ESPN's fantasy basketball and basketball betting tips cheat sheet is your pregame destination for basketball betting predictions and our best intel and data to help you make smart fantasy and wagering decisions. NBA game odds for November 6 are provided by Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is based on ESPN 10-team leagues.
What you need to know for Sunday's games
Home-and-home: The Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls have a home-and-home back-to-back over the next two days, giving bettors twice the motivation to handicap this matchup. Since the beginning of last season, Toronto has been one of the best road ATS teams around (28-16 ATS), but Chicago has been phenomenal in front of their home crowd (28-18 ATS). Both teams trend closer to .500 in the reverse situation (Toronto at home and Chicago on the road), so trend wise, this looks like a strength-on-strength and weakness-on-weakness situation.
But, what if you believe these games will be tight? Toronto was projected for five more wins in the preseason but is dealing with some injuries. Since the beginning of last season, the Raptors are 34-20 ATS in games with a spread of less than five points (16-8 at home, 18-12 on the road) while the Bulls are 26-27 ATS in such spots (13-12 at home, 13-15 on the road). Track the status of Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam, but if either is a go, the trends lean the way of Canada's finest in this matchup.
Pursuing Precious: Sticking with the Raptors, it's time to roster Precious Achiuwa ahead of today's action. All-Star forward Pascal Siakam is listed as doubtful due to a groin injury that saw him exit the team's last game early. With Siakam's high-usage game off the floor, Achiuwa can be expected to handle more minutes, touches, rebounding chances, and defensive opportunities in the paint. You can find Achiuwa in free agency in well over 90% of ESPN leagues and at bargain pricing on major DFS platforms.
Will the Thrill: The Wizards will be without star guard Bradley Beal for today's matchup against Memphis due to health and safety protocols. Beal averaged a dozen more touches per game than any other player on the team, thus his absence is important in terms of offensive opportunities. Monte Morris (45% available in ESPN leagues) is in a good spot to surpass scoring and passing props, while Will Barton (81%) is in an ideal spot as a streaming candidate on a light Sunday slate. While Barton has a somewhat volatile game in regards to running hot and cold from the floor, his playmaking and shot creation should rise significantly with Beal sidelined.
Fade The King: LeBron James is piling up the counting numbers for this Lakers team that is stuck in the mud and that might well continue this afternoon against his former employer... just not on the glass. To the surprise of exactly no one, the Cavs are among the elite rebounding teams in the Association and that's proven a barrier for The King this season. Three of his four double digit rebound games have come against teams with an average-to-below average rebound rate, the lone exception being a 10-rebound game against the Pelicans... in a game that went to overtime and saw New Orleans opt for scoring punch (Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum scored 49 points in 78 minutes) over size (Jonas Valanciunas played just 22 minutes).
This game is unlikely to go into overtime and there's no way the Cavs are going small. The Lakers travel to play in the thin air of Utah tomorrow, so should this game be one-sided, a lower than normal minute total for James is also possible. Price shop, but betting the under on his rebound props is viable.
-- Jim McCormick and Kyle Soppe
Breaking down the slate
Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Lakers
3:30 p.m. ET, Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Line: Cavaliers (-3)
Money line: Cavaliers (-165), Lakers (+140)
Total: 223.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 230.4 points
BPI Win%: Cavaliers (56.6%)
Questionable: Anthony Davis (back), Donovan Mitchell (ankle), Darius Garland (knee)
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play.
