Parlays

The Golden State Warriors will be playing the second leg of a back-to-back situation when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night. Golden State is a respectable 3-3 in such situations so far this season, but this does not project as a favorable spot for head coach Steve Kerr’s crew. One, it doesn’t help that Sunday’s contest went to overtime (a 141-127 loss at Toronto). Two, the Warriors are terrible on the road — coming in with a 6-12 such record compared to 10-4 at home. As a result, my Warriors vs Nets pick is for the home side to win and cover.

Outside of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, Golden State’s roster just isn’t very good. Brandin Podziemski has taken a step back and Jonathan Kuminga is completely out of the rotation. As for Brooklyn, its record may be underwhelming but its current form is promising. The Nets are in the midst of a 3-game winning streak, which includes a 15-point beatdown of the team to which the Warriors just lost — the Raptors. Brooklyn followed that up with victories over Philadelphia by 8 and Minnesota by 16. Michael Porter Jr. (25.8 ppg, 7.5 4 rpg) has been fantastic in 2025-26 and is especially hot this month. MPJ tipped off December with 35, 33, 35 and 34 points and over the past 4 contests has scored 28, 24, 28 and 27 points. He has posted double-doubles in 2 of the past 3 outings. Brooklyn has a good chance to win this one outright.

Warriors vs Nets prediction: Brooklyn +3.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to +2.

Now you can bet any of our Warriors vs Nets predictions at FanDuel Sportsbook, which has a great new-customer offer to take advantage of. If you sign up for FanDuel right now, you earn a welcome bonus worth up to $300 if your first $5 bet wins! Use this link 🔗 to join FanDuel right now and learn more.

The numbers that Nikola Jokic is posting these days almost seem unreal at times. He just had another monster 34 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists in a losing effort as the Nuggets dropped a close one to Orlando. It wasn’t the best of ways to start off a 7-game road trip, Denver led by as many as 17 points in that one and was ahead for 74% of playing time. Allowing a team to come back like that isn’t something we’re accustomed to seeing from such an experienced roster like Denver’s, but here we are. Perhaps the Nuggets can get back on track against Miami, they’ve had their number over the years winning 11 straight games and covering the spread in 13 of 16 meetings overall and in 8 straight visits to Kaseya Center.

After two wins over the Hawks and Pacers, can we really say that the offensive struggles of the Miami Heat are behind them? Scoring 126 and 142 points is great, but I’d much rather see them do it against a top tier defense. There is still so much doubt around this team, especially with Bam Adebayo potentially missing this game with a back issue. Tyler Herro has been ruled out due to a toe problem, this entire season has been one to forget from his perspective as injuries have severely limited his playing time. The Heat haven’t been a very reliable team in home games lately, covering the spread just twice in 8 games.

The Nuggets won the first meeting fairly convincingly at the start of November, leading by as many as 17 points at one point. This game is all about them bouncing back and not allowing their road trip to get off to a 0-2 start. Miami just hasn’t been able to figure them out over the years and I’m afraid this won’t be the day they do it. Go with Denver.

Denver Nuggets vs Miami Heat Predictions: Nuggets -2.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Just when we thought the Cavaliers have started to turn their season around, they let us down with 2 defeats to the Knicks and Rockets. The loss on Christmas Day vs New York was a particularly painful one, given that Cleveland led over 70% of that game and the lead was as much as 17 points before the 4th quarter collapse. But that’s been the season of the Cavaliers in a nutshell. This team looks nowhere near the one that captured our imagination last year during the regular season and they’re now struggling to capture even one of the first 6 spots in the Eastern Conference.

The Spurs were also a massive disappointment in their last game, losing to the Jazz by 13 points despite being 16.5 point favorites. There were some positives to take away from that game, one of them was Victor Wembanyama’s insertion back into the starting line-up after him being on a minutes restriction and coming off the bench in his recovery from a calf issue. Things should stabilize a bit more moving forward as Wemby regains his footing. He goes up against Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley down low tonight, neither of those players has the height or the athleticism to stay in front of him.

By all accounts this is a match-up that the Spurs should be deciding in their favor. They’ve covered in 6 of 7 home games and are 10-2 SU in 12 games vs Eastern Conference opponents. Cleveland just hasn’t shown me enough this season to warrant me backing them against one of the elite West teams on the road. I’ll take San Antonio here.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs San Antonio Spurs Predictions: Spurs -3.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

At first glance, this number feels justified. Louisiana Tech has the better record, has been far kinder to bettors, and enters this matchup riding a bit of momentum. Coastal Carolina, meanwhile, looks like a team in free fall—three straight losses, the last two coming by blowout margins where the Chanticleers surrendered more than 50 points in each. On paper, it’s easy to understand why the Bulldogs are laying this kind of tag. But dig a layer deeper, and the confidence behind Louisiana Tech quickly erodes. The Bulldogs are being asked to do something they have repeatedly failed to do this season: handle the role of favorite. This is a team that has lost three of its last four games outright when laying points, beginning with a flat performance against Kennesaw State that exposed their limitations. Louisiana Tech’s recent success has come almost exclusively as an underdog, where expectations are lower and pressure is minimal. Asking them to suddenly flip that script and win by margin is a dangerous proposition.

