There is perhaps no better day for a specific sport than Christmas for basketball. THE NBA brings us over 12 hours of hoops from a carefully selected group of the league’s most interesting teams. Choose the games you’re most excited to see before the season, and there’s a good chance that game will be played at Christmas.
Structurally speaking, Christmas is a great day to bet on basketball. There is only one game played at a time. With no overlap, you can reset after each game, adjust your units, reconsider lines, and dive back in when the opportunity presents itself. So let’s review Wednesday’s five games and select the best bets from each to get a glimpse of the NBA’s Christmas extravaganza.
Where to watch NBA games on Christmas Day
All Wednesday’s games are broadcast on ABC and will be streamed on fubo (Try for free).
- Knicks vs. Spurs, 12 p.m. ET, ABC/fubo
- Mavericks vs. Timberwolves, 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC/fubo
- Celtics vs. 76ers, 5 p.m. ET, ABC/fubo
- Warriors vs. Lakers, 8 p.m. ET, ABC/fubo
- Suns vs. Nuggets, 10:30 p.m. ET, ABC/fubo
- Betting line: Knicks -9; O/U 223.5
The name of the match against Victor Wembanyama is spacing. The Knicks will want to keep him as far from the basket as possible in order to create reasonable driving lanes for their ball handlers, and the easiest way to do that is to make sure their center shoots 3s. San Antonio could counter by putting Wembanyama over Josh Hart, the Knicks’ weakest shooter, so he can serve as a backup, but Hart is making 40 percent of his 3s this season and gives Karl-Anthony Towns a mismatch when he’s playing as well as he seems to be a non-starter. So expect Wembanyama to keep Towns and the Knicks intend to make Towns shoot 3s to keep him the Defensive Player of the Year favorite away from the basket. The choice: cities over 2.5 3 s
- Betting line: Nonconformists -5.5; O/U 221.5
We saw this game in the playoffs a season ago, and Dallas won it comfortably, but more relevantly, the Timberwolves are just a mess right now. They miss the spacing that cities provide. The decline of Mike Conley and the arrival of Julius Randle removed much of the offensive structure. The defense went from impenetrable to good garden variety. I just can’t reasonably pick a team playing this chaotically to win on the road against a Dallas team that has come together beautifully over the last few weeks. The Mavericks are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Luka Doncic is ready to claim his MVP title. They are just two teams moving in different directions. The pick: Mavericks -5.5
- Betting line: Celtics -10; N/A 222
Derrick White loves playing against the Sixers. He averaged over 18 points per game against them last season and 16 points per game against them the year before, and keep in mind his overall scoring wasn’t as high as it is now. Philadelphia’s slow frontcourt and terrible defense at the point of attack only get the most out of White. Expect him to be aggressive in a game the Celtics should control. The choice: White on 14.5 points
- Betting line: Warriors -4; O/U 225.5
Hey, speaking of messing up, the Warriors are 3-10 in their last 13 games. They still work with Dennis Schroder, and the Lakers obviously know Schroder very well. The Lakers are by no means perfect, but they have quietly tightened up some things as of late. Their once-obnoxious defense ranks #2 in the NBA over the last six games, which isn’t a significant sample size, but at least the effort and energy have improved. This is the fourth time LeBron James and Stephen Curry have met on Christmas, and although Curry’s team was favored in all three, James won two of them. The games between them tend to be reasonably close, so even if the Warriors win, I like to have those extra points in my back pocket in case it comes down to the wire. The choice: Lakers +4
- Betting line: Nuggets -3; O/U 233.5
Yes, on paper it should be a shootout. But these two teams just played Monday in a game that produced 207 total points. Jamal Murray, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen all missed the game and it’s unclear who will actually be available for this one. The Suns rank 23rd in pace. The Nuggets take the fewest 3-pointers in the NBA. There are simply too many reasons why this game could have a low score to take such a high spot. The choice: less than 233.5