Fantasy streamer: Cedi Osman (available in 97.6% of leagues) and Raul Neto (available in 99.8% of leagues) are both risky plays with upside on Sunday, pending the status of Darius Garland (knee) and Donovan Mitchell (ankle). Both Garland and Mitchell sat out on Friday with the injuries, and Osman (15 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 3-pointers, 25 minutes) and Neto (10 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 24 minutes) took advantage of their extended run to produce fantasy-worthy stat lines. This could replicate itself on Sunday against the Cavs, again pending the availability of Garland and Mitchell. Stay tuned. -- André Snellings
Best bet: LeBron James over 7.5 assists. James has averaged 7.5 APG this season as the Lakers continue to play up tempo. In terms of possessions per game, Los Angeles ranks third in the league. According to head coach Darvin Ham, James has been fighting a virus the last two games, but "he has his energy back." James has played in 18 games against the Cavaliers and has averaged 7.1 APG, but over the last four he's averaged 8.5 APG. He should bounce back nicely and this is a bet I would prioritize. -- Eric Moody
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
6 p.m ET, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Line: Raptors (-1.5)
Money line: Raptors (-125), Bulls (+105)
Total: 219.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 226.5 points
BPI Win%: Raptors (71.6%)
Questionable: Zach LaVine (knee), Fred VanVleet (back)
Ruled out: Pascal Siakam (thigh), Coby White (quad), Andre Drummond (shoulder)
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play.
Fantasy streamer: Chris Boucher (available in 50.9% of leagues) has already been stepping up his production of late, and could be in for even more run on Sunday. Boucher has averaged 17.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.5 3PG, 1.0 SPG and 1.0 BPG in 27.5 MPG over his last two outings. And, with Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet out and Fred VanVleet listed as questionable but having sat the last three games, the Raptors will be leaning more on their rotation guys than usual on Sunday. -- Snellings
Washington Wizards at Memphis Grizzlies
6 p.m ET, FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Line: Grizzlies (-10)
Money line: Grizzlies (-520), Wizards (+400)
Total: 225.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 236 points
BPI Win%: Grizzlies (68.5%)
Ruled out: Bradley Beal (health and safety protocols)
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play.
Best bet: Grizzlies -10. The Wizards rank 22nd in points scored per 100 possessions and 29th in points allowed per 100 possessions. In addition to not being a great offensive or defensive team, Washington has also allowed some epic performances to point guards this season, which bodes well for Ja Morant. The Grizzlies rank second in points scored per 100 possessions. Memphis is also 2-1 against the spread as a home favorite. The team finished 20-13 against the spread as a home favorite last season with a similar roster. -- Moody
Best bet: Steven Adams over 9.5 rebounds. Adams has been a solid veteran leader for the Grizzlies since his arrival in 2021. Despite being in his 10th season in the NBA, Adams is still putting up big numbers. On Friday, he dominated the Hornets with 19 rebounds in only 22 minutes. On Sunday, Adams has what it takes to put up a similar performance against Kristap Porzingis down low. He's had 10 or more rebounds in five of the Grizzlies' last six games. -- Moody
Utah Jazz at LA Clippers
10 p.m. ET, Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Line: Clippers (-4.5)
Money line: Clippers (-190), Jazz (+158)
Total: 223.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 229.2 points
BPI Win%: Clippers (56.6%)
Ruled out: Kawhi Leonard (knee), Robert Covington (illness), Luke Kennard (chest)
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play.
Fantasy streamer: Reggie Jackson (available in 82.5% of leagues) is one of several potential streaming options from this game, including teammate Norman Powell and opponents Kelly Olynyk and Jarred Vanderbilt. I went with Jackson here because a) I've detailed Olynyk and Vanderbilt in other spaces, recently, and hope they're already on your radar if you're looking for a big man to stream and b) because Jackson has quietly had two solid games in a row and has explosive upside. Jackson's role is smaller this season with John Wall in the fold, but he has proven 20-plus PPG scoring upside in any given game that he gets hot. In his last two games, he's averaged 13.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, 2.0 RPG and 1.0 3PG in 35.0 MPG. -- Snellings
Best bet: Jazz +4.5 points. The Jazz have been better than the Clippers by every measure this season, with a better record and much better scoring differential. The Clippers have won three straight versus lesser competition, but they are still without Kawhi Leonard and seemingly learning how to play with the team that they currently have. The Jazz, on the other hand, have been themselves and played to their (shocking) level all season. I think the Jazz should be the team giving the points, and the BPI game predictor agrees, projecting the Jazz as a 1.8 point favorite with a 56.6% chance to win outright. -- Snellings