Yes, the Bulldogs have won two straight games, and yes, they did so as slight underdogs. But that’s exactly the issue—those results have inflated their market perception without changing the underlying profile of the team. Louisiana Tech remains volatile, inconsistent, and unreliable when forced to dictate play. That’s the definition of a false favorite. Coastal Carolina, on the other hand, enters this game with nothing to lose. Their recent results have completely removed them from the betting radar, which is precisely why the number has ballooned to this range. This game doesn’t require Coastal to be the better team—only competitive. With Louisiana Tech’s history of failing to capitalize as the chalk, nine points is simply too much to give in a matchup filled with volatility and uncertainty.

Coastal Carolina vs Louisiana Tech prediction: Coastal Carolina +9 (-105) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

If you’re looking for a new sportsbook, check out Bet365, the world’s #1 sportsbook. They have an amazing sign-up offer where you can INSTANTLY receive $150 in bonus bets from a $5 wager, regardless of whether that bet wins or loses! There’s no catch, it’s really that simple. Join Bet365 right now ⏰ in time to fade or follow our experts’ Coastal Carolina vs Louisiana Tech predictions.

Bowl games often come down to one simple question: who actually wants to be there? And in this matchup, that question hangs squarely over Tennessee. The Volunteers entered the season with playoff aspirations after last year’s run, but those hopes were extinguished in November with a damaging home loss to Oklahoma. Since then, Tennessee’s resume has been padded with wins over New Mexico State and a Florida team that is in complete turmoil. The season ended on a sour note as well, with the Vols losing at home to Vanderbilt — a game where effort and urgency clearly favored the underdog. A spot that Vandy made the most of while Tennessee was left with even more question marks.

Illinois, meanwhile, views this game very differently. Despite sitting inside the Top Ten in the early going of the regular season, the Illini were never built for a Big Ten title run this season. That much was proven when one draws Indiana, Ohio State, and a road trip to Washington on the schedule and looked non-competitve in none of those contests. Still, Illinois has shown that they can compete physically and punch above their weight in the right spot. A bowl matchup against a brand-name SEC opponent that may already be thinking about 2026 is exactly the kind of opportunity for that to happen. Illinois plays a style of football that can neutralize Tennessee’s biggest strength – their offense. By controlling the line of scrimmage, shortening the game, and keeping possessions limited, the Illini can keep the Vols’ explosive offense on the sideline. That is also key against a Tennessee defense allowing nearly 29 points per game. The Illini may not only be able to mitigate the Volunteers’ offense but can also build a lead to cut their defensive line loose which loves to get into the backfield and disrupt things. With Illinois priced inside a field goal as an underdog, the number suggests this game is a tenable assignment for Illinois. If motivation matters — and in bowl season it always does — the Illini hold those cards too. Illinois outright.

Tennessee vs Illinois prediction: Illinois ML (+115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

If you’re looking for a new sportsbook for the football season, we recommend checking out Fanatics Sportsbook. New users can get $250 in FanCash INSTANTLY when they make their first $50 wager! Join Fanatics Sportsbook, where you can bet on our Tennessee vs Illinois predictions.

Bowl season keeps rolling along on Tuesday, and arguably the most fascinating game on the card comes in the form of the Alamo Bowl between the USC Trojans and TCU Horned Frogs. Both of these teams are going to be missing a ton of players heading into this game, which makes this a pretty difficult handicap on paper. On the TCU side of things, quarterback Josh Hoover is out, along with wide receiver Jordan Dwyer and running back Kevorian Barnes. That eliminates a lot of the potential for offense for the Horned Frogs, even against a USC defense that is going to be down a considerable number of pieces of its own. Furthermore, offensive coordinator Kendal Briles is not going to be on the sidelines for this game, so it’s hard to see TCU mustering up a ton of offense in this one.

On the other side of the ball, USC is going to have quarterback Jayden Maiava in this game, as the veteran has re-signed with the Trojans for another season. However, Lincoln Riley’s team is dealing with a ton of roster turnover and will be without some of their best players on Tuesday, including the wide receiver duo of Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane. With that in mind, we can expect Riley to lean on his ground game against a TCU defense that hasn’t exactly put up stellar metrics in that department this season. Given the fact that USC’s offense should be a bit more limited than usual and the TCU offense is down multiple key pieces in this game, the under is the only way I can look on Tuesday.

USC vs TCU prediction: Under 55.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Bet like a Caesar with this AMAZING new customer offer from Caesars Sportsbook. If you bet just $1, you’ll receive DOUBLE YOUR WINNINGS on your next 20 bets! 👥 using the Caesars promo code PWCONTENT20X, where you can bet on our USC vs TCU picks.