NBA parlay picks Jan. 1: Look for the Clippers to stay on a roll

A fresh calendar's worth of NBA action begins tonight, so here's a +231 parlay for New Year's Day.

The pregame narrative: I'm teasing up the total in the Dallas Mavericks vs. Utah Jazz matchup to a point where these teams should hit the under. Also, the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers are both talented enough teams — especially at home — to tail on alt spreads for Monday.

Here are some NBA parlay picks for January 1.

NBA oddsas of 2:50 p.m. on 01/01/2024.

NBA parlay picks

Parlay: Mavericks/Jazz under 252.5 points + Nuggets -11.5 + Grizzlies moneyline (+231)

Mavericks/Jazz under 252.5 points (-210): Although both the Mavericks and Jazz are hitting their respective overs more than 50.0% of the time this year, this teased-up total looks a little out of reach.

For starters, Utah has only gone over this mark once in its past 20 games. Dallas has only toppled this total twice in its past 20 games.

When these teams met in early December, they combined for 244 points.

It's not that Luka Doncic and co. are incapable of going nuclear on any given night. But Doncic is one of four Mavericks who are questionable for this game (along with Kyrie Irving), and under any circumstances, this is a ton of points for either side to play to.

Other picks

Nuggets -11.5 (-195): Charlotte has lost 10 in a row, which is now the longest active losing streak in the NBA.

And there's another type of streak the team is on: Tonight marks the Hornets' eighth consecutive game as a double-digit underdog.

Denver should wipe the floor with Charlotte, to put it mildly. The Nuggets are 13-3 at home this year and are winning by an average of 9.8 points at Ball Arena. The Hornets, meanwhile, are 3-12 on the road with an average losing margin of 11.8 points.

On a back-to-back last time out, Denver suffered a rare blowout loss at home against a talented OKC Thunder squad. Now the Nuggets should be rested and ready to hunt a much weaker opponent.

Clippers -3.5 (-215): Could 2024 be the year the Clippers reach the NBA Finals for the first time, and possibly win the whole darn thing? If the final month of 2023 was any indication, they have the talent to do it.

Los Angeles went 11-2 in December, losing only to the East-leading Celtics and the second-in-the-West Thunder. With top-10 positions in both offensive and defensive ratings, the Clippers offer an impressive balance of talent at both ends of the court.

So at home, with an extra day of rest, they should be able to take down a shorthanded Heat team that's missing Jimmy Butler.

The Clippers have covered this number in each of their past 10 wins.