NBA Best Bets Today: October 24 Picks & Predictions
The new NBA season is in full swing, and after a 12-game slate on Friday, we’re back with eight more games to kick start the weekend. All eyes are on the Bucks vs 76ers game tipping off at 7.30 pm ET on NBA TV. We also have a Suns vs Warriors clash in Phoenix as part of the NBA TV double-header, live from 10 pm ET.
Our NBA picks for all eight games will be available shortly, but in the meantime, I’ve narrowed it down to my three favorite bets for Saturday’s slate. Read on to find out where I’m seeing the best value!
NBA Best Bet: Miami Heat -3.5 over Charlotte Hornets (-110)
Even the biggest pessimist in the Miami Heat camp didn’t think their start to the new season would be this bad. Giannis and co. fell to 0-2 following last night’s tough loss to the Detroit Pistons, their 2nd home game of the season. The defense just hasn’t been in sync, if we take the preseason into account they’ve now allowed an average of 124.4 ppg in 7 games played. Saturday sees them take on the Charlotte Hornets, who also suffered a beatdown on Friday, losing at home to the Atlanta Hawks 128-81. Charlotte’s three-point defense has been non-existent over the first two games with opponents shooting 39.5% against them, this is an ideal opportunity for Miami to get things going. They’ve owned this match-up over the years winning 10 of the last 12 meetings, plus they’ve also covered the spread 7 times in the last 10 such games. There’s just too much talent on this roster for the Heat to continue playing this badly. Look for Giannis to take it upon himself to drag this team to their first win of the new season here.
NBA Best Bet: Victor Wembanyama 2+ Made Threes vs Mavericks (-156)
Although the Spurs suffered another defeat on Friday, we saw Victor Wembanyama put on a solid bounce back performance following that atrocious season opener against the Thunder. Wemby responded with 25 points vs the Rockets on Friday, connecting on 2 of his 6 attempts from the perimeter. With the Spurs playing their 2nd game in two nights, Wemby might take a more conservative approach when it comes to attacking the basket. And that might not necessarily be a bad thing for our bet here. Over the years he has grown his three-point shooting game quite a bit, last year he was at a consistent 35% from downtown. He has cashed on this bet 13 times over his last 20 games, for a very solid 65% hit rate. The Mavs’ defensive woes against opposing PFs are well noted – they rank 3rd for threes allowed against that position. I’m looking at Wemby to punish them both on the inside and the outside, as he leads his Spurs to their first win of the new season.
NBA Best Bet: Phoenix Suns -9.5 over Golden State Warriors (-110)
The Suns didn’t have the best of luck in the four regular season games last year vs the Warriors, losing three of them by an average of six points. Their only win came at home 99-98 back in December of 2025, Saturday presents an ideal opportunity for Phoenix to get the monkey off its back against a Warriors side that has struggled out of the gate. Last night saw Steph and co. blow a double-digit lead late against the Memphis Grizzlies, the psyche of the team just isn’t in a good spot right now. With Kristaps Porzingis, Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody all still sidelined, the burden falls heavily on 38-year-old Stephen Curry to keep this team competitive and I’m just not sure that’s a winning recipe at this point. Meanwhile, Phoenix is looking to make amends after a 41-point loss on opening night in Portland. Unlike their opponent, they are in much better shape on the injury front and playing at home for the first time this season they’ll look to feed off the crowd’s energy here. Normally I would hesitate whenever a team is favored by this many points, but given the Warriors are playing with no rest here I can’t see them keeping this one close.
