Top NBA Betting Matchups and Picks of the Week – October 24th

The defending champion Golden State Warriors had a strange first week of the regular season that saw them lose two of three while both, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, were ejected from a game, nevertheless, they remain as a top NBA betting pick week after week. No Chris Paul is apparently no problem for the unbeaten Houston Rockets while both, the ‘Greek Freak’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) and Kyrie Irving (Boston Celtics), had an eventful week for completely opposite reasons. With the second week of the 2017-18 NBA regular season at hand, it’s time to take a look at the latest NBA Odds and some of the top matchups on the coming week’s schedule.

Top NBA Betting Matchups and Picks of the Week – October 24th

Congratulations @Giannis_An34!! #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/LdyZ8XeYpK

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) 23 de octubre de 2017

Indiana Pacers at Minnesota Timberwolves

• When: Tuesday, October 24, 2017, 8:00 PM ET
• Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• TV: FOX Sports North, FOX Sports Indiana
• Live Stream: NBA League Pass

The Pacers went 1-2 in the first week of the season while the revamped Minnesota Timberwolves went 2-1 over their first three games. I’m thinking this Tuesday night matchup will be an interesting affair seeing as how the Pacers are averaging a stellar 114.7 points per game but allowing a whopping 119.0 points per contest defensively. Minnesota added some all-star caliber veterans in Jimmy Butler and Jeff Teague to go along with Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony Towns and they got an exciting win over Oklahoma City on Wiggins’ last-second buzzer-beater while Indiana got smacked around by Portland the last tie out and after exploding for 140 points in their opener against Brooklyn. Minnesota has a new outlook this season, but so does Indiana with Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis coming over to replace Paul George. This one should be an NBA betting thriller, even if it looks like an understated affair.

Recent Head to Head (Last 10 Games)

• Record: Indiana leads 6-4
• Score: Indiana 102.30 / Minnesota 99.00
• Field Goal Percentage: Indiana 45.69 / Minnesota 48.12
• Rebounds: Indiana 37.80 / Minnesota 41.70
• 3 Point Shots: Indiana 62-177 / Minnesota 73-204
• Steals: Indiana 9.20 / Minnesota 9.10

Houston Rockets at Philadelphia 76ers

• When: Wednesday, October 25, 2017, 7:00 PM ET
• Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• TV: NBCSP, ATTSN-SW, NBATV
• Live Stream: NBA League Pass

For the Houston Rockets, it’s no Chris Paul, no problem! After losing their all-star point guard to an injury in Game 1, Houston ripped off two more wins, most recently spanking Dallas 107-91 on Saturday behind their league MVP runner-up James Harden and a very good cast of role players that includes Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson, Clint Capela and Eric Gordon. More importantly, the Rockets are putting up a fantastic 111.3 points per game and giving up just 104.0 per night. The Philadelphia 76ers have an exciting young roster led by rookies in Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz, while including center Joel Embiid and underrated young players like Jhalil Okafor and Dario Saric. Too bad the Sixers aren’t playing any defense whatsoever as they give up a whopping 116.7 per game while averaging 100.3 per night. With Paul out, the Rockets are back to leaning on superstar James Harden and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, seeing how well they played that way last season. The usually NBA betting favorite Houston Rockets could quite literally drop 140 on Philly in this one while Simmons approaches a triple-double.

Recent Head to Head (Last 10 Games)

• Record: Houston leads 8-2
• Score: Houston 112.60 / Philadelphia 103.50
• Field Goal Percentage: Houston 44.07 / Philadelphia 46.92
• Rebounds: Houston 39.00 / Philadelphia 47.50
• 3 Point Shots: Houston 98-254 / Philadelphia 117-318
• Steals: Houston 10.80 / Philadelphia 9.50

Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks

• When: Thursday, October 26, 2017, 7:00 PM ET
• Where: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, Milwaukee, WI
• TV: TNT – SAP, NBATV Canada
• Live Stream: NBA League Pass

Boston went 1-2 to start the new season, but the biggest news outside of Gordon Hayward’s season-ending injury is Kyrie Irving’s profanity-laced tirade against a Sixers fan – in a game the Celtics won. Milwaukee is looking really good despite losing one game to LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics may be the more ‘hyped’ team because of their acquisitions of all-stars in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, but with Hayward out for the season, Irving is left to carry the load with a cast of mostly young players around him, outside of veteran big man Al Horford. Milwaukee has an MVP-caliber player in do-it-all superstar ‘point forward’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and a much better cast of role players than Boston in still-blossoming youngsters like Malcolm Brogdon and Thom Maker and slightly older veterans like Khris Middleton and Tony Snell. Antetokounmpo, an NBA betting favorite to win MVP, scored a career-high 44 against Portland on Saturday night and right now, Milwaukee, not Boston is the clearly better team heading into this Week 2 matchup.

Recent Head to Head (Last 10 Games)

• Record: Boston leads 6-4
• Score: Boston 107.60 / Milwaukee 103.40
• Field Goal Percentage: Boston 47.77 / Milwaukee 45.72
• Rebounds: Boston 41.50 / Milwaukee 41.90
• 3 Point Shots: Boston 70-200 / Milwaukee 98-292
• Steals: Boston 7.80 / Milwaukee 9.10

Washington at Golden State

• When: Friday, October 27, 2017, 10:30 PM ET
• Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
• TV: NBATV, NBCBA, NBCSWA
• Live Stream: NBA League Pass

The Wizards are off to a perfect 2-0 start behind John Wall and Bradley Beal and handled Detroit 115-111 on Friday night in their last contest prior to this writing while Golden State finished their week with a drama-filled 111-101 loss to Memphis the last time we saw them in action. Wall and company will look to give Steph Curry and the Dubs a tough way to go in a matchup featuring two of the top point guards in the NBA.

Recent Head to Head (Last 10 Games)

• Record: Golden State leads 8-2
• Score: Washington 99.80 / Golden State 110.30
• Field Goal Percentage: Washington 47.20 / Golden State 43.51
• Rebounds: Washington 47.20 / Golden State 42.60
• 3 Point Shots: Washington 115-274 / Golden State 75-214
• Steals: Washington 8.80 / Golden State 9.10