Like the first cannonball into a swimming pool with all of its exuberance, the new NBA season drops on Tuesday with stars upon storylines upon stars upon storylines. The New York Knicks will raise their NBA championship banner and get their gaudy rings on a night 53 years in the making. And once those preliminaries conclude, Jalen Brunson & Co. will open the season against none other than LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers.
NBA Opening Night then shifts to Texas. Victor Wembanyama and the young San Antonio Spurs, who lost to the Knicks in the Finals, host reigning two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The game is a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals, which went the full seven games.
Bet on Tuesday's top games at DraftKings and get $200 in bonuses and three months of NBA League Pass when you spend $5+: The two games feature the top four favorites to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy this year. The Spurs and Thunder are co-favorites at +270 at DraftKings, while the Knicks and 76ers are co-third choices, at +900. For Tuesday, New York is a 4.5-point favorite over Philadelphia in the latest NBA betting odds, while San Antonio is a 1.5-point favorite over Oklahoma City.
While NBA's Opening Night is the marquee attraction on Tuesday, there are other sports betting options that include a partial college football schedule. Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet at the best sports betting apps, for Tuesday, Oct. 20. Use the Caesars Sportsbook promo code CBSSPORTSBR250 to get $250 in bonus bets via bet resets: Time: 7 p.m. | Location: New York | TV: NBC/Peacock | Stream: Fubo (Try for free) Preseason NBA stats should be taken with a big ole bucket of salt.
That said, neither of these teams were efficient offensively in their lead-up to the season. The Knicks scored just 103.5 points per 100 possessions in their five preseason games, which ranked 25th in the league. The 76ers were even worse, at 103.0 points (27th).
With high-usage players such as Brown and James joining Philadelphia and learning to play with each other, the team won't be a well-oiled offensive machine early in the season. The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, says there's a 62.0% chance the teams combine for 232 points or fewer and assigns a moderate B grade to Under 232.5. Time: 9:30 p.m. | Location: San Antonio | TV: NBC/Peacock | Stream: Fubo (Try for free) SportsLine pick -- Model: Under 230.5 | Expert: Spurs -126 (Matt Severance) Last season, San Antonio dominated the regular season series against Oklahoma City, winning four of the five matchups.
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