We’re down to the final four in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament! The East matchup will see the Pacers take on the Bucks, while the West will pit the Pelicans against the Jazz. Both games will be in Vegas and you can find our best bets for both right here!
Also, make sure to head over to our NBA Tips page regularly, as we’ll be providing free tips for all the major slates for each and every week of the 2023-24 season!
NBA Betting Tips: Friday, December 8th 2023
Indiana Pacers vs Milwaukee Bucks
9am AEDT, Las Vegas
Representing the Eastern Conference in the inaugural NBA Cup are the Indiana Pacers and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pacers seemingly had the harder route to get to this position, upsetting the Celtics in a thrilling matchup last start. Tyrese Haliburton was at his brilliant best and sent a dagger through Celtic hearts with an And-1 three at the death. Elsewhere, the Bucks enjoyed a straightforward win against the Knicks last start, leading throughout and eventually coming away 15-point winners. These teams have only met once this campaign and it came at the home of Indiana where the Pacers scraped a two-point win. Obviously, there are no home court favourites in this outing, but the recent play of the Pacers leads me to believe that they’re certainly worth a shot at the big handicap.
Indiana Pacers +6.5
$1.91 (1 Unit)
New Orleans Pelicans vs Los Angeles Lakers
1pm AEDT, Las Vegas
Representing the Western Conference are the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Pelicans went into their quarterfinal matchup with the Kings as the underdogs and it certainly looked that way when they trailed by double-digits early, however, the Pelicans rallied hard in the middle two quarters and were eventually able to come away with a 10-point win. In contrast, the Lakers had to fight to the death for their three-point win against the Suns in their quarterfinal matchup, and were on the right end of a more than controversial call late in the piece. I think the Lakers will need more than luck on their side this time around when they take on the full-strength Pelicans who will fancy their chances here.
New Orleans Pelicans to Win
$2.06 (1 Unit)