The National Basketball Association (NBA) has a pair of NBA Cup semi-final games in Las Vegas on Saturday. The Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks meet at 4:30 p.m. ET in the first game on TNT, while the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder battle at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Let’s get that bankroll in the black with our best NBA picks for Saturday, December 14.
Saturday’s Best NBA Picks
NBA odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All NBA picks are for 1 unit
Atlanta Hawks (+138) at Milwaukee Bucks (-164) | O/U 227.5 (-110/-110)
The Hawks (14-12) and the Bucks (13-11) meet in the East semi-final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The winner punches their ticket to the NBA Cup Championship on Tuesday night against the winner of the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma Thunder. This game can be viewed or streamed on TNT.
Atlanta opened the season 4-7 straight up (SU) in their first 11 games while failing to cash the first six games of the season. It’s been a tale of two seasons, however, and it all started with a stunning home-and-home sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, including a 117-101 NBA Cup win at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The Hawks are 7-1 SU and 5-3 against the spread (ATS) in their past eight games, perhaps playing better basketball than anyone else in The Association. The over has cashed in three of the past five games.
These teams just met on December 4th in Milwaukee at Fiserv Forum, with the Hawks coming away with a 119-104 victory as a four-point underdog as the under (236.5) cashed. In that win, Atlanta’s Clint Capela was able to gather 17 rebounds with a blocked shot, while finishing with eight points. Jalen Johnson had 23 points and 13 rebounds on 10-of-19 shooting, but he is considered questionable for this game due to an ankle injury. De’Andre Hunter also came off the bench for 20 points, including a pair of three-pointers. He is also questionable due to a knee ailment.
For the Bucks, they’ve picked up back-to-back victories, averaging 116 points per game (PPG) and allowing 111 PPG. Milwaukee is 0-2 ATS in the span, however, while cashing the over in both outings.
Milwaukee might be playing its best basketball of the season, going 9-2 SU in their past 11 games, but one of those losses came against Atlanta. Still, it’s risky backing the Hawks with Hunter and Johnson carrying questionable tags into this one. Back the Bucks laying a little bit of points, while going low on the total since this is a matinee game in Vegas. Expect the teams to be sluggish early on.
Picks: Milwaukee Bucks -3.5 (-110) & Under 227.5 Points (-110)
Houston Rockets (+190) at Oklahoma City Thunder (-225) | O/U 213.5 (-110/-110)
The Rockets (17-8) and Thunder (19-5) meet in the West sem-final at 8:30 p.m. ET. This game can be viewed on ABC.
The Rockets have picked up two victories in a row, grinding out a 91-90 win last time out Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors, although it just missed as a three-point favorite as the under (221) cashed.
The Thunder suffered a 119-116 loss at Houston on December 1st to open the month, failing as a one-point favorite. That served as a wake-up call, as Oklahoma City has won and covered four in a row while splitting the over/under in the stretch.
In that December 1 game in Houston, the Rockets hit 41.3% from the field, with Fred VanVleet leading the way with a career-high 38 points on 10-0f-19 shooting. He was able to knock down five three-pointers with three assists and two rebounds while hitting 13-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Houston was able to get to the free-throw line 39 times, converting 30 times, while Oklahoma City managed to go to the line just 25 total times, hitting 76% from the charity stripe. Alperen Sengun also went for 20 points with 14 rebounds and nine assists, while Jabari Smith Jr. chipped in with 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.
For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did his best to will the Thunder to a win, hitting for 32 points with eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and three three-pointers on 10-of-19 shooting in 36 minutes. Jalen Williams was good for two points with seven dimes and five boards. Aaron Wiggins had 13 points off the bench.
While Houston won the most recent matchup in the past two weeks, this is in Vegas, and Oklahoma City should get a little revenge. I’m expecting a Milwaukee-Houston matchup in the final on Tuesday. In this game, look for the total to inch just across the final line, but don’t get carried away.
Picks: Oklahoma City Thunder -5.5 (-108) & Over 215 Points (-110)
