NBA Best Bets for Friday October 27: Odds, Predictions to Consider on DraftKings Sportsbook

NBA is off and running as we have our first big Friday night betting card to breakdown. Here’s what stands out on DraftKings Sportsbook.

For my full NBA futures betting card, be sure to listen to the Unreasonable Odds Podcast NBA preview.

Denver Nuggets at Memphis Grizzlies

DEN -3.5 (-110) — 1-unit (Given out Thursday)

I laid off the Nuggets on banner night, but they impressed against the Lakers. Yes, I’m on the win total under for this team, but they are still going to have a very good regular season. While Denver might be appropriately priced in the market right now, I think Memphis is quite overpriced.

I faded the Grizzlies in their home opener, and they wound up getting beat pretty good by the Pelicans. Obviously, the Grizz are without Ja Morant while he serves his 25-game suspension, but the late loss of Steven Adams for the season was monster. His absence will really hurt this team, particularly in a matchup against Nikola Jokic.

Missing some crucial scoring, defense and size, I think the Nuggets roll to 2-0 here on the road.

Orlando Magic at Portland Trail Blazers

ORL -2.5 (-110) — 1.5-units (Given out Thursday)

The Magic are a pretty solid young team in the east that we might wind up paying attention to. I’m on their win total over, as this team followed up a 5-20 start to last season with a 29-28 finish. The Rockets aren’t the highest level of competition, but Orlando handled them in the home opener, and this Portland team is almost certainly a step down in competition.

The Blazers got smoked at home in their opener by the Clippers, and while the Magic aren’t on that level, this is a competitive .500 team that we saw down the stretch last season. While the market is priced for the Blazers to be one of the worst teams in the league, I do believe Orlando is still very underpriced. I regret not backing them against Houston, but think this is a good spot to still get in early. Many of the Magic’s young starts didn’t play many minutes on Wednesday due to the blowout, but look for them to put up bigger numbers on Friday.

Banchero averaged 20 points as a rookie last season, and I expect him to take a leap this year. We get a nice buy-low spot in game 2 of the season, due to the reigning ROY going for just 12 points in the opener. It was a very strange game, though, as six players on the Magic took more shots than him, and Banchero played just 27 minutes in a 30-point blowout.

Banchero gets a cushy matchup here against Portland, who just showed little resistance against the Clippers. Expect Banchero to get his this time around.

Detroit Pistons at Charlotte Hornets

Williams came on strong down the stretch last season, and was an animal on the glass in the season opener. Going up against a beast in his own right in Clint Capela, Williams ripped down 15 boards in 30 minutes. Looks for Williams to clean the glass again on Friday against Detroit.

After a disappointing season of injuries, the former No. 1 overall pick looked all the way back in the season opener against Miami. Cunningham was super aggressive, going 13-for-27 from the field, including 4-of-9 from deep. He finished with 30 points in 36 minutes, and got his all while maintaining his role as a distributor (nine assists). This is a modest number for his point prop in game 2.

Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs

I mentioned that I liked Orlando on Wednesday, and regretfully passed. Part of the reason was also that I do not think the Rockets are very good. They added a couple vets in Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, but that did close to nothing for them. This should be a bottom-three team in the NBA, and the Spurs looked solid on opening night. Ultimately, they fell short to Dallas, as Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving closed them out down the stretch. The Rockets don’t have those go-to-guys. San Antonio also did a good job hanging around against a decent team while Victor Wembanyama was in and out of the lineup with foul trouble. If he cuts back on the silly fouls and plays more consistent minutes, look for the Spurs to run away with this one.

Wembanyama was efficient in limited minutes in his NBA debut, scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. But Wemby ran into foul trouble and only played 23 minutes. If he can stay out of foul trouble against a soft Houston defense that just gave up 116 in Orlando, I’d expect big things here. Still good odds on his 20+ points because of the deceivingly low number in the opener.

I also bet Wemby to go over 1.5 turnovers in the opener, but the price soared before I could give the play out. Now at 2.5, I still think there’s value on betting the over. Wemby had 11 turnovers in the preseason in just 84 minutes, and then followed it up with five turnovers in those 23 minutes in his regular season debut. Obviously, anticipating more minutes here, Wembanyama should be expected to make some mistakes with the ball again. Still an adjustment period here.

Brooklyn Nets at Dallas Mavericks

Lively didn’t start in his NBA debut on Wednesday, but played extremely well off the bench an earned Jason Kidd’s trust to start him in the second half. The rookie was a huge boost in the middle for the Mavs, giving them an athletic big that they didn’t previously have.

Lively wound up going 31 minutes and finishing with 16 points and 10 boards. Expect him to play a big role once again, and the matchup really improves with Nic Claxton sitting out for the Nets.

DKSB is offering fantastic prices on these alternates, with two to three times better pricing on them. Be sure to take advantage.

All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.

The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment.