Best NBA Bets Today January 9 | Back Wizards As Favorites, Bulls As Underdogs

The college football national championship game between TCU and Georgia is Monday night, but that doesn’t mean we are going to forget about the NBA. Here are two games Monday worth a wager on the NBA odds.

New Orleans at Washington (-1.5)

Tips at 7 p.m. ET from Capital One Arena. New Orleans will be short-handed yet again as All-Stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson are out injured. Williamson will be sidelined for the next three weeks, at least, with a right hamstring strain. He’s averaging 26 points, seven rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Durability has been a major concern for Williamson throughout his career, but this season he had largely been able to stay healthy before this issue. Ingram has missed the past 20 games with a toe injury.

Without those two and a few reserves, the Pels lost their second in a row Saturday, 127-117 at Dallas. Naji Marshall delivered 24 points in the loss. He has really been good in taking Williamson’s spot. Over his last three games in the starting lineup, Marshall has averaged 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals.

Jose Alvarado finished Saturday’s loss with 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds. C.J. McCollum got the night off for rest, and Alvo got the starting nod, filling in for him admirably but McCollum should be back Monday. McCollum has averaged 27.3 points, 6.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks across 37.0 minutes over the past three games, taking on extra minutes and usage while Ingram and Zion are sidelined.

The Pelicans have scored 100-plus points in 28 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the NBA. Additionally, the Pelicans have scored 100-plus points in every game this season except one: A 106-95 loss to Portland on Nov. 10, 2022. The Pelicans have been causing havoc on the defensive end of the ball this season, resulting in New Orleans being ranked 2nd in steals per game (8.6) and 4th in the NBA in deflections per game (16.5).

Washington also enters on a two-game skid after falling 127-110 in c on Friday. The team played again without star Bradley Beal as he has a low-grade left hamstring strain and will miss at least a few more games. Kyle Kuzma had 23 points and is averaging career-highs in points (21.4) and assists (3.9) through 39 games played this season. He has scored 20+ points in 20 of his last 24 appearances.

This is the first meeting of the season between the teams. Washington has won 15 of the last 20 games against New Orleans and nine straight at home.

Chicago at Boston (-8)

NBA TV has this game at 7:30 p.m. ET and it already wraps up the season series with the Bulls surprisingly leading 2-1. The lone game in Boston was a 123-119 win over the Celtics, though. Jayson Tatum had 36 points and 12 rebounds, including some clutch late free throws. Malcolm Brogdon added 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting and Jaylen Brown scored 16 points for Boston. Brogdon became the first Celtics guard to score 25 or more points on 90% shooting off the bench since the start of the 3-point era (1980). DeMar DeRozan had a season-high 46 points for the Bulls. Nik Vucevic added 24 points and 12 rebounds and Zach LaVine finished with 16 points.

Boston closed a four-game trip through the Western Conference with a 121-116 win in San Antonio on Saturday. Tatum led with 34 points, Robert Williams had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for his second double-double of the season. Brogdon had 23 points and seven assists. Guard and reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart suffered a knee contusion and didn’t return. Smart ran into Zach Collins on a screen and limped off the court.

Chicago won its third in a row Saturday, 126-118 over Utah. LaVine had 36 points and eight rebounds. He’s posted three games with at least 35 points across his last six appearances. NIkola Vucevic had 15 points and 16 rebounds, his fifth straight double-double. This month, he’s averaging 18.8 points, 15.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks, all major improvements from the month of December. His shooting percentages have also increased, posting 64.3 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.

The Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan recorded a season-high 46 points in his first matchup with Boston (11/4). In the season series, DeRozan is averaging 33.0 ppg, which is his second highest average against any opponent this season (minimum of two games played).

The Bulls are 5-5 in their last 10 games against Boston. Chicago’s last two road losses to Boston came by no more than four points in each contest. The Bulls’ last road victory versus Boston was on Apr. 19, 2021 (102-96).