After a couple of weeks of pre-season games, the NBA regular season finally begins this Wednesday, 23rd of December. There may be just the two games on the opening day slate, but both have the potentially to be absolute crackers. Check out our best bets for each game below and best of luck if following us this season!
NBA Betting Picks: Wednesday 23rd of December
Golden State Warriors at Brooklyn Nets
Barclays Center, 11am AEDT
The Warriors will be looking to bounce back from a season to forget, largely due to a horrific run of injuries. This campaign has exactly gotten off to a better start however, with Klay Thompson going down with another serious leg injury. Looking to fill some of the void will be new recruit Kelly Oubre, while Andrew Wiggings and James Wiseman will be the other key pieces around Steph Curry, who returns from a long absence of his own.
The Nets 2019-20 campaign was mostly about finding out which guys they’ll plug around the superstar duo of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant this year, both of whom return from long injury layoff. Irving and KD both looked the goods in their pre-season games and will be ready to go on Wednesday morning.
This is a really tough game to get a read on to start the season, with both rosters changing quite a lot compared to how they finished last season. With that said, we’re expecting a competitive game between what are sure to be two high-powered offenses this season. It’ll take a while before the duo of Irving and Durant start clicking on the court, so the value looks to be with the Warriors holding a 7.5-point start.
The beginning of the season is always a good time to attack some player props before bookies adjust to new player roles. We’re expecting KD to spend more time off ball this season, especially in the early part, while he gets his body back to top basketball shape. We’re liking him to look to score the ball whenever he gets it, resulting in some lower assist numbers than normal.
Durant Under 4.5 Assists ($1.94)
Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers
Staples Center, 2pm AEDT
The Clippers were bounced out of the bubble playoffs in humiliating fashion after leading the Nuggets 3-1 in the second round. They’ve been busy in the off-season as a result, signing the likes of Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, and Luke Kennard, with Montrezl Harrell being the only major loss.
The Lakers are coming off a championship winning year but were still one of the busier teams in the off-season, signing superstar duo LeBron James and Anthony Davis to extensions, adding Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell, while offloading big men JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard, as well as point guard Rajon Rondo.
What a tough opening day slate we’ve got on our hands here. The Lakers were clearly the better of the two LA ball clubs last campaign, but they’ve also had a shorter off-season and may struggle for motivation this early in the season. On the other hand, the Clippers will be desperate to make amends for a horror exit in the playoffs last campaign and have made some handy additions to their roster. We’re expecting a competitive affair, but see the Clippers as the value play with a small +2.5-point start.
One of the key reasons the Clippers struggled in the playoffs was the really poor play of Paul George. His jumpshot completely abandoned him and he was simply a liability in the Denver series. George is a superstar calibre player however, and we’re expecting him to bounce back with a really strong season with the Clippers, starting with a strong opening day performance.
George Over 21.5 Points ($1.81)
