NBA Tuesday best bets: Can you trust Morant in his return?
Despite only four games Tuesday, a 2022 NBA Finals rematch between the Celtics and Warriors and Ja Morant's return from a 25-game suspension highlight the small batch of contests.
Let's get to Tuesday's best bets.
Spurs @ Bucks (-16.5, O/U 249.5)
There have been historically high totals posted this season. While this isn't the highest this year, it's still one of the largest totals for a regular-season game in NBA history.
The high totals are often reserved for the Bucks and Pacers, two of the NBA's top three offenses. But it's also largely due to their poor defenses. Indiana has the league's second-worst defense, while Milwaukee has the 11th-worst.
As for Tuesday night's matchup, the Spurs struggle offensively, but they rank third in pace, meaning they'll try to run against their opponent's porous defense.
The Bucks are fifth in pace and have the league's third-best offense. Meanwhile, San Antonio has a bottom-seven defense. There won't be much defense played in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.
The game total has gone over in 69% of Bucks games and 68% of Spurs games. Milwaukee has cleared 250 total points in five of its last seven contests.
Pick: Over 249.5
Zach Collins: Over 12.5 points
Victor Wembanyama is out Tuesday with an ankle injury, so Zach Collins will play more minutes and have a larger workload.
Collins is averaging a career-high 12.7 points in only 26.9 minutes per game as he comes off the bench behind Wembanyama. Collins should presumably move into the starting center role and play well over 30 minutes.
With more opportunity in what's expected to be a high-scoring affair, Collins will certainly get his share of scoring chances.
Odds: -115 (playable to -130)
Ja Morant: Over 36.5 PRA
Morant served his 25-game suspension and returns to the court Tuesday against the Pelicans. The 6-19 Grizzlies desperately need Morant to be the savior they're looking for to turn their season around.
For all his off-court issues, Morant is still one of the league's most dynamic point guards. He'll be on a mission tonight and the rest of the season to remind everyone of that and try to propel Memphis back into the playoff picture.
Morant averaged 40.2 combined points, rebounds, and assists last season. He practiced with the Grizzlies during his suspension, so he should immediately return to his dominant, explosive self.
Odds: -115 (playable to -125)
Steph Curry: Over 28.5 points
Steph Curry is coming off one of the worst performances of his career in a Sunday night win over the Blazers. Curry scored seven points on 12 shot attempts, going 0-for-8 from deep.
The greatest shooter to ever live will bounce back at home against Boston on Tuesday night. The last seven times Curry scored under 20 points, he averaged 33 in the following game.
The Celtics allow the third-most threes and seventh-most points to opposing point guards. Curry doesn't stay cold for long. He'll return to form tonight.
Odds: -105 (playable to -125)
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @soshtry for more betting coverage.