The reigning champions, the Denver Nuggets, will have the honor of raising the curtain on the new 2023-24 NBA season on Tuesday evening when they host LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers at Ball Arena.
The opening day will be completed with another mouth-watering matchup as the new super team, the Phoenix Suns, takes on the former Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.
Basketball aficionados around the globe could have hardly asked for more after a long summer break.
We will preview the season’s opening day, presenting our favorite basketball betting picks for the two massive Western Conference matchups.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets (October 24, 8:30 pm, Ball Arena)
LeBron James enters his 21st NBA season and is just 549 minutes away from breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most minutes played in the league. One of the best players ever turns 39 in December but can perform at the highest level. With age as his worst enemy, it is now or never for both James and the Lakers, who have done a serious job at the February trade deadline by completing a respectable roster around James and Anthony Davis. D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood, and Taurean Prince all represent strong role options, meaning the Lakers should not lack depth in the 2023/24 campaign.
After 50 years of unsuccessful attempts, the Denver Nuggets won the first NBA championship in franchise history, thanks to their staggering form in the playoffs. Every single link in the team worked perfectly, as the Pride of Colorado dropped only four games in the whole postseason this summer. Led by two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and his partner in crime, Jamal Murray, the Nuggets still have the key weapons to attack the back-to-back titles. We know the only thing more difficult than winning a trophy is defending one. Denver’s job will be even tougher without two very important role players following the departures of Bruce Brown Jr. and Jeff Green, who combined for 48 minutes per game in the regular season and were two of only seven players to have appeared in all 20 postseason affairs in the previous campaign. Contrary to the Lakers, Denver’s bench looks weaker ahead of the new season, and we can’t wait to see whether Christian Braun, Payton Watson, and Justin Holiday can fill in the gaps. Nikola Jokic will offer his standard MVP production, but will it be enough for the title defense?
Best Pick: Los Angeles Lakers to win (+170) with BetMGM
Denver is the defending champions and a powerhouse in front of the home fans, but we feel that head coach Mike Malone will need time to adjust to life without two important role players, and the opening day game against the Los Angeles heavyweights will leave him very little space for experiments. When you add the improvements in the Lakers’ roster and the visitors’ motivation to make amends for last season’s sweep in the Western Conference Finals at the hands of Denver, you can easily find value in the attractive +170 odds offered for the away win here.
Learn More: 2023/24 NBA MVP Race: Odds & Predictions
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Phoenix Suns vs. Golden State Warriors (October 24, 11 pm, Chase Center)
Most experts and all US sportsbooks consider the Phoenix Suns as one of the two major contenders in the West, and they do it for a good reason. The Suns have formed a super team by adding Bradley Beal to their two-headed monster of Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. They also swapped DeAndre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic in a huge summer deal that sent Dame Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, while the 13-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul and the solid role player Cameron Payne have left Arizona. On paper, the Suns’ roster looks breathtaking with three superstars, two solid extra options in the starting five (Jusuf Nurkic and Josh Okogie), and a deep second unit featuring Grayson Allen, Keita Bates-Diop, Yuta Watanabe, Eric Gordon, Bol Bol, Drew Eubanks, Keon Johnson, Jordan Goodwin, Saben Lee, and Nassir Little.
We talked about the Lakers and their now-or-never situation ahead of this year, and we have all the reasons to repeat the narrative when it comes to the Golden State Warriors. After over a decade spent together and four rings won, time is not on the side of the Splash Brothers. The team’s GM went all-in this season by increasing the average age on the roster via the acquisition of Chris Paul (just from the Suns). Nobody can argue against the talent present in this team. After all, these same Warriors have won the championship two years ago. However, how many teams consider themselves legit playoff contenders, knowing how stacked the Western Conference is? Being optimistic regarding the Golden State’s chances this year is very difficult.
Best Pick: Phoenix Suns to win (-110) with DraftKings
Golden State offered much better performances at home than on the road last year, and we will rarely bet against them at even odds at Chase Center. That said, this is exactly the one rare occasion to do so, as the visiting Suns will be motivated to make a statement to win to show their title ambitions on the very opening day of the new campaign.
Learn More: 2023-24 NBA Western Conference: Predictions & Betting Odds
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