The 2019-20 NBA season opened last night with the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors knocking off the New Orleans Pelicans 130-122. The second of two games saw the Los Angeles Clippers take down the Los Angeles Lakers 112-102 in round one of the battle of Los Angeles. Tonight, however, is the first night of a full slate of games on the NBA schedule which gives ample opportunity for NBA game lines to bet.
Tonight features matchups of some presumed favorites in each conference. The Boston Celtics travel to Philadelphia to take on the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets travel to Portland to take on the Portland Trail Blazers. Both games will be exciting to watch as each of those teams are contenders in their respective conference.
While last night was officially opening night, it was only the appetizer. Tonight is the entree as there are 11 games on the docket.
Five Best NBA Game Lines to Bet
Chicago Bulls -3 @ Charlotte Hornets
The Chicago Bulls opened as 1.5 point favorites for their contest in Charlotte against the Charlotte Hornets. With 85 percent of the bets being placed on the Bulls in this contest, the Bulls have jumped out to three-point favorites. Despite the fact that this line has moved, the points should still be laid in this matchup.
The Bulls are the far and away better team. Charlotte looks to be in for a long season as they lost the best player the franchise has ever had in Kemba Walker. While they did add Terry Rozier, his sample size of above-average production is very limited. The rest of their roster also leaves quite a bit to be desired. It’s hard to pin down a likely number two option for the Hornets. Miles Bridges is likely who their front office hopes will take over that role but his rookie season was far from great. Bridges averaged just 7.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists last season.
The Bulls meanwhile, added a high ceiling point guard via the 2019 NBA Draft in Coby White to their already outstanding core of Zach LaVine, Otto Porter, Lauri Markkanen, and Wendell Carter Jr.
The Bet – Chicago Bulls -3
Cleveland Cavaliers +9.5 @ Orlando Magic
The second of five NBA game lines to bet tonight is another where the line has moved quite a bit due to the majority of the money being placed on one team. This game opened with the Cleveland Cavaliers as 7.5 point underdogs. However, 74 percent of the money is being placed on the Orlando Magic causing the line to jump up two full points.
The Magic are the better team and have a high probability of winning the game. However, giving up nearly double digits is a lot in an NBA game, especially on opening night where uncharacteristic things can happen.
These two teams are interesting. The Magic surprised everyone last season by making the playoffs. They did so on the backs of an All-Star season from Nikola Vucevic, a solid supporting season by Aaron Gordon, a quality production leap from young forward Jonathan Isaac, and behind some high-level bench production from Terrence Ross.
The Cavaliers somewhat mirror the Magic from last season. They have a potential All-Star quality big in Kevin Love. They have a young player in Collin Sexton who could provide solid support to Love. Cedi Osman could take another leap in production from last season and they have a high-level bench producer in Jordan Clarkson.
The Cavaliers aren’t likely to make a run at the playoffs as their season win total is set at 24.5 games, however, they could be better than people think. Take the points in this matchup. 9.5 points are too many to give up by a middle of the road team.
The Bet – Cleveland Cavaliers +9.5
Boston Celtics +5 @ Philadelphia 76ers
The Celtics and 76ers are one of tonight’s featured matchups. These are two of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference and they will be battling all season long. The line for this game opened with the Celtics as six-point underdogs. It has since dropped a single point despite 57 percent of the money being placed on the 76ers.
The Celtics underwent a bit of a facelift this summer. They lost Kyrie Irving to the Brooklyn Nets. However, they were able to replace him with Walker.
The bigger loss is Al Horford. Horford signed with the 76ers in free agency and Boston wasn’t quite able to replace him. They did sign Enes Kanter, who is a solid offensive player. However, his defense is not in the same stratosphere as Horford’s. He also doesn’t pass as well as Horford does which could limit their offense slightly. The Celtics will have to rely on Walker, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown to try to outscore people as they will struggle defensively. At least until Marcus Smart enters the game.
The 76ers are a poor matchup for the Celtics. Boston doesn’t have a player on the roster who can defend Joel Embiid. Horford was someone Boston could rely upon to contain Embiid slightly, now he’ll suit up in the opposing locker room. Add in Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Josh Richardson and the size and athleticism factors clearly favor Philadelphia.
Lay the points in this matchup. This is a bad matchup for Boston and the 76ers should win this one rather easily.
The Bet – Philadelphia 76ers -5
Sacramento Kings -1.5 @ Phoenix Suns
Although the Phoenix Suns should be a much-improved team this season with the growth of Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and Kelly Oubre and the additions of Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric, they still aren’t quite ready to compete with the better teams.
Despite 77 percent of the money coming in on the Kings, the line for this game has dropped from Sacramento -2.5 to Sacramento -1.5.
The Sacramento Kings should be one of the better teams in the Western Conference this season. De’Aaron Fox is going to make a case for an All-Star selection. Buddy Hield just signed a massive contract extension and he is the perfect backcourt complement to Fox. Marvin Bagley III is coming off of an excellent rookie season in which he averaged 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per night and he should take another leap this season. The Kings also employ Harrison Barnes, who could be the best fourth option in the NBA and they bring Bogdan Bogdanovic off of the bench, who could compete for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award this season.
The Suns are on the verge of building a very good team, but the Kings are looking to take the next step and enter the playoff discussion in a very good Western Conference. In order to do that, they need to win games against teams like the Suns, who aren’t quite ready to compete. Lay the points here.
The Bet – Sacramento Kings -1.5
Denver Nuggets +1 @ Portland Trail Blazers
The final game of NBA game lines to bet tonight is a rematch of last year’s seven-game Western Conference Semi-Finals series as the Denver Nuggets will travel to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers. These are two of the top five teams in the Western Conference this season. A rematch in the playoffs would not be out of the question.
The line for this game opened with the Nuggets as three-point underdogs. Despite 56 percent of the money coming in on Portland, the line as dropped two full points.
While this may seem alarming, a virtual pick ’em is what this should be. Especially after these two teams duked it out for seven games last spring.
The Nuggets came on a year earlier than what most people thought. Last season they secured the number two seed for the playoffs. This season, however, the goal and expectation is an NBA championship. Nikola Jokic is a top-five MVP candidate heading into the 2019-20 NBA season. Jamal Murray will be looking to vault himself into the All-Star discussion. Gary Harris will be looking to bounce back from last season’s disappointment. The Nuggets also return veteran Paul Millsap and Will Barton is healthy again. They were able to snag Jerami Grant from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Michael Porter Jr. will make his long-anticipated debut.
The Trail Blazers employ arguably the best backcourt in the entire NBA with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. They are still waiting on big man Jusuf Nurkic to make his return from a broken leg, but they were able to add Hassan Whiteside to fill the starting center role. Portland could also see a major jump from a high-potential big man Zach Collins this season and they have an exciting rookie in Nassir Little.
At the Moda Center, in Portland, Oregon, lay the points in this close of a matchup.
The Bet – Portland Trail Blazers -1
Disclaimer: Last Word on Sports offers no guarantees on gambling and individuals should only gamble in a responsible and legal manner
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