight.
This month, Randle is averaging 13.8 boards per game and has crossed this number in ten of fourteen games. We love Randle to continue his dominance on the glass here. The Lakers rate 27th in the NBA in Opponent Rebounds, and the Pace they play with should offer the Knicks’ PF plenty of opportunities to cross this threshold.
Here’s where we get juicy. Barrett has been elite from beyond the arc these past ten days, crossing this number in four of five games whilst shooting it at 53.6% from deep. The Lakers’ opponents haven’t shot the three-ball particularly well, but they allow the sixth-most attempts in the NBA.
Parlay Odds: +727
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NBA Game Picks
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks
The Lakers didn’t play LeBron James or Anthony Davis in their matchup against the Nets. However, those two are expected to play against the Knicks tonight.
The Knicks are dealt a much more difficult hand here. Although the Lakers have lost three of their last four, Los Angeles is competitive with James and Davis on the floor. The Lakers are getting to the foul line at a solid rate throughout the season and limiting turnovers. However, the Lakers aren’t earning a high rate of offensive rebounds and are taking lower-quality shots than the average team.
The Knicks have done well limiting quality looks, holding teams to an effective field goal percentage of 53.2%. New York won’t get a ton of turnovers and aren’t impressive on the defensive glass, but New York should at least be able to limit the Lakers from getting good looks.
On the other hand, the Knicks probably don’t get enough credit offensively. The Knicks have scored 116.7 points per 100 possessions and limit turnovers at a top-five rate in the NBA. The Knicks earn close to 32% of offensive rebounds and get to the foul line at an above-average rate.
Still, the Lakers have kept teams off the glass well and should at least limit the Knicks on the offensive glass a little bit. Let’s back the Under 231.5 in this one.
Bet: Under 231.5 (-110)
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First Basket Scorer
Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Tonight the tipoff could go either way. That means the team to score first will be the most consistent on defense and offense. Currently, that team is the Clippers. When they have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the basketball court, they are one of the better teams in the NBA. The issue has been keeping them on the court.
Leonard is one of the best players in the NBA when healthy. Leonard sat out Sunday due to injury management. That means he is well-rested entering this matchup. That rest and the Bull’s offensive struggles give Leonard plenty of betting value tonight.
First Basket: Kawhi Leonard (+370)
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NBA Prop Bets
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks
Jericho Sims UNDER 6.5 points (-138 @ FanDuel)
Finally, I’m fading Jericho Sims as the Knicks take on the Lakers
Anthony Davis has only played in two games since mid-December but is probable for tonight, giving me a bit more confidence in this prop. Sims has been scoring at a higher clip in the last two weeks, averaging 5.7 points per game, but on the season, that number falls short of four. He is not a scorer.
Despite a pace-up spot for the Knicks in this position, the opportunity simply isn’t there. Sims usage rate has only reached double-digits once in his last six games played, and he has attempted three or fewer shots in four of his last six games. Even though the books set this line at -138, I still see some good value here because I cannot see him reaching seven points tonight.
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We round out the day with our top college basketball bets.
College Basketball Best Bets
College Basketball Game Picks
Indiana vs. Maryland Spread
Those that have bet against Maryland at home this season have done so at their own risk, as the Terrapins are 11-1 at home and a perfect 5-0 at home in Big Ten play. But the Terrapins have benefitted from the softer spot of their schedule thus far, only beating one team ahead of them in the standings on their home court (Illinois). We instead are backing an Indiana team that is arguably playing its best basketball of the season.
The Hoosiers have won five straight games and four by 13+ points. Indiana has shown its versatility in that stretch, scoring 80+ points three times but winning grind-out games twice when it did not have its best offense and held Wisconsin and Minnesota to an average of 51 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis has averaged 25.4 points per game during the winning streak while shooting 59.6% from the field. Indiana has won three consecutive games in this rivalry, all by eight or more points, and will do so again with its best player playing at a high level.
Maryland has covered four straight games, but Indiana looks to end that streak with four straight covers of its own against teams with a winning record.
Bet: Indiana +2.5 (-110 at DraftKings)
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Check out our best NHL bets.
NHL Best Bets
NHL Same Game Parlay Picks
Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens
These two teams will meet again after facing off on Saturday. It was all Ottawa in that matchup as they grabbed the 5-0 victory. The Senators overall have underachieved this season, but they’ve gone on a nice run lately. Long-time veteran Claude Giroux has turned back the clock and is looking great with multiple points in three straight games, including four goals.
Along with the offense playing well recently, so has the goaltending. Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg have both struggled this season, but both have played well in their last games, including Forsberg’s shutout against the Habs. It looks even better when the defense has allowed 32.3 shots in the previous three games.
Montreal’s defense was atrocious in the last matchup, but that’s not much different from throughout the season, as they are second to last in Expected Goals Against. Offenses can’t easily break through their line, and that’s why they’re allowing the most high-danger shots. The offense is slightly better, being 28th in Expected Goals. There is some talent on this roster, with Nick Suzuki projected to set career highs and Cole Caufield setting a new career-high in goals before his season ended with an injury.
I don’t expect a different outcome from the last game, but the Canadiens will put out a better offensive effort, and we’ll see a higher-scoring game.
Parlay Odds: +723
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