The NBA regular season is back in full swing with a loaded slate of games this Friday, with a total of 10 matchups on the docket scheduled for today, featuring an excellent nationally televised showdown on Amazon Prime Video, as Nuggets vs. Cavaliers takes center stage at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by Thunder vs. Warriors at 10:00 p.m. ET.
Our staff of basketball betting experts dug into the latest odds and identified NBA picks for five of today's matchups.
Continue below for our NBA picks, odds, props, and predictions for Friday, January 2.
NBA Picks, Odds, Props, Predictions: Friday, January 2
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 7:30 p.m. | |
  | 9 p.m. | |
  | 10 p.m. | |
  | 10:30 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NBA Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Spurs vs. Pacers
By Joe Dellera
The Pacers face off against the Spurs for their first matchup of 2026 tonight.
I’m looking to fade Jay Huff in this spot.
The Pacers are healthy now, and they're running more small-ball lineups with Nesmith and Siakam playing center.
Huff also played just 11 minutes last game and was essentially benched to start the second half.
Huff has gone under this line in 13-of-14 games with Nesmith in the lineup this season. So, in a matchup against the Spurs who won't have Wemby, I think it's more likely the Pacers just pivot away from him.
Pick: Jay Huff Under 14.5 Points + Rebounds (-135)
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Hawks vs. Knicks
By Bet Labs
This NBA system identifies profitable moneyline opportunities by fading home teams that are mildly hot but not dominant, especially during the heart of the season.
These situations occur when a team has recently won one or two games and returns home after a short road trip, creating inflated market confidence and public bias.
When those same teams were underdogs in their previous game, bettors often overreact to the perceived turnaround, driving prices beyond fair value.
Visiting teams benefit from this pricing inefficiency, as motivation and focus tend to be stronger for road squads facing temporarily overvalued opponents.
The effect is most pronounced in winter months when travel schedules and fatigue begin to normalize early season variance, allowing disciplined contrarian bettors to take advantage of short-term overperformance by home favorites.
Pick: Hawks Moneyline (+250)
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Kings vs. Suns
By Bet Labs
This NBA system focuses on identifying road teams that maintain strong performance despite a heavy schedule.
During the regular season, these teams play frequently — four or more times in the past six days — but still have at least one day of rest before their next game.
Facing travel fatigue and consistent competition, they are often undervalued by oddsmakers, particularly when the line moves slightly against them from open to close.
The market tends to overreact to perceived exhaustion and recent workload, inflating spreads and creating value on disciplined, well-conditioned teams that thrive with limited rest.
These situations reward squads with rhythm and continuity, especially on the road where focus and execution often outweigh fatigue narratives.
Pick: Kings +12.5 (-110)
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Thunder vs. Warriors
Steph Curry says he's fine and ready to go entering tonight's contest, despite being listed as questionable with an ankle sprain on the Warriors' injury report.
So, I’ll take his word for it and grab this number early on Golden State, assuming this line will begin to drift toward the Warriors' direction once they take him off the injury report and he is cleared to play.
Assuming Steph plays, we should get some great closing line value on this bet.
I'll take the points with the Warriors as steep home underdogs on Friday night.
Pick: Warriors +9 (-115)
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Grizzlies vs. Lakers
By Bet Labs
This NBA moneyline system assumes that the betting market and casual bettors slightly overvalue home court in tightly lined games, creating quiet value on the visiting team when it is a small underdog.
By requiring that the team we back is on the road, the system focuses on meaningful contests where both teams are motivated and talent levels are close.
Limiting the spread percentage and the point spread itself to a narrow band between zero and 6.5 points targets matchups where the road side is clearly competitive but still priced as the less likely winner, largely because the public prefers the perceived safety of a short home favorite.
In these situations, the visiting underdog often has comparable talent, fresher legs in certain schedule spots, or matchup advantages that are not fully captured in the line, so consistently siding with that road team aims to exploit these small but repeatable inefficiencies in how the market prices home advantage.
Pick: Grizzlies Moneyline (+145)
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