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 December 18th are provided by Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is based on ESPN 10-team leagues.
Buckets in Boston: Sure, the Magic have won five straight games, including in Boston on Friday night, but the fact that they remain big 'dogs in the match should surprise exactly no one. The Celtics are 5-3-1 when favored by over a touchdown this season, but more importantly, over tickets have come through in seven of those nine games.
Cashing on a Coin Toss: The Knicks-Pacers game opened as a pick'em and will surely close with a tight spread. Beautiful. The Knicks have covered six of nine games with a spread within three points and in five of those six covers, under tickets cashed. Pair that with a Pacers team that is 3-4 ATS in those coin toss spots and three of those four ATS losses going under the total ... Knicks to cover with the under makes sense if you're building a same game parlay.
Struggles in Toronto: The Raptors have failed to cover four straight games (and seven of their past nine), and yet, they are big favorites in a 2019 Finals rematch with the Warriors. An unavailable Steph Curry is the reasoning for this number but laying a big number for the struggling Raps is a tough sell. Toronto is 14-19 ATS (42.4%) since the beginning of last season when favored by at least five points, failing to cover 12 of their past 19 in such spots.
-- Jim McCormick and Kyle Soppe
Game of the night
Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors
6 p.m. ET, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Line: Raptors (-6)
Money line: Raptors (-22), Warriors (+185)
Total: 224.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 229.4 points
BPI Win%: Raptors (75%)
Questionable: Klay Thompson, Draymond Green
Ruled Out: Andrew Wiggins, Stephen Curry
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play
Fantasy streamer: Donte DiVincenzo (available in 93.0% of leagues) gets a much bigger opportunity with Stephen Curry out, and he's already taking advantage of it. DiVincenzo is averaging 16.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 4.0 3PG, 3.7 APG and 1.3 SPG in 33.3 MPG over his last three games, including a 17-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist performance on Friday in the first game without Curry. -Andre Snellings
Best bet: Jordan Poole over 24.5 points. Poole is the understudy to Steph Curry, called upon to step up his offense when Curry is out. When Curry missed the last month of last season, Poole upped his scoring average to 26 PPG. He continued that in Curry's first missed game of the current injury absence, scoring 29 points against the 76ers on Friday. -- Snellings
Breaking down the rest of the slate
Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics
3 p.m. ET, TD Garden, Boston, Mass
Line: Celtics (-9.5)
Money line: Celtics (-480), Magic (+360)
Total: 223 points
BPI Projected Total: 231.8 points
BPI Win%: Celtics (86.6%)
Questionable: Jayson Tatum
Ruled Out: Gary Harris, Chuma Okeke, Jalen Suggs, Wendell Carter Jr.
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play
Fantasy streamer: Grant Williams (available in 93.5% of leagues) could be called upon to start on Sunday with Jayson Tatum out, but even if he doesn't start, he should still get more minutes than usual and be more aggressive in his scoring and hitting the boards. Williams had an eight-game stretch as a starter in mid-November, and in the last six of those games he averaged 13.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.5 3PG, 1.8 APG and 0.5 SPG in 34.0 MPG. -- Snellings
Best bet: Magic +9.5. The Magic have won five straight games now, over solid competition. They've defeated the Clippers, the Raptors twice, the Hawks and these same Celtics. The Celtics will also be without Jayson Tatum (personal) on Sunday, and 10 points just seems too large a spread under these circumstances. -- Snellings
New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers
5 p.m. ET, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Line: Pacers (-1)
Money line: Knicks (-110), Pacers (-110)
Total: 229.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 232.1 points
BPI Win%: Knicks (51.1%)
Questionable: Chris Duarte
Ruled Out: Obi Toppin
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play
Fantasy streamer: Tyrese Haliburton over 29.5 total points + assists. Haliburton is a metronome with his production. He's averaging a combined 30.4 total points + assists this season and has produced at least 31 combined points + assists in five of his last six games. -- Snellings
Best bet: Killian Hayes (available in 73.7% of leagues) is on rinse-and-repeat in this space until his rostered percentage rises. With Cade Cunningham out for the season, Hayes is getting a long-term tryout to see if he can live up to his lottery draft status to earn a larger role in the Pistons' future. He's playing the best ball of his young career, averaging 13.5 PPG, 7.4 APG, 3.4 RPG, 1.7 3PG, 1.3 SPG and 0.4 BPG in 29.2 MPG over his last 11 games. -- Snellings
Fantasy streamer: Jalen Duren (available in 91.4% of leagues) has grabbed double-digit rebounds in five straight games, the last four as a starter, and has averaged 9.4 PPG (64.3 FG%, 78.6 FT%), 14.2 RPG and 0.8 BPG in 29.0 MPG over that stretch. On Sunday, he faces a Nets squad that ranks in the bottom-10 in the NBA in rebounds allowed to opposing centers. -- Snellings
Best bet: Bojan Bogdanovic over 20.5 points. Bogdanovic has averaged 22.1 PPG in his last 15 games, going over 20.5 points in eight of the last 10 games when he has played at least 25 minutes. -- Snellings
Brooklyn Nets at Detroit Pistons
6 p.m. ET, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Line: Nets (-8)
Money line: Nets (-345), Pistons (+270)
Total: 230 points
BPI Projected Total: 234.8 points
BPI Win%: Nets (72.5%)
Ruled Out: Patty Mills
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play
Best bet: Kyrie Irving over 33.5 points + assists + rebounds. The Pistons rank 29th in points allowed per 100 possessions and have allowed some very good performances to point guards all season. Irving is well positioned for success against Detroit. He's surpassed 33.5 PAR in each of his past four games. -- Eric Moody
Chicago Bulls at Minnesota Timberwolves
7 p.m. ET, Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Line: Bulls (-1.5)
Money line: Bulls (-125), Timberwolves (+105)
Total: 230.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 231.9 points
BPI Win%: Timberwolves (50.2%)
Questionable: Javonte Green, Ayo Dosunmu, D'Angelo Russell, Rudy Gobert
Ruled Out: Jordan McLaughlin, Taurean Prince, Karl-Anthony Towns
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play
Charlotte Hornets at Denver Nuggets
8 p.m. ET, Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Line: Nuggets (-8.5)
Money line: Nuggets (-355), Hornets (+278)
Total: 237.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 236.8 points
BPI Win%: Nuggets (65.5%)
Questionable: Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic
Ruled Out: Cody Martin, Dennis Smith Jr., Mark Williams, Michael Porter Jr.
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play
Best bet: LaMelo Ball over 21.5 points. Ball has returned from injury with a bang, totaling 50 points in his first two contests with at least 23 points scored in each game. He faces a Nuggets defense that allows the fourth-most points to opposing point guards and was just torched by Russell Westbrook for a triple-double on Friday. -- Snellings
Washington Wizards at Los Angeles Lakers
9:30 p.m. ET, Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Line: Lakers (-4.5)
Money line: Lakers (-195), Wizards (+162)
Total: 233.5 points
BPI Projected Total: 235.2 points
BPI Win%: Lakers (64.2%)
Ruled Out: Wenyen Gabriel, Anthony Davis, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Bradley Beal, Rui Hachimura
Note: BPI numbers factored in players who are ruled out but assumes questionable players will play
