The opening week of the 2022-23 NBA campaign showed us some impressive surprises for the coming season. Orlando’s Paolo Banchero became the first rookie to put up at least 25 points, five boards and five assists (he had 27, 9 and 5) since LeBron James in his NBA debut. Ja Morant put up 49 points against Houston on Friday night. Boston has started 3-0 despite missing center Robert Williams III and having head coach Ime Udoka under a one-year suspension. Utah is also 3-0 despite having traded away Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell and having brought in Will Hardy as the team’s new coach. On the other side of the coin, the Los Angeles Lakers are 0-3, and the Philadephia 76ers also have yet to win. Let’s take a look at some top sports betting matchups for you to consider in Week 2.
NBA News: Top Betting Games for Week 2
→ Monday, October 24
Orlando Magic (+7) at New York Knicks
(7:40 pm ET, NBA TV)
The 0-3 Orlando Magic are still looking for their first victory of the season in New York City, where they take on the 1-1 Knicks on Monday. Orlando last lost to Boston, 126-120, as 8 ½-point underdogs. The Knicks last faced Detroit, routing the Pistons by 24 after entering as seven-point favorites. These two teams have split their last 10 meetings. The Magic boosted their offense in their last game, as they are only averaging 109 points per contest. Paolo Banchero had another solid outing, posting 23 points, five boards and three assists. Terrence Ross led the Orlando scorers with 29 points and also pulled down four rebounds. Franz Wagner put up 18 points and six rebounds. The problems for the Magic have come on defense, as the team has permitted almost 116 points per game.
The Knicks lost their opener to Memphis but rebounded nicely with that rout of the Pistons. Immanuel Quickley led the Knicks with 20 points against Detroit, and he also had seven rebounds and seven assists. R.J. Barrett added 18 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Jalen Brunson scored 17 points and dished out six assists. The defense improved significantly against the Pistons as well. New York has made more than 40 percent of their shots from three-point land at home, and they also crash the offensive glass well. The Magic have made less than 30 percent of their three-pointers on the season, and it’s hard to stay close with that shooting deficit. Knicks to win and cover.
Denver Nuggets (-5) at Portland Trail Blazers
(10:00 pm ET, NBA TV)
The Portland Trail Blazers are 3-0 but still find themselves as five-point underdogs at home against the visiting Denver Nuggets (2-1). In the 2021-22 season, Denver won the season series with Portland 3-1 straight up and against the spread. The Nuggets took an ugly loss at Utah to start their season, falling 123-102, but since then, they have taken down Golden State on the road (winning by five as 5 ½-point underdogs) and Oklahoma City at home (winning by five as nie-point favorites) in back-to-back games. Against Golden State, Denver went 15 of 34 from behind the arc, but then they improved to 20 of 38 from distance against the Thunder. Ball distribution was a strength against Oklahoma City as well, as the Nuggets dished out 33 assists. Nikola Jokic posted his second triple-double of the young season with 19 points, 16 boards and 13 assists in just 39 minutes.
Portland started the season with a seven-point win in Sacramento, and then they beat Phoenix at home, 113-111, in overtime. They rounded things out by frustrating the L.A. Lakers on Sunday. Against Phoenix, Damian Lillard went off for 41 points, going 12 of 25 from the floor and making all 12 of his free throws. Jusuf Nurkic put up 20 points and 17 boards for an impressive double-double. Anfernee Simmons went just 5 of 17 in that game but had the game-winning shot with 7.2 seconds remaining in overtime. The only questionable number was the 21 turnovers that Portland committed in the game. Portland to cover.
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