NBA Best Bets and Player Props for Saturday 11/2/24
The 82-game NBA regular season offers us a wide variety of betting options, including point spreads, moneylines, and totals. The Association features 1,230 regular season games, which can make sifting through the odds an overwhelming task.
However, various advanced statistics can help narrow the choices. numberFire's NBA power rankings and daily NBA projections paired with advanced stats from the NBA can help give the inside track to quality bets.
While utilizing some of the mentioned tools, which NBA odds from FanDuel Sportsbook look like the best bets today?
Please note lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All injury news comes from the NBA's official injury report.
Today's Best NBA Bets and Player Props
Boston Celtics at Charlotte Hornets
Jrue Holiday Over 19.5 Points, Rebounds, and Assists (-115)
Jrue Holiday - Pts + Reb + Ast
I'll admit that it's a little unnerving to bet this one when the Charlotte Hornets might have poked the bear a bit on Friday.
Nonetheless, I can't avoid this prop market until a sluggish start for Jrue Holiday subsides. The stat-stuffer -- even with Al Horford out of the lineup -- only compiled 14 points, 5 rebounds, and a single assist in this same matchup on Friday.
Jrue has suffered a bit from the plethora of Boston Celtics blowouts, posting 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per 36 minutes thus far. This line would be disrespectful in an 11.5-point spread ordinarily, but Boston has a habit of only needing starters for three quarters.
Nonetheless, the C's might be inspired to run up the score a bit tonight, and our NBA DFS projections forecast 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists for Holiday on Saturday. I'm especially expecting him to bounce back on the glass against a Charlotte squad that is 28th in defensive rebounding rate (65.7%).
Sacramento Kings at Toronto Raptors
Kings Over 121.5 Points (-114)
Malik Monk Over 13.5 Points (-111)
Away Team Total Points
This Toronto Raptors team is going to be an eyesore defensively for most of the season. Toronto currently sits dead last in defensive rating (120.5) and should trend downward as Scottie Barnes (orbital) is sidelined.
This betting line is a bit spooky on a back-to-back where the Sacramento Kings had to travel and the Raptors didn't, but Sactown's natural scoring talent should put points on the board here. They're eighth in the NBA in offensive rating, and Toronto has allowed at least 125 points to four of their six opponents.
Both of these teams also play a top-nine pace in the league. I don't trust this ragtag Toronto squad to keep pace, so in lieu of a full-game over, I'll just take the Kings' total.
Malik Monk - Points
Contributing to that total could be Sacramento's bench-scoring ace, Malik Monk. Monk enters this one on a stretch of not topping 15 points in each of the last four games. The last time he did that was in early January of last season.
I like targeting Monk as a reserve in a game that could be lopsided if Toronto's -7.6 net rating is any indication. The Raps also the 11th-most points per game to Monk's organic shooting guard spot.
We've got Monk projected for 15.2 points in this plus matchup, which would merit -190 odds on this over if that projection is correct.
Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs
Spurs +3 (-110)
Spread Betting
The market isn't quite where they should be on the San Antonio Spurs yet.
I've been a full-blown buyer of Gregg Popovich's squad in the early going, and they've covered in three of five games. It's just a much different team with Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes aiding Victor Wembanyama's ascension to a top-five center. Road losses to the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder notwithstanding, they're winning the games that they should.
That could include this one. The Minnesota Timberwolves are at a rest disadvantage, and Friday's result -- a tight win over a Denver Nuggets team in full-blown chaos -- wasn't an emphatic statement. Minnesota is just 16th in defensive rating (116.3) compared to the top-ranked unit in the Association a season ago.
Overall, the Timberwolves are still likely the better team, but this spot benefits a veteran Spurs team. I'll take a one-possession margin considering Minny's already played within a basket in three of their five games.
Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets
Under 220.5 (-110)
Total Points
As mentioned, the Nuggets are a shell of the 2023 NBA Champions, and that's affecting the lineup tonight. Jamal Murray is almost certainly out of tonight's game after entering concussion protocol last night, shifting Russell Westbrook into the lineup.
You'd think Denver could take care of a Utah Jazz team missing Lauri Markkanen (back) and Jordan Clarkson (foot) even without Murray, but this spread is just 10.5 points for a reason. The Nuggets' offensive rating (103.8) and net rating (-9.9) are impossibly poor with Westbrook and Nikola Jokic on the floor together.
Meanwhile, Utah has a 79.8 offensive rating in 60 minutes with both Markkanen and Clarkson off the floor. That's why I can't leap to the spread even expecting Denver to struggle on the second leg of a back-to-back, but this one should be ugly.
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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.