5 Best NBA Bets and Player Props for Wednesday 1/1/25

The 82-game NBA regular season offers us a wide variety of betting options, including point spreads, moneylines, and totals. The Association features 1,230 regular season games, which can make sifting through the odds an overwhelming task.

However, various advanced statistics can help narrow the choices. numberFire's NBA power rankings and daily NBA projections paired with advanced stats from the NBA can help give the inside track to quality bets.

While utilizing some of the mentioned tools, which NBA odds from FanDuel Sportsbook look like the best bets today?

Please note lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All injury news comes from the NBA's official injury report.

Today's Best NBA Bets and Player Props

Brooklyn Nets at Toronto Raptors

Nets Moneyline (-112)

It's kind of shocking to see the 12-20 Brooklyn Nets favored over anyone on the road this year, but this makes sense.

The Toronto Raptors could empty the cupboard on New Year's Day after a 54-point -- yes, 54! -- loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, but beyond that, Toronto has just been the worst team, by net rating (-10.5 NRTG), over every team's respective last 10 games. They should be an underdog until their play turns around a bit -- especially if RJ Barrett (illness) sits again.

Vibes around Brooklyn aren't bad, either. The Nets' NRTG in their last 10 games (-5.9) isn't too different from their season-long mark (-4.6), and the team just brought back D'Angelo Russell. A scapegoat of Los Angeles Lakers fans, Russell was an All-Star in 2019 for Brooklyn behind 25.2 points per 36 minutes on excellent 53.3% true shooting. They're probably happy to have him back for pieces that weren't even playing much.

With a rest advantage, I'll back the Nets to keep these clubs' recent momentum heading in the same direction.

New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat

Heat -8.5 (-110)
Jimmy Butler Over 18.5 Points (-113)

We can start taking the Miami Heat a bit more seriously on Wednesday.

Jimmy Butler returns from a conditioning absence that could have gone better for Miami; Butler did request a trade on Christmas, after all. Nonetheless, that weirdness seems to be behind both parties for now, allowing his return to pave the way for improved play.

The Heat have a +7.1 NRTG with Butler on the floor this season compared to -0.6 when he's off it, according to PBP Stats. That's a huge upgrade when you could have favored Miami here already. Their NRTG over the last 10 games (+1.9) still towers over the lowly New Orleans Pelicans (-9.0), who are on the road as the teams enjoyed equal rest.

NOLA has covered just 3 of their 15 road games against the spread (ATS). Add in that Butler's return might be undervalued by perceived weirdness of his request, and I'd argue this line should be double digits.

Given our daily NBA projections' forecast of 18.8 points and Butler's ability to rise to the occasion, I'll also add his points prop here against a Pelicans squad allowing the fourth-most points per game to small forwards (24.6).

Atlanta Hawks at Denver Nuggets

Hawks Over 120.5 Points (-108)
Trae Young Over 35.5 Points and Assists (-106)

The Denver Nuggets' defense without Aaron Gordon (calf) is the gift that keeps on giving in betting markets.

All three of Denver's game totals and opposing team totals have gone "over" since Gordon's injury on Christmas, which likely coincides with the Nuggets' frightening 117.9 defensive rating (DRTG) in games where the forward didn't play.

The problem with Denver's up-tempo system (fifth in pace) comes when the requisite on-ball defender(s) to survive on that end are gone -- as they are now. These results should continue to flow in -- especially facing an Atlanta Hawks team that's totally comfortable in this sort of environment.

Atlanta is 2nd in pace themselves with the league's 16th-best offensive rating (ORTG). They've topped 120 points in 15 of their 33 games before even adjusting for the Nuggets' contribution to the total.

At this point, I'll keep playing it until markets catch up.

You kind of saw this coming then, right? It's a new year, but I still love corollary props.

Trae Young is coming off a December where he averaged 23.2 points and 12.2 assists per game -- right on this line. The problem with setting it here? This environment is better than average.

Beyond the Nuggets' general defensive concerns, they've ceded the 10th-most points and 3rd-most assists per game to opposing point guards. Gordon's injury forces Russell Westbrook into a more prominent role, and Young has torched Westbrook for 28.5 points and 9.5 assists per game in 12 career matchups.

We've got Young projected for 36.2 points and dimes to kick off 2025.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.