NBA Betting Picks for Monday 1/8/24: Miami Looks to Heat Up Against the Rockets

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 projections paired with advanced stats from the NBA can help give the inside track to winning big.

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.

NBA Best Bets

Houston Rockets at Miami Heat

Heat -4 (-110) Under 219 (-112)

Following a lengthy five-game road trip, the Miami Heat are looking to get back on track with a four-game homestand, which begins with Monday's matchup against the Houston Rockets. This bodes well for the Heat, as the Rockets have a 15-6 home record compared to 3-10 as the visitors. With back-to-back point spread covers in the Kaseya Center, Miami seems poised for another cover.

The Heat's advantages go beyond Houston simply being a poor road squad. Miami's offense has been quite mediocre with the 17th-best rating in the league, and the Rockets have the 5th-best defending rating. This suggests the Heat could be poised for a low-scoring game, but they have good matchups in several categories.

First off, Miami consistently gets to the free throw line with the 6th-most makes and 10th-most attempts per contest. Houston gives up the fourth-most free throw makes and third-most free throw attempts per contest. Bam Adebayo, who averages 21.0 points per game (PPG), and Tyler Herro (22.4 PPG) could be in store for big games, as they are among the Heat's top three free throw leaders.

The Rockets' perimeter defense is also vulnerable, giving up the 15th-most three-point attempts per contest. Miami is one of the league's most lethal teams from deep with a 38.4% shooting percentage (third-best).

On the other side of the court, Houston attempts the 12th-most free throws per game, and the Heat allow the 4th-fewest free throws per contest. With fewer shots from the charity stripe, the Rockets could struggle to score. Keep in mind they average the seventh-fewest PPG; they score nearly 20 PPG from free throws.

With Houston's road struggles, the Heat feel like a great pick against the spread (ATS).

The total is another intriguing pick in this matchup. Both squads are among the league's top five slowest paces. As previously mentioned, the Rockets have an exceptional defensive rating (5th), and Miami has the 13th-best defensive rating. Houston has the 11th-worst offensive rating, and the Heat will be without their 3rd-leading scorer Jimmy Butler (21.0 PPG).

Both teams are also among the top 8 fewest field goals attempted per game and among the top 10 of most shots per game with the shot clock between 4-7 and 0-4 seconds. This game is setting up to be a slow-paced battle with few possessions. The under has hit in five consecutive Miami games. Give me under the 219 total.

Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Clippers

Over 230 (-108)

The only nationally televised game for today is a promising matchup between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers. This should be loaded with stars, as both teams' top players are expected to play. That's right -- even Phoenix's big three of Devin Booker (26.4 PPG), Bradley Beal (16.5 PPG), and Kevin Durant (29.6 PPG) are on track to play. This will be only the sixth game with the Suns' big three playing together.

With the stars taking the court, there could be plenty of scoring. Phoenix has the 15th-worst defensive rating while LA's offense has been rolling, rising to the 8th-best offensive rating. The Clippers have totaled 119.0 PPG over their last 10 games, and they posted 131 points in a head-to-head matchup against the Suns on January 3rd.

Los Angeles continues to post blistering numbers from three-point land, shooting 41.3% in their previous five contests. The Clips torched Phoenix on January 3rd, converting 18 of 34 three-point shots (52.9%). LA could light up the scoreboard thanks to threes yet again, led by Norman Powell (13.3 PPG), who has shot 12 of 21 (57.1%) from deep in his last four games.

The Suns, who have the 11th-best three-point percentage, could also thrive from three with the Clippers giving up the 16th-most three-point shots per contest. This was the case in the previous matchup with Phoenix converting 15 of 35 attempts (42.9%). Booker shined with 35 points while draining 5 of 8 three-point shots. Los Angeles' Terance Mann could guard Booker once again, and he has the starting lineup's worst defensive rating at 119.2.

The free throw line could be another key to watch with the Clips giving up the 17th-most free throw shots per game while the Suns attempt the 4th-most free throws per contest. Booker and Durant frequently draw fouls with both players averaging over seven free throw shots per outing.

While LA does have exceptional defense with the 10th-best rating, Phoenix has several matchups they can take advantage of. Plus, the Suns may lack the defense to slow the Clippers' red-hot offense. Ultimately, I expect this matchup to pan out like January 3rd's clash -- which had a 131-122 total with the over hitting.

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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.