NBA Expert Tips and Best Bets | Oct 25-26

The NBA is back! Just over four months after the Nuggets beat the Heat in five games for an historic first ever title, the NBA will kick off on October 25, Australia time, with a huge double-header between first the Nuggets and Lakers, and then the Warriors and Suns. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best bets over the course of the first couple of days of what looms as an enthralling season of basketball.

Nuggets 1-10 | $2.50 at PlayUp

The Nuggets will kick off the 2023-24 NBA season in style, raising their inaugural championship banner in front of over 20,000 manic fans against the team which has won as many of them as any other team in league history. Emotions will be running high at the Ball Arena, but once that ball is tipped, the Nuggets will be all business. The Nuggets finished atop the Western Conference standings last year courtesy largely because of their dominant record at home, where they went 34-7 in the offseason. That continued in the playoffs, when they went 9-1 at home. That included two home victories en route to their sweep of the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, but while they consistently showed the ability to get the job done in that series, they didn’t do it easily. Their home wins came by just six and five points respectively and their combined winning total in the series was just 24 points, and the Lakers are a more well-rounded team this season than last. They should be able to keep it close, but beating the Nuggets at home is a very difficult task, and Denver can continue their winning ways at Ball Arena in their series opener.

Celtics – 2.5 | $1.85 at GetSetBet

This one is more to do with the Celtics than the Knicks. New York showed significant improvement to jump from 37 wins to 47 wins last season and win a playoff series, but while they should be competitive again in 2023-24, they don’t present as a team which will be all that much better than they were last year. The Celtics, meanwhile, won 57 games last season after winning 51 the year before, and it would be hard to argue they haven’t got better in the offseason. The acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis might make for an interesting fit but certainly raises their ceiling, while Jrue Holiday would make any team he plays on better. They now have perhaps the best ‘Big Four’ in the NBA and should be winning a lot more often than they lose this season, starting with their opening game against the Knicks.

Kings – 1.5 | $1.90 at BlueBet

The logic here is similar to the game above. Utah dropped out of the playoffs for the first time in years last season, but they nonetheless exceeded expectation, with coach Will Hardy leading a motley crew of a roster to 37 wins. But while they showed an ability to play beyond their means, they remain a deeply flawed roster and might struggle to repeat that effort this season. The Kings, meanwhile, are just getting started. Behind their star duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis they finished third in the West last season, after not previously making the playoffs since 2006. They are young and have talent seeping out of every pore, and another high finish should be on the cards. They’re a lot better than Utah, and even on the road should be shorter odds than what they are.