Tuesday night delivers action in the NBA and NHL with a slate packed with opportunity. With Christmas just around the corner, teams are looking to build momentum and establish consistency as the new year nears. Tonight's board offers value for bettors willing to dive into the numbers. Here are tonight’s best bets brought to you by BetOnline.ag. Click here to join. All new players get a 50% welcome bonus and up to $250 in free bets.
First Pick: Under 225.5 Points
Rundown: The Los Angeles Lakers (19-8) wrap up a four-game road trip Tuesday night as they face the Phoenix Suns (15-13) in a Pacific Division showdown between the division’s top two teams at PHX Arena.
Los Angeles concludes the road stint coming off a 15-point loss to the crosstown rival Clippers, a game that saw star point guard Luka Doncic leave the game with a left leg contusion, an injury that will hold him out of tonight’s contest in Phoenix. His 34.1 point per game leads the NBA and his offensive dominance will be a significant loss for Los Angeles. LeBron James’ 20.2 points per game is his lowest mark in his illustrious 23-year career, however Los Angeles will look to lean on the 40-year-old with Doncic sidelined.
Phoenix enters tonight’s matchup looking to get back on track after dropping three of its last four games, including a 116-114 home loss to the Lakers just nine days ago. Devin Booker has led the charge in the scoring department for Phoenix, averaging 25.6 points per game this season. The 11-year veteran put up 27 points in the two-point loss to Los Angeles on Dec. 14. Phoenix home games have trended lower scoring, eclipsing the total in just four of 14 home contests (28.6%), while Los Angeles road games have exceeded the point total in seven of 16 matchups (43.8%).
The absence of Doncic could significantly impact Los Angeles’ offensive approach, creating a path for the game to finish below the projected point total.
Second Pick: Over 5.5 Goals
Rundown: The Vegas Golden Knights (16-8-10) host the San Jose Sharks (17-16-3) in a pacific division battle at T-Mobile Arena.
Both squads are looking to rebound, Vegas returns home on a three-game losing streak while San Jose hits the road after dropping back-to-back home contests against Dallas and Seattle. The teams enter scoring a combined 5.9 goals per game and surrendering 6.2 per game, both above the projected total for tonight's matchup. In 16 games played at T-Mobile Arena this season, ten have cleared the 5.5 goal total (62.5%).
San Jose comes in with a slight edge in offensive output, posting the NHL’s 16th-ranked scoring offense while Vegas comes in behind at 21st in the league. Vegas' advantage lies on the defensive end, where they rank inside the top 10 in goals allowed while San Jose ranks near the bottom at 27th through 36 games.
Expect both offenses to convert on high-percentage scoring chances, resulting in a high-scoring affair in Vegas.