After two days of action, the NBA is giving us five games to look forward to on Christmas Day, with Zion Williamson and the Pelicans kicking things off against the defending Eastern Conference champion Heat.
Our sports betting experts -- Doug Kezirian, Joe Fortenbaugh and senior writer Andre Snellings -- are here to give their best bets from Friday's slate.
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill.
Friday's best bets
New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat (-5, 226), Noon ET (on ESPN)
Snellings: The Pelicans return a strong team that is on the rise. Zion is healthy to start the season and, according to predictive Real Plus Minus, projects to a have more impactful sophomore season than the near-MVP masterpiece that Luka Doncic turned in as a second-year player. Whether that comes to fruition or not, the Pelicans smacked a good Raptors team on the road on opening night with a well-rounded effort that could be the new norm for this team.
