NBA Best Bets Today
It's the first NBA Sunday of the season, and you've come to the right place for NBA best bets today, featuring 3 expert picks across the schedule.
Let's get straight to it and run thorugh our best bets for NBA Sunday.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 3:30 p.m. | |
| 3:30 p.m. | |
  | 8:00 p.m. |
The Sunday scaries are real — especially in October — but don't fret. We wouldn't want to leave you in the dust for what's ahead for Sunday's NBA matchups. So as you're getting ready for another week, sit back, relax, and take a moment to decompress with a good word from our experts and their picks.
We have you covered from what to expect from the Thunder as they take on the Nuggets to why we feel as if Russell Westbrook won't back down when the Clippers face Wemby and the Spurs.
Best NBA Bets Today | Expert Picks for Sunday
One of these teams will be 3-0 after Sunday’s meeting and I don’t think it will be the defending champions. The Thunder have been steadily improving since Mark Daigneault took over in 2020. They’re one of the toughest teams to face throughout the regular season, because of their unique blend of youth and discipline, and that’s a testament to Daigneault’s coaching talent. With him at the helm the Thunder have the best record against the spread in the entire NBA, per BetLabs (127-105-6, 5.1% ROI). And excluding his first season, the Thunder have thrived in this spot, specifically. Against the Western Conference at home, the Thunder are 32-18-2 ATS against the spread.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets struggled to cover spreads on the road of late as they tend to lock in more at home, where they have the most significant home field advantage in The Association. Last season, the Nuggets were just 19-22 on the road and 9-17 as road favorites. Denver struggled to cover the spread against a depleted Memphis team on Friday eking out a 108-104 road win.
I think the Thunder come away with the win Sunday, so I’ll take any extra points the books want to give out and sprinkle a little bit on the moneyline at anything plus-money.
Pick: Thunder +2.5
By Chris Baker
The Nuggets put up 122, 122, and 131 points against the Thunder with Nikola Jokic in the lineup last year and nothing has changed year-over-year to make me think they won’t be able to continue to have offensive success here. They have a fundamental matchup edge with Jokic going against Chet Holmgren who will be at a significant weight and strength disadvantage in the post.
Jokic should either score on most of his touches or force double teams and I’d argue the Nuggets are at their best when teams double Joker and force him to pass. The Thunder rank 13th in pace this season and should come out with a ton of tempo in their home opener.
I expect the Nuggets to dominate in the halfcourt with Jokic and I also expect them to have success on the defensive glass which will allow them to get out in transition which is where they thrive with Jokic. This is just a complete mismatch for the Thunder defense and this isn’t even a ridiculously high number so I love this play at just 115.5.
Pick: Nuggets Team Total Over 115.5
Don't you just get the sense that Russell Westbrook doesn't give a sh** about this Victor Wembanyama hype? Now 12.5 points might not seem like the steepest hill to climb, but against a defensively challenged Spurs, who still have Wemby learning on the job, I like my chances with Westbrook finding the lane repeatedly and slashing his way to a season-best 13 or more points. If he could shoot over the defense, even better.
