It’s the final night of the NBA Cup group stages before shifting to the knockout rounds next week. A ton of teams will take the floor on Tuesday still in contention, including two matchups between undefeated teams.

The Magic and Knicks will square off to decide who wins East Group A, while the Bucks and Pistons will battle for supremacy in Group B. The losers of those contests could still make it via the Wild Card—they’d have to have a better point differential than the Celtics—but winning guarantees your spot in the next round.

Group B is also still up for grabs in the Western Conference, with the Spurs, Thunder, and Suns all currently sitting at 2-1. The Spurs and Suns will meet on Tuesday, so the winner of that matchup will advance to 3-1. If the Spurs and Thunder both win, the Spurs would advance via the head-to-head tiebreaker. If the Suns and Thunder win, the Thunder would advance via the tiebreaker.

It’s a lot to wrap your head around, but it should lead to an exciting night of basketball.

Tonight's Best Bets For The NBA On Dec 3

Before we dive into my NBA best bets for Tuesday's 11-game slate, I want to make sure to call out our various NBA tools that will guide us through these slates:

  • NBA player projections - while the focus here is betting, our NBA DFS projections include minutes projections, a key data point when evaluating player props.
     
  • NBA Player Prop Finder - I don't place a single bet without confirming I have the best price, and I suggest you do the same.

We've also got all the NBA betting odds organized in an easy-to-digest table and NBA futures odds for those of you forecasting the season from a macro level.

Finally, I'll have all my free NBA bets, even if there isn't a standalone article, logged in our bet tracker.

Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets Pick

  • Pick: 76ers -4.5 (-110; BetMGM)
  • Bet to: 76ers -5.5 (-110)

Things could not have started worse for the 76ers. Paul George and Joel Embiid have both missed large stretches of the early season, and they’ve won just four of their first 18 games. They’re also just 26th in Net Rating, being outscored by an average of -7.1 points per 100 possessions.

That said, they have started to play a bit better. Two of their four wins have come in their past four contests, and they also have an overtime loss to the Rockets over that stretch. Houston has been one of the best teams in basketball this season, so that’s certainly a defensible loss.

The 76ers also got George back in the lineup in their last outing. They’re still without Embiid, but George gives them a borderline top-20 player when healthy. With Tyrese Maxey also an established star and Jared McCain looking like a Rookie of the Year candidate, the cupboard is far from bare in Philly.

It’s hard to make the same case for the Hornets. They haven’t been much better than the 76ers this season, and they’re going to be without their best player for at least the next two weeks. LaMelo Ball has carried a massive workload for the team this season, leading the league with a 39.6% usage rate while averaging more than 31 points per game.

Without Ball, this team simply doesn’t have the horses to compete. They’ve averaged just 100.6 points per 100 possessions with Ball off the floor this season, and they’ve posted a -10.6 Net Rating in that split.

Ultimately, this feels like the right time to buy low on the 76ers.

Best NBA Player Prop Bets For Dec 3

DeMar DeRozan Over 19.5 points (-125; BetMGM)

  • Play To: Over 19.5 (-140)

When I have the opportunity to bet on DeRozan—one of the best scorers of the past decade—to crack 20 points at just -125, it’s something I’m going to seriously consider. DeRozan has averaged at least 20 points per game in 11 straight seasons, and he’s at 22.1 through 16 games with the Kings. He had 28 points in his return to the lineup on Sunday following a two-game absence, so this number is simply too low.

Vasilije Micic Under 14.5 points (-130; DraftKings)

  • Play To: Under 13.5 (-110)

I don’t hate Micic as a backup point guard, but no one is going to confuse him with Ball. He’s averaged 5.6 points in 17.8 minutes per game so far this season, and he had 10.8 points in 27.2 minutes per game with the Hornets last year. This team still has some capable scoring options in Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges, so I don’t think Micic is going to need to do much scoring for the Hornets on Tuesday. This number feels like an overreaction to the Ball injury.

Jared McCain Under 16.5 points (-110; DraftKings)

  • Play To: Under 16.5 (-125)

McCain has been outstanding for the 76ers, but they simply don’t need him as much with George healthy. He came off the bench in their last outing, and he finished with just seven points in 29.2 minutes. He also had just seven shot attempts in that outing. Unsurprisingly, McCain’s scoring output is way lower when coming off the bench this season, so this feels a bit too high.

NBA Bets for December 3rd

To recap my NBA card for Tuesday, see below:

  • 76ers -4.5 at Hornets (-110; BetMGM) - Risk 1.1u
  • DeMar DeRozan Over 19.5 points (-125; BetMGM) - Risk 1.25u
  • Vasilije Micic Under 14.5 points (-130; DraftKings) - Risk 1.3u
  • Jared McCain Under 16.5 points (-110; DraftKings) - Risk 1.1u

Total: Risk 4.75 units to win 4.0.