Wizards vs. Spurs Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Thursday, Dec. 18

The Spurs are heavily favored at home after losing in the NBA Cup Championship.

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama is a solid prop target on Thursday night. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Fresh off an NBA Cup Championship loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday, the San Antonio Spurs return home for a cupcake matchup with the four-win Washington Wizards on Thursday night.

Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs impressed in the NBA Cup, knocking off the Oklahoma City Thunder in the semifinals while Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper look like future stars at the guard position. 

Oddsmakers are expecting a bounce-back from the Spurs on Thursday, as they are heavily favored against the struggling Wizards in this matchup. Washington has the worst net rating in the NBA, and it’s struggled against the spread (8-16) this season.

Wembanyama has been on a minutes limit since returning from a calf strain, but the Spurs are still one of the top teams in the Western Conference, going 9-3 in the games that he missed.

Let’s take a look at the odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for Thursday night’s matchup. 

Wizards vs. Spurs Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Spread

• Wizards +14.5 (-105)
• Spurs -14.5 (-115)

Moneyline

• Wizards: +700
• Spurs: -1100

Total

• 241.5 (Over -108/Under -112)

Wizards vs. Spurs How to Watch

• Date: Thursday, Dec. 18
• Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
• Venue: Frost Bank Center
• How to Watch (TV): FanDuel Sports Network (Local), MNMT
• Wizards record: 4-20
• Spurs record: 18-7

Wizards vs. Spurs Injury Reports

Wizards Injury Report

• Malaki Branham – questionable
• Corey Kispert – out
• Khris Middleton – out

Spurs Injury Report

• Harrison Ingram – out
• Kyle Mangas – out
• David Jones Garcia – out

Wizards vs. Spurs Best NBA Prop Bets

Spurs Best NBA Prop Bet

• Victor Wembanyama OVER 1.5 3-Pointers (-106)

In today’s best NBA props column for SI Betting, I broke down why Wemby is undervalued against one of the NBA’s worst defenses: 

Victor Wembanyama has been on a minutes limit for the San Antonio Spurs since returning from a calf strain, but he still is scoring the ball at a high rate.

On Tuesday, Wemby made 2-of-6 shots from beyond the arc in a loss to the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup Championship, and he’s made two or more 3-pointers in five of his last six games.

Prior to going down with his calf strain, Wemby had taken seven or more shots from beyond the arc in four games in a row, and he took six in limited minutes against New York. So, he’s going to be free to fire against a Washington Wizards team that is just 28th in the NBa in opponent 3s made and 24th in opponent 3-point percentage.

I think we’re getting a little bit of a discount on Wemby since he’s played fewer minutes in his last two games. 

Wizards vs. Spurs Prediction and Pick

The Spurs may be coming off a close loss to New York in the NBA Cup Championship, but they are a far better team than Washington, which ranks dead last in the NBA in net rating this season.

Washington is just 3-8 against the spread at home, and it’s posted an average scoring margin of -15.1 points in those games. 

Meanwhile, the Spurs are pretty dominant against teams that are below .500 this season, going 10-2. 

With Wemby back and the Spurs at full strength in their rotation, I’d expect them to run away with this game. San Antonio survived Wemby missing 12 games (going 9-3), and it’s eighth in the NBA in net rating at +4.2. 

I love the Spurs to win big on Thursday night. 

Pick: Spurs -14.5 (-115 at DraftKings)

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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