NBA Betting Guide: Lines, Trends & Picks For Friday, Jan. 6

Today's NBA Betting Lines, Odds & Picks

With a massive 11-game NBA slate tonight, there is no shortage of value on the board. Keep reading to see which games I'm targeting and which picks our BetQL model likes.

One trend to note is that the BetQL NBA model is on fire, hitting 56% of all picks rated ⭐⭐⭐ and higher over the last 30 days. Take advantage of BetQL's free trial and see all of today's best NBA bets, plus what the model is projecting for this week's NFL, NHL, and NCAA football and basketball games! Start your free trial today!

Trail Blazers vs. Pacers Prediction

The Portland Trail Blazers (19-18 SU, 20-15-2 ATS, 17-18-2 O/U) play the second game of their three-game road trip tonight when they face the Indiana Pacers (21-18 SU, 24-15 ATS, 19-19-1 O/U).

There is going to be no shortage of offense between these two teams tonight. Prior to their game in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the Pacers had a four-game homestand in which they won each game and averaged 129.2 points in the process. However, they also gave up 121 points. The Blazers' offense has been a little up and down lately, but going against a defense as bad as Indiana's shouldn't give them much resistance. Portland should also be getting Jusuf Nurkic back tonight, which will give them a huge boost offensively. The full game total is a bit steep, so I'll play the first half instead.

My pick: Trail Blazers vs. Pacers 1H Over 118.5

Hornets at Bucks Prediction

The Charlotte Hornets (10-29 SU, 16-23 ATS, 19-20 O/U) open their four-game road trip with a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks (25-14 SU, 20-16-2 ATS, 20-18 O/U) tonight at Fiserv Forum.

The Charlotte Hornets are bad. Like really, really bad. They’ve gone 3-14 since the beginning of December and I don’t see much changing for them anytime soon. They have the second-worst offensive rating over their last five road games, only averaging 105.0 points. They could get Gordon Hayward back tonight, which would be a boost defensively, but not having Kelly Oubre Jr. has hurt them on the offensive end. Milwaukee is coming off a game where they nearly blew a 16-point lead in the final 1:14 against the Raptors before winning in overtime. Needless to say, defense is going to be an emphasis for the Bucks tonight.

My pick: Hornets vs. Bucks Under 232

Nets vs. Pelicans Prediction

The Brooklyn Nets (25-13 SU, 19-18-1 ATS, 17-21 O/U) and the New Orleans (24-24 SU, 20-18 ATS, 22-16 O/U) meet tonight for the second and final time season.

Typically when a team has a massive win streak snapped, I like to fade them in their next outing. In a lost of cases, the loss kind of takes the air out of their sails for the next game or two and the motivation to keep that streak alive fades. However, I think we'll see a bounce-back from the Nets tonight after Chicago ended their 12-game streak on Wednesday. I like Brooklyn in this spot because of all the injuries that New Orleans is dealing with. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are both still sidelined and the Nets have the personnel defensively to slow down CJ McCollum. The Pelicans also destroyed Brooklyn on their home floor in the first game of the season, so I would be surprised if the Nets don't have some added motivation to do the same in New Orleans.

My Pick: Nets ATS.

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