The opening week of the 2022-23 NBA season continues with the first Saturday slate of the year. While there will be plenty of sports to bet on, including college football and UFC, don’t forget about the action in the Association. For the NBA best bets for Saturday, we’ll be hyper-focusing on the LA Clippers spread and more.
Headlining Saturday’s slate is a meeting between the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies, as both teams finished as top-four seeds in the Western Conference last year and are expected to be in the mix once again. It will be the marquee matchup of the day, and the Mavericks’ first-quarter spread might make the final card. But bettors would be better off looking elsewhere for value on today’s slate.
NBA Best Bets For Saturday
Cleveland Cavaliers (-1.5) at Chicago Bulls
At the time of this writing, OddsShoppers’ top NBA bet — at least on sides or totals — is the Cavaliers’ spread and No. 2 on that list is their moneyline price of -120. The short spread for the road team has a 55% expected win projection, while the moneyline has a 57% win probability. Make sure to check out that tool before placing any bets.
My numbers tend to agree, showing some solid value on the visitors. The Cavs haven’t played since Wednesday, so don’t expect fatigue to be a factor today. They lost that game to the Raptors, 108-105, and will be itching to notch their first win of the season. The Bulls, meanwhile, suffered a 102-100 loss to the Washington Wizards last night and are now 1-1 on the year.
The market eventually caught up to the Cavs last year, but they went 42-36-4 against the spread and won some money for bettors. It is hard to not go back to them to start the season, especially against a Bulls squad that is without Lonzo Ball to begin the year. Bet on the Cavs to get in the win column tonight.
Cavaliers-Bulls prediction: Cavaliers moneyline (-120) at BetMGM
Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers O/U 230 points
At 230 total points, this is one of the higher totals on the NBA slate along with the matchup between the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks. It has even climbed from 227, suggesting early money is coming in on the over for this Pistons-Pacers matchup.
It makes sense when you look at what both teams did last night. The Pacers (0-2) suffered a 137-134 loss to the San Antonio Spurs at home. There were 28 made 3-pointers between the two teams in that game. The Pistons, on the other hand, surrendered 130 points in a 130-106 road loss to the New York Knicks last night to fall to 1-1 on the year.
With both teams playing on a quick turnaround, I will bet against either of these teams replicating what we saw last night. There will be a few exciting young players in this game, but take the under on one of the highest totals of the day.
Pistons-Pacers prediction: Under 229.5 points (-110) at FanDuel
Los Angeles Clippers (-3) at Sacramento Kings
The market was always going to react to both Kawhi Leonard and John Wall being ruled out, but it might have reacted too much. The Clippers were roughly a 4.5-point favorite when the betting lines opened yesterday, and now the Clippers spread is down to a single possession after it was announced Leonard and Wall would rest on the first half of a back-to-back.
But this is exactly the time to back the Clippers, because they are so deep. The Clippers were up by a dozen on the Lakers in the opener by the time Leonard checked in for the first time during the second quarter. Ty Lue’s squad is the deepest in the league, which sets up opportunities to buy low on them when key players are missing.
The Kings are coming off a 115-108 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the opener, and could eventually find themselves in contention for a play-in spot. But the Clippers’ talent and depth should ultimately prevail tonight. This line got as low as two points this morning, but anything at three or under is a play.
Clippers-Kings prediction: Clippers -3 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
