Welcome to a special edition Money Baller NBA Cup Report. We went 4-2 on our featured picks on Sunday on the NBA Baller Report and 2-0 in the NFL Week 14 Newsletter!
Published: Monday, December 9, 2024 – 11:14 PM CST
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Orlando Magic @ Milwaukee Bucks
- The Magic continue to struggle in the first half, holding an 8-18 1H ATS record overall and an even worse 1-7 1H ATS as road underdogs.
- Key Absences: The Magic will be without key players Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, which significantly impacts their offensive firepower and versatility.
- Bucks Dynamics: Expect Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo to step up in a meaningful game.
- TMB Thoughts: With the Magic’s poor 1H record and the absence of two of their best players, the Bucks are in an ideal spot to take early control. We recommend playing Bucks 1H ATS, with confidence up to Bucks 1H -4.5. No official lines were posted at the time of writing, but this setup aligns strongly with first-half trends and player availability.
Dallas Mavericks @ Oklahoma City Thunder
- Mavericks Trends: Dallas has been strong against the spread, holding a 15-9 ATS record this season and excelling as an underdog of 2.5 points or more with a 6-1 ATS mark. Additionally, they have consistently hit overs in this spot, going 7-0 O/U and 7-0 on Team Total Overs as a road underdog.
- Thunder Trends: Oklahoma City also has an impressive 14-8-1 ATS record.
- Game Dynamics: A Baller System identifies unders as a strong play in matchups between elite conference teams. Despite Dallas’s recent trend toward overs, both teams’ defensive capabilities and the stakes of this matchup suggest a lower-scoring affair.
- TMB Thoughts: In what could be a tightly contested game between two of the West’s best teams, we support the Under 231.5. The line feels inflated for teams that can buckle down defensively in high-stakes games. Also, we lean backing the Thunder -4, an elite home team seeking revenge.