Handicapping the NBA: Wednesday Picks

Handicapping the NBA: Wednesday Picks

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

Alex Barutha

Will Barton over 29.5 points + rebounds + assists vs. Pacers -- FanDuel Sportsbook, 2:45 PM CT

With both Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. out, Barton should take full control of the offense. With those two off the court (49-minute sample), he's averaged 25.7 points on 19.8 shots, 6.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per 36 minutes. It's a high number, but Barton could also play well over 36 minutes if the game stays relatively competitive.

Nick Whalen

Ja Morant OVER 24.5 points (+100) vs. Charlotte Hornets -- DraftKings Sportsbook, 2:00PM CT

For as great of a start as he's off to, Morant's scoring has been a bit up-and-down of late, but he's matching up against a Hornets team that not only has the league's worst defense but also plays at a near-league-leading pace. Given those factors, and the fact that Morant is averaging 26.0 points per game on the year, the line feels a little low. 

Toronto Raptors +3.0 (-115) at Boston Celtics -- DraftKings Sportsbook, 2:00PM CT

I'm feeling a little frisky after hitting the Jusuf Nurkic double-double prop yesterday, so bear with me. The Celtics are at home, but without Jaylen Brown are we sure they're the better team? Toronto got Pascal Siakam back over the weekend, and he looked good in his debut. With a few more days to recover and shake off any lingering rust, Siakam is a major chess piece added back to the mix for Toronto, which is starting to round into form as a very good defensive team. The Celtics may have the best individual player in the game, but the healthy Raptors have several viable defensive options -- OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Siakam -- to throw at Jayson Tatum. I like Toronto to steal a road victory on a night when Boston struggles to score.

Ken Crites

I'm taking the OVER on Dennis Schroder scoring 15.5 (-110) -- DraftKings, 10:52 AM CT

Schroder has scored 18 and then 20 points on nights when Jaylen Brown has been out.  Brown will be sidelined for the next week or so. That means Schroder is back in the starting lineup and ready to pick up the slack. Toronto does play solid defense (101.8 points/game), but their focus will be on Jayson Tatum. Expect Schroder to get a few easy catch-and-shoots when Tatum drives.

Joe Bartel

Wendell Carter to record double-double (+150) against BRO -- DraftKings, 12:13 PM CT

This really boils down to whether or not Carter will score double-digit points since the Nets do allow the 10th-most rebounds to opposing power forwards. The o/u for his total points sits at 12.5, and while the Nets are shockingly pretty good at defending the aforementioned power forward position, I think Carter's gotten to a point within the offense where he'll be a focal point every single night. I'm fine taking the over, but the better odds obviously lie with the double-double possibility.

Jacob Lebowitz

Wizards ML @ Cavaliers + Suns ML vs. Trail Blazers Parlay (+139) -- DraftKings, 12:41 PM CT

This parlay is free money. The Trail Blazers haven't won a game on the road this season and they're coming off a loss to the Clippers in LA last night. On the other hand, the Suns have won five games in a row, so this should be an easy win for Phoenix. As for the Wizards, they'll be taking on a Cavaliers team that is on fire. They've won four games in a row, but one of their main scorers, Collin Sexton, just tore his meniscus and will miss Wednesday's game. I expect the Wizards to continue their dominant start to the season and have no problem handling the Sexton-less Cavaliers. 

Michael Spero

Jalen Green over 13.5 points (-120) vs. Pistons -- DraftKings Sportsbook, 2:18 PM

Tonight's contest between the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons marks the first career matchup between Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green. I like Green to have a good showing against Detroit and see him easily passing his 13.5 point line.

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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.
Ken
An early RotoWire contributor from the 90's, K-Train returns with the grace of Gheorghe Muresan and the wisdom of Joe Gibbs. Ken is a two-time FSWA award winner and a co-host on the RW NBA Podcast. Championships incude: 2016 RW Staff NBA Keeper, 2019 RW Staff NFL Ottoneu Keeper, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Experts, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Kamla Keeper and 2023-24 FSGA NBA Expert Champions. Ken still owns a RotoNews shirt.
Jacob Lebowitz
Jacob is a former RotoWire contributor. He's always doing something sports-related whether that's playing NBA 2K, watching a football game or playing a game of pickup basketball.
Michael Spero
Michael is a former RotoWire contributor. He wrote in the NBA and NCAAF departments for RotoWire. He is a big-time fan of both the Bulls and Nuggets. Michael spends his time playing pick-up or anxiously rooting for his fantasy teams.
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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