NBA Best Bets Today: October 21 Picks & Predictions
It sure feels good to have basketball back! Opening night saw the Celtics blow a huge lead in Detroit, LeBron James and Philadelphia spoil the party in New York and the OKC Thunder winning big in San Antonio. Most importantly though, I had a +336 Same Game Parlay winner in Sixers vs Knicks, I am hoping to build on that winner as I prepare my NBA Best Bets for Wednesday’s 11-game slate.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball and Anthony Davis will make debuts with their new teams, while the Indiana Pacers welcome back Tyrese Haliburton from his season long absence due to injury. We’ll have NBA Picks for every single match-up on Wednesday, let’s get into my three favorite bets now!
NBA Best Bet: Washington Wizards -4.5 over Milwaukee Bucks (-112)
After winning just 17 games and finishing bottom of the standings in the East, the Washington Wizards are expected to make a big leap this year. Trae Young starts his first full season with the team, he should get a ton of help from Anthony Davis and the number one overall pick AJ Dybantsa who sadly won’t play on Wednesday vs Milwaukee. From past experience we know that having Trae Young at the point guard position usually translates into poor defense, but the revamped Wizards have plenty of firepower to respond. Milwaukee, on the other hand, is in a completely different mindset after trading away Giannis Antetokounmpo. There’s very little sense in which direction this team is going, it’s basically spare parts that came over from Miami plus role players that are used to playing in a Giannis driven system. It’s no wonder most analysts have this team finishing the season near the bottom of the standings, I think Washington is a pretty solid bet to get off to a winning start to the new year.
Check out our Milwaukee Bucks vs Washington Wizards Predictions
NBA Best Bet: Kelly Oubre Jr. 2+ Made Threes vs NO Pelicans (+124)
Tyrese Haliburton coming back makes all the difference in the World for the Indiana Pacers and their role players like Kelly Oubre. Oubre was brought to knock down shots and give a boost to the offense when needed. He did a solid job with the Philadelphia 76ers last season in this role, shooting a solid 47% from the field and consistent 36% from downtown (an improvement of almost 7% compared to the year before). It’s also worth nothing that he averaged 15.8 ppg on 52% from the field and 43% from three in the series against New York where the Sixers got swept. With the likes of T.J. McConnell and Aaron Nesmith out injured, I feel like Oubre will have a role in the Pacers offense to start the season. He’s already had a pair of games scoring in double-figures in the preseason, knocking down a pair of threes on both occasions. These odds are too big to pass up in Indy’s season opener.
Read our full Indiana Pacers vs New Orleans Pelicans Predictions
NBA Best Bet: Under 230.5 Points in Mavericks vs Rockets (-104)
Defense has been a staple of Ime Udoka led teams for years and last season the Rockets excelled in that area allowing the 4th fewest points in the league. With Fred VanVleet missing the entire season, their offense became stagnant at times, relying mostly on Kevin Durant to carry the scoring load in isolation. That resulted in average at best half court efficiency, while from three-point land Houston ranked just 13th in the NBA. Dallas also struggled at times scoring the basketball, ranking 26th in three-point efficiency and 27th in effective field goal percentage. They do get Kyrie Irving back which should be a big boost to the offense, but just like in the case of the Rockets who get VanVleet back it might take them a while to figure things out. Houston played at the 4th slowest pace in the league last season, averaging just 100.6 possessions per game. I wouldn’t put too much thought into the two preseason games between these teams, the last two regular season games between them delivered just 212 and 218 points. I’ll take the under in this one.
Our Dallas Mavericks vs Houston Rockets predictions are also live!
