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USATSI

I have to give the NBA credit. As a writer covering the league, I have quite a few gripes with its schedule. An 82-game season hardly grants allowances for a social life for those of us who are paid to watch it, after all, but the league made a rare and important concession on New Year's Eve. 

No game will tip later than 8:00 p.m. on the east coast. Most will be played quite a bit earlier than that. That means, barring five or six overtimes in Oklahoma City, every game will have finished before the ball drops at midnight, no matter which time zone you are watching in. So if your resolution is to watch less basketball for whatever reason, you still have a full day's worth of games left to cram into 2019. You won't even have to sacrifice that midnight kiss. And if you make a bit of money in the process? Then all the better. Here are today's top picks. 

All lines via William Hill. 

Philadelphia 76ers at Indiana Pacers: Pacers +1.5

The Pacers are 14-3 at home, and have a +6.3 net rating in Indiana. The 76ers are 7-10 on the road and have a -0.9 net rating outside of Philadelphia. The gap between these two teams given the venue of this game is sizable. The variable leading to this spread is the health of Malcolm Brogdon, but he claims that he will play in this game. While a player's word is not always a guarantee, it is at least enough to take the free points in a game that, statistically speaking, should have a very different line. 

Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs: Spurs -9

No team in the NBA is less prepared to handle the loss of depth to injury than the Golden State Warriors. They are literally unable to sign replacement players because of the hard cap imposed by the D'Angelo Russell trade. Speaking of Russell, he -- along with Willie Cauley-Stein and Kevon Looney -- is out Tuesday. Ky Bowman may join them. Eric Paschall could play, but is likely at below 100 percent. The Warriors were already dealing with considerable roster constraints, but now? Even given how well they've played of late, their lack of depth makes them an easy target here. 

Boston Celtics at Charlotte Hornets: Celtics -6.5

The absence of Jaylen Brown would hurt in a typical matchup, but could actually prove slightly beneficial in this one because it slides Marcus Smart into the starting lineup. He is a far better defensive matchup for Devonte Graham than any of Boston's bigger wings, and statistically speaking, the Celtics have been better with Brown on the bench anyway. There are plenty of valid reasons for that, so it is not a suggestion that Brown hurts them, but all things considered, he is probably the wing they are best equipped to survive without against the Hornets.