NBA Christmas Day opening point spreads, moneylines, handle [UPDATE]

It’s the most wonderful slate of the year! Over on DraftKings Sportsbook, we’ve already got opening point spreads and moneylines for the Christmas Day five-game slate. Among the matchups is the second meeting between LeBron James’ Lakers and Kawhi Leonard’s Clippers in the Battle for Los Angeles. We also have a couple of high profile Eastern Conference matchups, with the Boston Celtics taking on the Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks heading to Philly to take on the Philadelphia 76ers.

The other two games on the schedule shouldn’t be as exciting, but that’s mostly due to injuries and poor hindsight. The Houston Rockets take on the Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets face the New Orleans Pelicans. They were most likely hoping for James Harden vs. Stephen Curry and a few X-Mas Day dunks from Zion Williamson, but none of that will happen. Still, let’s take a look at the initial point spreads and moneyline for the Christmas Day five-gamer.

Celtics @ Raptors, 12:00 p.m. ET

Spread: TOR +4
Over/Under: 214.5
Moneyline: TOR (+150), BOS (-182)

Bucks @ 76ers, 2:30 p.m. ET

Spread: PHI +3.5
Over/Under: 220.5
Moneyline: MIL (-167), PHI (+143)

Rockets @ Warriors, 5:00 p.m. ET

Spread: HOU -10.5
Over/Under: 228.5
Moneyline: HOU (-625), GSW (+460)

Clippers @ Lakers, 8:00 p.m. ET

Spread: LAL -2
Over/Under: 222.5
Moneyline: LAL (-130), LAC (+110)

Pelicans @ Nuggets, 10:30 p.m. ET

Spread: DEN -8.5
Over/Under: 217.5
Moneyline: DEN (-400), NOP (+320)

We also have some numbers on the handle from DK Sportsbook for Christmas. Here’s a graphic they sent over, which is updated as of Christmas morning:

A few things stand out, most notably the amount of money going in on the Pelicans and Celtics. The Raptors are shorthanded, but they’ve also appeared to be fine without Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Norman Powell. Plus they’re at home and are getting points.

The Pelicans are one of the worst defensive teams and are on the road against the best defensive team in the NBA in the Nuggets. The spread is wide, but this game has some blowout potential the way Denver has been playing lately.

Then we have the Rockets, who are double-digit favorites and are getting the most amount of handle at 91% so far in the early going. While Houston appears to be a lock, this Lakers-Clippers game is getting interesting. LeBron and AD are both questionable, though I still think they’ll play. But on the slight chance that one or both of them sits, it could be favorable to get in on the Clippers while it’s still early.

Note: Bets and DFS players will lock at those specific game times.

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