The new NBA season is still less than a couple of weeks old, but already the Conference tables are beginning to take shape, giving us a bit of early season form to go by. Thursday night sees three of the pre-season betting front runners in action, and they make up the basis of our latest free NBA betting picks.
Before we get to our NBA picks, let’s have a recap of the early season and how it has affected the odds with the best betting sites to win the 2023 NBA finals.
The Golden State Warriors started the season as the favorites, although they have now lost that tag to the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were the favorites in the early summer. But after a realignment of the market, the Warriors went back to the top of the betting just ahead of the new season. And that remained the case even after the Draymond Green incident with Jordan Poole.
Despite that incident seemingly being smoothed over, the Warrior’s start to the season hasn’t been the best. This has seen them drift out to +600 to be 2023 NBA Championship winners. The Celtics are now into +575.
The early front runners this season are the Bucks and the Celtics in the Eastern Conference, and the Jazz and the Trail Blazers in the Western. Of those four, only the Celtics and the Bucks feature in the betting to be 2023 NBA champions. The latest NBA betting from BetOnline and Bovada is below. The above odds are taken from BetOnline. You can check out our BetOnline sportsbook review for more great betting offers from this bookmaker.
| 2023 NBA Championship Winner Betting |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics | +575 | +550 |
| Golden State Warriors | +600 | +635 |
| LA Clippers | +700 | +700 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | +750 | +750 |
| Brooklyn Nets | +850 | +800 |
| Phoenix Suns | +1200 | +1100 |
| Denver Nuggets | +1400 | +1400 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | +1600 | +1600 |
| Miami Heat | +2000 | +1600 |
| Dallas Mavericks | +2200 | +2000 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | +2200 | +2500 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | +2500 | +2500 |
Now, let’s take a look at the next round of fixtures and make our NBA betting picks.
The Nets haven’t started the season well, winning one and losing three. They face a Mavericks team who have won one and lost two, and sit 11th in the Western Conference.
The Nets were soundly beaten 110-99 by the Bucks in their previous outing last night.
While in their last fixture, Dallas lost a close game 113-111 to the Pelicans on Tuesday. On the Moneyline, BetUS have the Mavericks as -120 favorites, with the Nets at -110.
The handicap spread sees Dallas from -1.5 points at -110, with the Nets at -110 with a 1.5 points start. It’s a tight match to call for a winner, so I’m going to go with under 227.5 points at -110 for my betting pick.
Oklahoma has one win and three defeats so far this season. But last time out they impressively beat the Clippers 108-94. That defeat was the Clippers second loss in a row, and so far they are 2-2 this season.
The best NBA betting sites are opposing the Thunder doubling up on the Clippers. On the Moneyline Oklahoma is +230, and they are -110 with a +7 start on the handicap. For the Clippers, they are -280 on the Moneyline, and -110 on the handicap from a -7 start.
If the Clippers are to win, they aren’t great value on the Moneyline, especially after losing so heavily to the same opponents on Tuesday. The total points spread is set at 215.5, and in all three of the Thunder’s defeats that has been smashed.
I’m thinking the Clippers will respond here, but I’m leaning towards overs on the points, rather than them on the handicap. So my betting pick is over 215.5 on the total points spread.
Steve Kerr’s Golden State team had a disruptive preseason, and it’s fair to say their start to the regular season hasn’t been much better.
Two wins and two defeats isn’t what the defending NBA champions would have expected from their opening four matches. Golden State started the season with a routine over the Lakers, which isn’t any great achievement given their form.
They followed that up with a 128-123 defeat to the Nuggets. Next was a five points win over the Kings, and then a 134-105 hammering from the Phoenix Suns.
The defeat to the Suns was a shocker. Klay Thomson’s ejection (the first of his 796 career) was the headline maker, but the Warriors were already well behind at this stage.
As for the Heat, they’ve won two and lost three. One of the defeats came to the Celtics (111-104). They’ve also lost to the Bulls, and they have both beaten and lost to the Raptors. In their most recent match (last night), they impressively beat the Trail Blazers 119-98 in Portland.
Miami are -110 with a +7.5 points start on the handicap. From -7.5, the Warriors are also -110. The total points spread is set at 225.5, with both over and under at -110.
All the Heat’s matches have been under 225 points, while all the Warriors matches have been over the total. And not just over, well over! Therefore, with the Warriors form all over the place at the moment, I feel over 225.5 points has to be the best betting pick here.
About the Author
Over the last 10 years, Dean has sharpened his expertise in crafting and revising content for his soccer and cricket betting platforms. Driven by his passion for sports betting and writing, he embarked on a journey of writing about sports wagering. Although Dean's preferred areas of focus are the English Premier League and cricket, his extensive sports knowledge enables him to tackle nearly any sport. Gone are the days of traveling the world to witness events like FIFA World Cups and Ashes cricket, as Dean now prefers the comfort of his own home while enjoying sports.
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