Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – October 23rd, 2023

It’s been about four months since Nikola Jokic and Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat for their first NBA championship. Will the Nuggets repeat? We don’t think so but it’s possible. The 2023-24 season tips off on Tuesday night and here are two early-week intriguing matchups with picks.

Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week (October 23rd, 2023)

NBA POWER RANKINGS: Where everyone stands the day before the season.

1. @nuggets
2. @Bucks
3. @celtics
4-30. CLICK LINK: https://t.co/xseLOKJMeY pic.twitter.com/AiiyieHvhK

— theScore (@theScore) October 23, 2023

READ MORE: 2024 NBA Championship Odds Update

Phoenix Suns vs. Golden State Warriors

• When: Tuesday, October 24th, 2023, 10:00 PM ET
• Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
• TV: TNT
• Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 (Suns) // 95.7 The Game (Warriors)
• Live Stream: NBATV
• NHL Betting Odds: Suns (+1) // Warriors (-1)

Former Suns point guard Chris Paul makes his Warriors debut against his former team and it’s also the Suns debut of All-Star guard Bradley Beal. To get Beal from Washington, Phoenix had to give up Paul, Landry Shamet, four future first-round pick swaps and six future second-round picks in a swap that also included Indiana. The Wizards then turned around and traded Paul to the Warriors, formerly one of his hated rivals.

Beal was a limited participant in Sunday’s practice due to back tightness but should play Tuesday for Phoenix and new head coach Frank Vogel. Beal has averaged at least 20 PPG in every season since 2016-17, one-of-seven active guards in the league to do so. All-Star teammate Devin Booker was limited during Sunday’s practice due to a sore toe as well but also expected to play. Booker averaged 27.8 points per game last season, the highest by a Suns player in a single season in franchise history regardless of games played.

Kevin Durant is healthy. After surpassing Oscar Robertson for 13th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list last season, Durant enters this year’s campaign 55 points shy of moving past Hakeem Olajuwon for 12th on the all-time list. Having shot 56.0 FG%, 40.4 3FG% and 91.9 FT% during the 2022-23 season, Durant became the first player in NBA history to shoot 55+ FG%, 40+ 3FG% and 90+ FT% in a single season among players that played in over half of the games.

Of course, Durant played three seasons for the Warriors, helping guide Golden State to three straight trips to the NBA Finals (2017-2019) and winning back-to-back championships and back-to-back Finals MVP honors in 2017 and 2018.

Will Golden State’s Draymond Green play? Green missed the entire preseason schedule after spraining his left ankle during an offseason workout, but he’s getting close to full strength ahead of Opening Night. The Warriors announced Sunday that Green (ankle) has been cleared to do 5-on-5 drills.

Last year, the Warriors averaged 118.9 ppg, the second-highest scoring average in the NBA in 2022-23 behind Sacramento (120.7 ppg). The Warriors also ranked second in 3-point field goal percentage (.385 3P%). Klay Thompson became the third player in NBA history to make at least 300 3-pointers in a single season, joining Stephen Curry (four times) and James Harden (once).

This the 10th time in Warriors franchise history the Suns will be their first regular season opponent. Golden State is 3-6 vs. Phoenix in opening night games for the Dubs. The last time these two teams opened a season was in 2012-13, at Phoenix (Warriors won, 87-85).

NBA Betting Pick: Warriors

Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs

• When: Wednesday, October 25th, 2023, 9:30 PM ET
• Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: 97.1 The Freak FM (Mavericks) // WOAI 1200 AM (Spurs)
• Live Stream: NBATV
• NHL Betting Odds: Mavericks (-3.5) // Spurs (+3.5)

It’s the NBA regular-season debut of Spurs No. 1 overall rookie Victor Wembanyama. The 7-foot-4 Frenchman continued his strong play in the San Antonio Spurs’ final preseason game against the Warriors with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 blocks on 8-19 shooting through three quarters, which included two made threes. Wembanyama showcased his ball-handling capabilities and athletic finishing ability, throwing down multiple dunks in fastbreak situations. Wembanyama is the most anticipated NBA rookie since LeBron James in 2003, and perhaps since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970.

Last season, the Spurs had their youngest roster ever since Gregg Popovich became coach in 1996, with an average age of 23.6. The roster this season includes 11-of-16 players 26-years-old or younger. The next youngest teams: 2021-22 (25.0) and 2020-21 (25.5). The Spurs had 337 points scored by players 19 and younger in February – nearly as many as the rest of the NBA combined.

Last year’s Spurs were last in the league defending both 2-point shots (57%) and 3-point attempts (39%), becoming the fourth team since the NBA expanded to 30 teams to finish 30th in both categories. Adding Wembanyama will undoubtedly improve the San Antonio defense

Popovich enters his 28th season as the Spurs head coach. The NBA’s other franchises have gone through 294 head coaches. Every team has had at least three head coaches during Coach Popovich’s tenure with the Spurs. They have 34 wins in season-openers since joining the NBA in 1976 – the most of any team in the league since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.

Dallas was the league’s most disappointing team last season, finishing 38-44 despite making a midseason blockbuster trade to land Kyrie Irving. The Mavs tanked their last two games to position themselves to keep the top-10 protected pick they owe the Knicks from the failed Kristaps Porzingis trade. In 20 games (20 starts) with Dallas, Irving averaged 27.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists while shooting 51.0% on field goals in 38.2mpg.

This will mark the sixth time in franchise history that Dallas will open the season against San Antonio. The Mavericks will begin the year in San Antonio for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Dallas is 2-3 all-time in season openers against San Antonio. The Mavericks have won eight of the last 10 and 12 of the last 15 overall meetings (after San Antonio won 25-of-29 from March 2012 to April 2019).

In 16 career games against the Spurs, Luka Dončić is averaging 29.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. Dončić has totaled exactly 470 points in those 16 games, topped 20 points in 15 out of 16 games, and the Mavericks have gone 11-5 in those contests.

NBA Betting Pick: Spurs

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This is just one of the many sports betting guides that you can read here at Nitrobetting news. Stay tuned for more 2023-24 NBA season previews and articles and don’t forget to check out the latest basketball betting odds on our online Bitcoin sportsbook.

READ MORE: Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – October 30th, 2023