Filip Tomic
NBA
Show Bio
The New Year tips off with a 6-game night in the NBA and another double-header on NBA TV. It all starts at 6:30 pm ET between the New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks.
So far this week I’ve landed +1282 and +920 same-game parlays and I’m feeling pretty hot ahead of tonight’s action, as well! I’ve prepared a same-game parlay for Pelicans vs Bucks which you can find below. Be sure to also check our predictions on the side and total for the rest of Saturday’s 6-game slate.
Let’s get into it!
Giannis Antetokounmpo to Score 35 Points (+220)
Bobby Portis Over 1.5 Made Threes (-146)
Jrue Holiday to Record 8+ Assists (-102)
Parlay odds: +890
Giannis Antetokounmpo to score 35+ points (+220)
The Greek Freak is averaging 30.6 points per game at home this season and is coming off a 33-point night against the Orlando Magic in just 31 minutes of play. In 2 of his last 3 games he went over 30 points, including a 36 point night vs the Boston Celtics. With Jonas Valanciunas sitting out tonight’s game, that leaves a big hole in the middle for Giannis to take advantage of. For some reason he just loves playing the Pelicans. In the last 3 meetings he has scored 38, 38, and 34 points while also dominating the boards. I expect him to put in another dominant performance against a depleted Pelicans team that is allowing almost 46 points per game in the paint.
Be sure to check out our full game previews for Saturday’s games once they are live
Bobby Portis Over 1.5 made threes (-146)
Prior to the blowout win at Orlando, Portis had a solid run of at least 2 made threes in 5 of his last 7 games. He didn’t score one vs the Magic, but despite that he ended the month of December averaging 1.8 makes per game while shooting a very solid 40% from distance. New Orleans is one of the worst teams when it comes to defending the perimeter. Opponents are scoring on 36.3% attempts from distance against them, that’s the 5th-worst mark in the entire NBA. It gets even worse in road games as that percentage goes up to 37.2%. Brandon Ingram will be more focused on scoring here in order to keep his team in the game, so that’ll leave a ton of opportunities for Portis to let it fly from deep.
Jrue Holiday to record 8+ assists (-102)
Holiday ended December averaging 7.3 assists per game, an increase of 1 assist compared to the month prior to that. He has been the main catalyst in the 2 wins over Orlando dishing out an average of 8.5 assists per game. Over his last 5 games he is averaging 7.4 of them per contest. I just don’t see anyone on the Pelicans’ roster being able to stay in front of him as their backcourt has been hit with injuries and a few players are still in quarantine. Over his last 5 games against them he is averaging 8.4 assists per game. This being a game between two high paced teams, I think he will push the tempo in this one and keep everyone involved in order to get Milwaukee to a win.
Pickswise is the home of free NBA picks and predictions. Make sure to also check out our NBA parlays and NBA prop bets tabs for more expert picks.
