Handicapping the NBA: Wednesday Picks

Handicapping the NBA: Wednesday Picks

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

Alex Barutha

Jonas Valanciunas to have a 20-point, 15-rebound game at Thunder (+437) -- FanDuel, 3:31 PM CT

The Thunder may have the worst center rotation in the NBA, emphasized by giving up the most rebounds per game (48.4) to opponents. While Valanciunas "only" has five 20-and-15 games this season, he's scored at least 20 points 13 times and has grabbed at least 15 boards six times. Ultimately, I would expect Valanciunas to achieve the feat at least once if these teams faced off four times, which is what the odds imply. Also, he posted 25-and-15 when the Pels played the Thunder in mid-November.

Nick Whalen

Cleveland Cavaliers -9.5 (-110) vs. Houston Rockets -- DraftKings Sportsbook, 3:14 PM CT

I can't believe I'm wholeheartedly backing the Cavaliers -- the Cleveland Cavaliers -- to cover a 9.5-point spread, but here we are. This is contingent on Evan Mobley playing, but if he does, Cleveland should be in a great position to take advantage of a shorthanded Rockets team that should be without Eric Gordon, Christian Wood, Jalen Green, Kevin Porter and Danuel House. Injuries aside, the Cavs are covering at by far the league's best rate this season, as they enter the night 22-5-2 (81.5%) against the spread.

Joe Bartel

Trae Young double-double (-140) at Magic -- DraftKings Sportsbook, 2:19 PM CT

The Magic just allow a ton of assists to opposing backcourt, and prior to Monday, Young had a streak of five straight games with at least 10 assists. 9.5 is his assist o/u at -150, so this option just gives you better odds. Given the Magic also struggle defending opposing frontcourts, I think Young could take a slight dip in his usual points totals but make up for it in spades with assists. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Joe Bartel
Joe Bartel is RotoWire's Operations Specialist and football contributor among many other things. When not at the office, he's probably playing a variety of Gen 4 console games or rooting on his beloved Green Bay Packers.
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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