NBA parlay picks Jan. 19: Bet on Celtics, Heat to cover alt spreads at home

Friday's seven-game NBA slate is more than enough action to build out a three-leg parlay.

The pregame narrative: The Celtics put their undefeated home record on the line when the Denver Nuggets visit town. Back Boston to handle business while also taking the Heat to cover an alt spread against the Atlanta Hawks. Lastly, expect defence in the Phoenix Suns vs. New Orleans Pelicans matchup.

Here are some NBA parlay picks for January 19.

NBA oddsas of 9:51 a.m. on 01/19/2024.

NBA parlay picks

Parlay: Celtics -3.5 + Heat -3.5 + Suns/Pelicans under 240.5 (+297)

Celtics -3.5 (-182): The Celtics are an incredible 20-0 at home but that will be put to the test against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

The good news is, that Denver is just mediocre on the road, going 11-10 overall and 7-14 against the spread, according to Team Rankings. Also, it's only covered one time this season as an underdog.

Boston is 12-3 over its last 15 and 32-8 overall, so it's not like this is a team that is just good at home.

The Celtics are 13-7 ATS in their building. They have won 14 of those 20 games by 10-plus points. Buying down on the alt spread is a good way to start the parlay.

Other picks

Heat -3.5 (-180): Fading the Hawks ATS seems like the right move every time they play basketball.

They are a league-worst 10-30 which includes being 6-14 on the road and that's where they find themselves tonight.

They take on the Heat who have been pedestrian lately. However, playing at home has been their saving grace. They are 12-7 in Miami.

On top of all that, the Heat have Jimmy Butler for his third game since missing a significant amount of time over the last month with an injury.

The Hawks are on the opposite side of lady luck as Trae Young is a game-time decision due to illness. Even if he plays, there's a good chance he's not at 100%.

Suns/Pelicans under 240.5 points (-157): Both these teams have an above .500 O/U record but narrowing it down to fit tonight's situation indicated this is a strong play.

The Pelicans have an O/U of 10-11 at home and they have only gone over this number in one of their last nine at Smoothie King Center.

Their opponent, the Suns are 14-7 hitting the over at home but that falls to 8-9 on the road.

Lastly, these two sides are both in the bottom half of the league in pace and shoot 3-pointers at a low volume. Phoenix attempts 11.9 threes per game (23rd) and New Orleans gets up 12.2 per contest (20th).