Caleb Wilfinger
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The 2023-24 NBA season got underway with a pair of great Western Conference matchups on Tuesday. Now, the rest of the league will spring into action, including a high-profile matchup between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, plus other upstart teams in action like the Thunder and Hawks, and more! A massive slate of NBA hoops to really kick off the season definitely calls for an NBA mega parlay. Below are my plays for Wednesday, and also be sure to check out all of our NBA picks for tonight’s season-opening games.
Hawks -3.5 (-110)
Thunder ML (+100)
Knicks ML (+136)
NBA parlay odds: +801
For this parlay, we are going with 2 underdogs on the money line and 1 favorite against the spread. Let’s break down each of the 3 legs.
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Atlanta Hawks -3.5 over Charlotte Hornets (-110)
After getting the 7th seed last year, Trae Young and the Hawks are looking to take a major leap this season under the guidance of head coach Quin Snyder, who immediately made an impact toward the end of last season. Big things are expected from Onyeka Okongwu, while the chemistry between Dejounte Murray and Young should also be much improved compared to what we saw for most of last season. The same can’t be said of the Hornets, as Charlotte finished with just 27 wins a season ago. The big difference compared to last season is the health of LaMelo Ball, who missed the final 19 games due to a right ankle injury. However, LaMelo won’t be able to do it all by himself this season. There’s a ton of issues currently with this Hornets team, including injuries and suspensions to a couple of key starters.
Even outside of the turmoil on the Charlotte side, I think this is Atlanta’s time to finally make some noise in the Eastern Conference. Snyder’s offense should look much crisper in year 2 as head coach and I’m expecting big things in the opener against a poor Hornets defensive unit. Atlanta has gone 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs Southeast Division opponents, so let’s back the Hawks to win by at least 4 points here.
Read our full Atlanta Hawks vs Charlotte Hornets predictions
Oklahoma City Thunder ML over Chicago Bulls (+100)
Oklahoma City looks primed to be more competitive this season, even in a very deep Western Conference. Shai-Gilgeous Alexander is already one of the brightest young stars in the game, and now they get to work last year’s top pick Chet Holmgren into the mix. Holmgren is of the unicorn variety and I am excited about his potential impact, especially early, before the pounding he is going to take builds up. Conversely, Chicago is in limbo. It is clear the trio of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are a productive group on the stat sheet, but the wins have not followed. Chicago is too good to sink to the very bottom of the NBA, even if that might be the best approach to eventually being championship-worthy in the future.
The fact that Chicago is not favored as the home team in their opener tells you a lot about the prospects of these two teams heading into the upcoming season. I am a believer in OKC and I see no reason to doubt them just because this is not an obvious spot to back the Thunder on the road. They are a team on the rise and the markets ultimately know that. Look for them to start strong with a win on Wednesday.
Lock in our Oklahoma City vs Chicago Bulls picks for tonight
New York Knicks ML over Boston Celtics (+136)
Many bettors have Boston favored to win it all after their offseason moves, so starting off the season in a hostile environment will tell us a lot about the mentality of this Celtics team. They’ll be slight favorites in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd on Wednesday, despite only winning 3 of the last 9 games against New York and once in their last 5 visits to that building. On the other side, this Knicks team has performed a lot better when playing in front of their home fans, ending last season with 4 wins in 5 outings there. On the injury front New York should be all clear, so we can expect a full lineup here for head coach Tom Thibodeau and this hungry Knicks side. Julius Randle can be expected to carry the load here, and he’s averaging 30 points per game vs Boston in the last 4 meetings, all while shooting 50% from the field and over 38% from beyond the arc. Let’s take New York to prevail at home.
Read our Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks Same Game Parlay at +638 odds
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