Happy Saturday, basketball fans! Nick Marro here, providing you with my best bets for today’s (10/29) NBA slate. I plan to provide these ‘Nick’s Picks’ articles about twice a week for the remainder of the 2022-2023 season. I don’t like playing heavy juice, so all of my picks will be priced at line of (-150) or better. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter with any questions.
We turned in a 2-1 record for the NBA in our season debut, and we’ll look to build on that momentum here. I recognize that some of you may know me better for MLB picks. As the seasons change, so will be the sport that I target for coverage. Now that the MLB is all but over, we shift our focus to the NBA.
MLB Season Record: (57-51)
NBA Season Record: (2-1)
Overall 2022 Bets Record: (59-52)
Golden State Warriors @ Charlotte Hornets @ 7:00 EST
Nick’s Pick: Game Total, Over 234 Points (-110).
The Pelicans and Hornets are a combined 9-1 hitting the Over to start the season.
This is a back-to-back for Charlotte, but they were blown out in Orlando so their starters should be well rested as they take on the Warriors here at Home. The Hornets rank 4th in the NBA in offensive efficiency and even without Lamelo Ball they’ve been ranking 6th in overall pace.
The Warriors defense has not yet hit their stride, as they currently rank 20th in defensive efficiency and 27th in turnover ratio. This 234 game total seems high, but I’m comfortable taking the Over here. These two teams have been scoring (and allowing) points in bunches.
Atlanta Hawks @ Milwaukee Bucks @ 8:00 EST
Nick’s Pick: Bucks, -5.5 (-110)
The Bucks are 4-0 against the spread to start the season, and the Hawks are 2-3 in spite of a relatively soft schedule. Both of these teams are on back-to-backs, both teams are traveling, but the Bucks will have the benefit of playing in front of their home crowd in this match-up.
The Bucks rank 1st in the NBA in defensive efficiency. The Hawks rank 27th in rebound rate and 23rd in effective field goal percentage. I like the Bucks to cover the -5.5 spread at home here as they improve to 5-0.
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Dallas Mavericks @ 9:00 EST
Nick’s Pick: Game Total, Under 218.5 Points (-110)
The Thunder and Mavericks rank 24th and 30th in the NBA in pace respectively. The Thunder are due for dramatic regression on the offensive end as they rank 1st in the NBA in turnover ratio. The Thunder rank 28th in the NBA in effective field goal percentage and 24th in offensive efficiency.
I expect the Mavericks to cruise here, but they’ll keep the pace down in this one. I like the Under on the 218.5 point game total (-110).
-Nick Marro
Twitter: @NickMarroDFS