There are 10 NBA games being played on New Year’s Eve, including seven on the night slate.

Health and safety protocols, as well as injuries, continue to be a significant factor as every team except for the Sacramento Kings are missing key rotation players at the moment.

There are three games on Friday’s slate in which we’ve seen the lines shift since they opened.

Here are some betting considerations to keep in mind for each of those three matchups.

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Los Angeles Clippers at Toronto 7:30 PM ET
Opened: Raptors -4
Current: Raptors -6.5

Betting Considerations

- OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, and Fred VanVleet have all cleared health and safety protocols and could suit up for tonight’s contest. Pascal Siakam returned to the lineup against Philadelphia on Tuesday, as well. If all four are healthy, it’ll be just the third game of the year that all four suit up together.

- Khem Birch and Precious Achiuwa are both marked as probable for tonight’s contest giving the Raptors much needed depth in the frontcourt.

- The loss of Paul George is a major gut-punch for the Clippers. Without him and Kawhi Leonard, their roster lacks the go-to shot maker needed to stimulate the offence. Reggie Jackson has cleared protocols and is currently questionable. His return improves the Clippers' offensive rating, but also makes their defence worse off.

- LA’s recent win over Boston might give bettors reason to pause, but that outcome was less about the Clippers and more about the Celtics. They shot a horrendous 4-for-42 from long distance and Jaylen Brown went 13-for-36 from the field. Consider that win a mirage as the Clippers have struggled to score since George’s injury. Their field-goal percentage over their last three games – 46.5 per cent, 38.1 per cent, 40.7 per cent.

Best Bet: Raptors -6.5

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Dallas Mavericks at Sacramento Kings 6 PM ET
Opened: Pick’Em
Current: Mavericks -1

Betting Considerations

- Of all the lines on the slate, this game has flip-flopped more than any other. Some books had Sacramento as high as -2.5, while others have Dallas at -1.

- As mentioned above, Sacramento is one of the rare teams in the NBA right now to have all their key rotation players active. Richaun Holmes missed seven games prior to Christmas and De’Aaron Fox missed four. The Kings have been at full health over the last three games, going 2-1 with a home victory over Dallas on Wednesday (95-94), the second night of a back-to-back.

- Dallas has played their last nine games without Luka Doncic, going 4-5 in that stretch.

- With Doncic out, the Mavs have held opponents to 43.6 per cent from the field, fourth best in the NBA. They’ve allowed a measly 103.8 points per game.

- With or without Doncic, the Mavs are a bottom-five team in pace.

- In the last three games since Fox’s return, the Kings have had the eighth-worst offensive rating, which is the same clip since interim coach Alvin Gentry took over.

- The saving grace for the Sacramento offence has been Tyrese Haliburton, who’s experienced a significant usage bump since Fox went down. Over the past seven games (three with Fox active), Haliburton has averaged 10.3 assists per game with only one contest below 7.5.

Best Bets: Under 218.5, Haliburton over 7.5 assists

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New York Knicks at Oklahoma City Thunder 8 PM ET
Opened: Total 213
Current: Total 206.5

Betting Considerations

- Kemba Walker was re-inserted into the lineup six games ago after an injury to Derrick Rose and it’s been a tale of two Kembas. In the first three games, he averaged 31.3 points per game and the Knicks averaged 109.7 points. In the last three (all wins), he’s averaged 7.3 points per game with the Knicks scoring 97 points per game.

- Over this six-game stretch, New York is tied for the second-best defensive rating. They’ve allowed for the fourth-fewest second-chance points and sixth-fewest in the paint.

- Offensively, their effective field-goal percentage has been 50.1 per cent, sixth-worst over the same period.

- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is questionable for tonight’s contest. In the four games he’s missed, OKC has averaged 95.3 points per game, while their season average is 100.4 ppg. He was inactive for that embarrassing 73-point beat down at the hands of Memphis.

- On the season, the Thunder are second-worst in almost every offensive metric – offensive rating, effective field-goal percentage, points per game.

- It’ll be bonus value if you get ahead and take the under ahead of SGA’s status announcement. Even if he’s active, the combination of both teams' abysmal offensive production and New York’s stingy defence set up for a low scoring game.

Best Bet: Under 206.5

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