Andrew Wilsher
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NBA fans, the wait is finally over! The new season has arrived and Opening Night delivers a couple of excellent matchups to get excited for. Karl-Anthony Towns makes his regular-season New York Knicks debut and will look to make an immediate impact against the reigning champion Boston Celtics. That is immediately followed by last season’s Western Conference Finalist Minnesota Timberwolves going against the Los Angeles Lakers and what looks set to be the first father-son combo in NBA history with both LeBron and Bronny James suiting up. Let’s dive into our Pickswise experts’ NBA best bets for tonight, while you can also find out our NBA picks on the side and total for all the big matchups throughout the season.
NBA best bet: Celtics -5.5 over Knicks (-115)
Odds available at Bet365 at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
Opening Night takes us to TD Garden for a matchup between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. The visitors were one of the most active teams during the offseason. Now can they take down the reigning champs and ruin ring night? To answer that I am bringing you New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics predictions.
Landing Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns sends a clear message that the Knicks mean business this season. Bridges fixes 1 of the underlying issues they had last year, when they just didn’t have enough versatile defenders out on the wing. Having KAT at the center position gives them someone who can rebound and step out onto the perimeter when needed. I just feel like the Knicks have made huge strides, and it should show. Last season the Celtics won 4 of the 5 meetings during the regular season, however the Knicks did win 1 of the 3 games played in Boston.
Boston is once again the clear-cut favorite to win it all, and for good reason. The Celitcs’ core remains basically the same, with only Kristaps Porzingis missing due to injury. Even without the Latvian they went 10-2 SU in the postseason, so I am not expecting them to fall off due to his absence. Jayson Tatum didn’t play much during the Olympics, and he is out to prove his worth after not winning the Finals MVP award last year. The winner over that award, Jaylen Brown, didn’t even get an invite for the tournament in Paris; there is no doubt he will use that as motivation ahead of this season. Judging by the preseason, both teams will be geared up and ready on Tuesday. The Knicks went 4-0, while the Celtics finished 4-1 and with the highest point differential at +16.6 points per game. I’m backing the champs on opening night. They went 37-4 SU at home last year, plus the point differential in the 4 wins over the Knicks was 11 ppg. Give me the C’s to cover.
Read our full New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics predictions
NBA best bet: Timberwolves -1 over Lakers (-110)
Odds available at BetMGM at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
Minnesota is an intriguing team coming into this season. They had a breakthrough in the playoffs last year, beating Denver, and guard Anthony Edwards is one of the most exciting players in the league. Things were on the up, and then they made a major trade, bringing in forward Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo (for Karl-Anthony Towns). Randle is a versatile offensive player and might be a good fit, but it is hard to integrate a talent like that quickly.
The Lakers are another interesting team, but not necessarily for the right reasons. They still have the duo of Lebron James and Anthony Davis, but running it back with the same roster makes it hard to see how this team is much more than average this season, especially with a first-year head coach in JJ Reddick. He might be a savant, but I am skeptical right now. I am over the Bronny James stuff, but at the same time, it is not going to help this team be a contender.
Betting spreads on opening night is tough. We know everything there is to know about LeBron and Davis, and guys like Rudy Gobert with the Wolves, but how is it all going to come together this season? Minnesota is a road favorite but this game is essentially a pick’em at -1. The market is with Minnesota and I can’t find a reason not to be on that side too. They have a number of advantages, even if Los Angeles will be as healthy as they can be to start the year. Look for Ant-Man to have a monster opener and for the Timberwolves to prove that last season’s journey to the Western Conference Finals wasn’t a fluke.
Read our full Minnesota Timberwolves vs LA Lakers prediction
