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NBA Daily Tip Sheet – Friday’s Triple Threat

Michael Crosson
Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert
4 minute read

There's many ways to bet on the NBA, and some of the most popular ones include taking a side, a full-game total, or a player prop. So, this is what we like to call our Daily Triple Threat. Our three best bets in the aforementioned categories for NBA matchups on Friday, January 6. Best of luck!

NBA Best Bets for Friday, January 6

  • Indiana Pacers -1.5 (-110) vs. POR
  • Bulls-Sixers Over 231 (-110)
  • Dejounte Murray (ATL) Over 20.5 Points (-120) @ LAL
Updated on 04/24/2024
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Indiana Pacers -1.5 (-110) vs. POR

This appears to be a situation with two teams trending in entirely different directions at the moment, for a variety of different reasons.

The Blazers’ injury report is filling up quickly, considering Nassir Little and Justise Winslow will remain sidelined for Friday’s affair. And now, Jusuf Nurkic, Jerami Grant, and Gary Payton II are all listed as questionable with respective minor issues.

However, with a healthy Damian Lillard and a handful of minor injury concerns, I’m not giving this Blazers’ squad a pass for losing six of their last nine games. And there’s certainly no excuse for dropping back-to-back matchups to the Thunder.

Portland plays a slow brand of basketball. The Blazers currently rank 25th in the league in pace, and average roughly 112 PPG at both ends of the floor. Which works beautifully for well-balanced squads that can hold their own at the defensive end.

This Blazers squad simply doesn’t play good defense, though, and it’s gotten worse recently, highlighted by Portland ranking 21st in the league in defensive rating, and surrendering 113+ points in six of their last nine contests, with three of their opponents topping the 120-point mark during that span.

While on the other hand, the Pacers are 6-2 in their last eight contests, and their offense appears to be gaining steam fast, having scored 122+ points in five straight games.

And it’s not like they’ve been beating up on a bunch of pushovers either, considering Indiana’s last eight matchups have come against the Celtics, Heat, Pelicans, Hawks, Cavs, Clippers, Raptors, and Sixers. An absolute gauntlet of opponents.

So, I’ll back the Pacers to handle business at home against a Portland squad that’s now scored 110 points or less in five of their last nine contests.

Bet On Indiana!
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Bulls-Sixers Over 231 (-110)

Joel Embiid will miss a second straight game with a foot injury for the Sixers tonight. And while this squad is obviously far less dangerous with their superstar center sidelined, Doc Rivers typically reverts to a much smaller lineup in his absence, and they seem very comfortable allowing James Harden to run-and-gun with the rest of the rotational pieces Philly has on deck.

Which was on full display their last time out, as the Sixers entered overtime of their previous affair knotted up with the Pacers at 120, marking just the second time they’ve surrendered 120+ points in their last 12 games.

The Pacers rank eighth in the league in pace. So, it’s no surprise that Philly got baited into a trackmeet on Wednesday night. However, the Bulls operate at a very similar rate, currently ranked 12th in the league in pace, and they’ve now scored 121+ points in three of their last four games.

So, I’ll take the over in this meeting between a pair of squads that have both tallied 115+ points in six of their last seven contests.

Take the Over!
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Dejounte Murray (ATL) Over 20.5 Points

The addition of Dejounte Murray hasn’t exactly gotten Atlanta over the hump in the win column this season, however, that’s no fault of Murray’s, as he’s continued to play excellent defense, while averaging a modest 20.5 PPG, 5.5 REB, and 6.2 AST in his first campaign with the Hawks.

Murray missed a five-game stint with an injury in early December, and a trio of bumpy shooting nights bordered that stint. Aside from those three games, though, he’s now scored 20+ points in eight of his last nine outings, with four of those performances ringing in at 25+ points.

So, I’ll back Murray to keep it going in Friday’s matchup against a Lakers squad that currently ranks second in the league in pace.

Bet On Murray!
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Michael's Triple Threat Tracker: 8-1 (+638)

  • Indiana Pacers -1.5 (-110) vs. POR
  • Bulls-Sixers Over 231 (-110)
  • Dejounte Murray (ATL) Over 20.5 Points (-120) @ LAL

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Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson
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