It’s now less than a week to the start of the new NBA season, and with four of the top teams in action on the opening night, it’s time for some betting picks.
In fact, all four teams in action on Tuesday night are the top teams on the Vegas betting sites to win the 2021/22 NBA Championship.
Opening the season is the Nets and Bucks. They are first and third respectively in the betting to win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.
They are followed by the Golden State Warriors and the Lakers, who are fourth and second on the outright winner betting line.
| NBA 2021/22 Championship Betting Odds |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Nets | +250 | +240 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | +400 | +450 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | +650 | +600 |
| Golden State Warriors | +1300 | +1200 |
With these four teams in action, it promises to be an exciting opening night of the new season.
Now let’s have a look at the latest betting and get some NBA picks.
The defending champions host the team – that up until recently were a lot of people’s champions elect – in the opening match of the new regular season.
The Brooklyn Nets were the team being widely predicted to take the NBA crown away from the Milwaukee Bucks.
However, that was before the much-publicized standoff between the franchise and star guard Kyrie Irving materialized.
The news that Irving won’t be able to play again until he changes his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine throws the whole situation up in the air.
And from a betting perspective, makes long-term bets on the Nets less certain.
It also adds uncertainty about the Nets as we are none the wiser if the whole issue has caused any splits in the camp.
On the Moneyline, the two teams are very close in the betting.
If you shop around with the various NBA betting sites I’m sure you will find some have Milwaukee as favorites, and others won’t be able to split them. It’s that close!
Calling a winner is further complicated by the fact that both teams have had inconsistent preseasons.
The only marker we have really is last week’s preseason match-up between the two sides. In that match, the Nets came out on top 119 points to 115.
The Nets started the match fast, moving into a 6 points lead after the first quarter.
Then in the second quarter, the Bucks fought back and had a magical spell, resulting in them turning a 6 points deficit into a 4 points lead at the halfway stage.
At that point the Nets took control. They won the third quarter, 33-28, and the fourth quarter 30-27. In the end, the Nets ran out 119-115 winners.
If you pushed me for a winner, I think I would go for the Nets, but it’s too close to call.
On the handicap spread, it’s a similar story. It may well come down to just 1 point between the two sides, so it’s really difficult to call.
So instead, I’m going to look at the total points market for my pick.
Last week’s match-up between the two sides seen 234 points scored in total.
Neither team was up to full speed, and I expect that to change with another week’s preseason under their belts.
Therefore my first pick of the 2021/22 NBA season is for there to be over 240.5 points in the Bucks v Nets match.
Moving onto Tuesday night’s second match-up, and this one isn’t as close on the Moneyline.
The LA Lakers are clear favorites with Bovada to win this match-up. The oddsmakers clearly aren’t put off by the Laker’s appalling preseason.
The Lakers also lost to the Warriors in both their warm-up matches in the past few days.
Last weekend, the Warriors ran out 121 to 114 winners. While on Tuesday they beat the Lakers by 111 points to 99.
Both matches followed differing trajectories. In the first match, the Warriors took a 14 points lead into the final quarter, before holding on for a 7 points win.
Then in the latest match-up, the Warriors were 1 point ahead going into the final quarter, but grew in strength and ended up winning by 12 points.
The two preseason matches between these sides seen 235 and 210 points scored. One result just a touch over Tuesday’s spread, and one way below it.
The Lakers’ form is too patchy and not good enough to predict them to win. But they also can’t be written off, as they just have too much quality in their side.
So for these reasons, and the fact that it’s the opening match of the season, I’m just going with under 230.5 on the Total Points spread for my betting pick.
