Two of NBA’s Hottest and Most Surprising Teams Face Off + A Look at Week 12 Road Favorites in the NFL

We have 7 NBA bets to watch and 3 for golf

In today’s newsletter…

1. Leading Off: The NFL division winners betting market

2. Bets to Watch: Spurs scored 123 points and shot 54.0% in 1st game without Wembanyama

3. Game of the Day: East-leading Pistons face streaking Hawks

4. By the Numbers: Patriots, Seahawks are 5-0 ATS on the road this season

5. Overtime: NBA stars are struggling to stay healthy

1. Leading Off

The parity in the NFL this season has led to a lot more competitive games than usual. But that isn’t necessarily showing up in the betting markets, as there’s now some separation in division winners odds — even for teams who aren’t currently on top or don’t have much of a lead in the standings. Here’s where each division stands after Week 11, with the current division leader in bold (odds via FanDuel):

• AFC East: Patriots -250, Bills +195, Dolphins and Jets +30000

• AFC North: Ravens -280, Steelers +250, Bengals +3000, Browns +30000

• AFC South: Colts -340, Jaguars +360, Texans +1500, Titans (off the board)

• AFC West: Broncos -300, Chargers +500, Chiefs +550, Raiders +30000

• NFC East: Eagles -10000, Cowboys +5000, Commanders and Giants +30000

• NFC North: Packers +140, Lions +150, Bears +300, Vikings +7000

• NFC South: Buccaneers -650, Panthers +550, Saints +15000, Falcons +20000

• NFC West: Rams -240, Seahawks +310, 49ers +850, Cardinals +30000

— Abe Rakov

3. Game of the Day

Pistons are Surprise Contenders Early in Season, Face Hawks Who Are Streaking Without Star

The Pistons are the surprise of the start of the NBA season at 12-2, while the Hawks have won five straight games. Detroit still isn’t getting much respect from the sportsbooks despite having the second-best record in the NBA (the Pistons are fifth to win the East at +1100), but another quality road win could help turn more people into believers. The Hawks will be without Trae Young again but have won seven of nine with their injured star sidelined.

Pistons (12-2, 4-1 Away) vs. Hawks (9-5, 2-3 Home)

The Odds

• Spread: Pistons (-1, -108) vs. Hawks (+1, -112)

  • DET: 10-4, ATL: 8-6

• Moneyline: Pistons -108, Hawks -108

• Total (228.5): Over -112, Under -108

  • DET: 7-7, ATL: 7-7

Head-to-Head

Players to Watch

• Pistons G Cade Cunningham (DTD): 27.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 9.9 assists, 0.8 blocks, 1.4 steals, 3.6 turnovers, 43.6% FG (28.8% 3PT)

• Pistons C Jalen Duren: 9.4 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 blocks, 1.1 steals, 2.5 turnovers, 64.7% FG

• Pistons G Ausar Thompson (DTD): 13.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.7 blocks, 1.8 steals, 1.4 turnovers

• Hawks F Jalen Johnson: 21.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 0.3 blocks, 1.8 steals, 3.0 turnovers

• Hawks G Nickeil Alexander-Walker: 17.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.9 blocks, 1.1 steals, 2.6 turnovers

• Hawks C Kristaps Porzingis: 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 blocks, 0.6 steals, 1.1 turnovers

4. By the Numbers

Where Bettors Have Money in NFL Week 12 Games With Road Favorites

NFL

• Bills (-5.5, -115) vs. Texans (+5.5, -105): 79% of the money and 80% of the bets are with Buffalo

  • ATS — BUF (road): 2-2, HOU (home): 3-2

• Patriots (-7.5, -118) vs. Bengals (+7.5, -104): 91% of the money and 73% of the bets are with New England

  • ATS — NE (road): 5-0, CIN (home): 2-3

• Seahawks (-13.5, -108) vs. Titans (+13.5, -112): 89% of the money and 81% of the bets are with Seattle

  • ATS — SEA (road): 5-0, TEN (home): 2-3

• Jaguars (-2.5, -112) vs. Cardinals (+2.5, -108): 66% of the money and 75% of the bets are with Jacksonville

  • ATS — JAX (road): 1-3, ARI (home): 1-4

• Eagles (-3.5, -110) vs. Cowboys (+3.5, -110): 79% of the money and 73% of the bets are with Philadelphia

  • ATS — PHI (road): 4-1, DAL (home): 2-2

NBA

• Grizzlies (+6, -110) vs. Spurs (-6, -110): 77% of the money and 67% of the bets are with San Antonio

  • MEM: 4-10-0, SAS: 5-6-2

• Jazz (+12.5, -112) vs. Lakers (-12.5, -108): 63% of the money and 52% of the bets are with Los Angeles

  • UTA: 8-5, LAL: 10-4

• Suns (+2, -108) vs. Trail Blazers (-2, -112): 56% of the money is with Portland but 53% of the bets are with Phoenix

  • PHX: 8-4-2, POR: 6-7-0

5. Overtime

In the News 

• Victor Wembanyama will be out for “a few weeks,” according to ESPN, with the Spurs star suffering a calf strain. The NBA is struggling to keep some of its biggest names on the court early in the season, which has led to bench players like the Lakers’ Bronny James being forced into starts.

• The Jets have finally benched quarterback Justin Fields and will start Tyrod Taylor against the Ravens on Sunday. Fields wasn’t making a ton of errors (he only has one interception on the year), but he could barely move the ball — he averages just 139.9 passing yards per game for the 2-8 Jets.

• Virginia Tech decided to make a quick move by hiring former Penn State coach James Franklin to be its next head coach. The unusually early hire will prevent Franklin from looking at bigger openings (such us Florida, LSU and UCLA), and should help with recruiting and the transfer portal.

• The Mavericks have fallen apart, and ESPN looked into the paths forward for the formerly consistent franchise. Could they trade star Anthony Davis or tank (those are likely related)? Make a splash in the upcoming free agent market? With a front office in flux, it’s hard to predict.

• Purdue is back on top of the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll after beating then-No. 8 Alabama on the road. Houston is No. 2 again, followed by UConn and Arizona, who each have two first-place votes, and Duke, who has the remaining first place nod. Louisville (6th) and Illinois (8th) each climbed six spots to make it into the top 10.

What to Watch (times are ET)

• 6:30pm: No. 17 Michigan State vs. No. 12 Kentucky [NCAAM] on ESPN

• 8pm: Grizzlies vs. Spurs on NBC (or Devils vs. Lightning on NHL Network)

• 9pm: No. 24 Kansas vs. No. 5 Duke [NCAAM] on ESPN

• 11pm: Suns vs. Trailblazers on NBC