NBA Betting Picks for Wednesday 10/25/23: Thunder Make Noise in Season Debut

The 82-game NBA regular season offers us a wide variety of betting options, including point spreads, moneylines, and totals. The Association features 1,230 regular season games, which can make sifting through the odds an overwhelming task.

However, various advanced statistics can help narrow the choices. numberFire's NBA power rankings and daily projections paired with advanced stats from the NBA can help give the inside track to winning big.

While utilizing some of the mentioned tools, which NBA odds from FanDuel Sportsbook look like the best bets today?

Please note lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published.

NBA Best Bets

Boston Celtics at New York Knicks

Celtics -3.5 (-110)

Wednesday features the first full slate of the 2023-24 NBA season. The Boston Celtics against the New York Knicks is the first of two games for ESPN's doubleheader. The Celtics are the favorite to win the NBA championship (+370) when looking at FanDuel Sportsbook's NBA Finals odds, and the Knicks are favored to make the playoffs (-330), per FanDuel's NBA playoff odds. Madison Square Garden should be rocking with an electric environment.

After the Knicks went 3-1 outright and against the spread (ATS) in head-to-head matchups with Boston last season, will New York pull off another upset? The Knicks are no stranger to the underdog role; Boston was favored in all four matchups in the 2022-23 season. The over also hit in three of four meetings. Should we expect plenty of points?

The Celtics are 3.5-point favorites for Wednesday's collision. Of course, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis will be making their debuts in the Celtic Green. Holiday and Derrick White should form a formidable defensive backcourt; both players earned All-Defensive honors last season. New York's Jalen Brunson, who averaged a career-high 24.0 points per game (PPG) in the 2022-23 season, will be a good first test for Boston's new-look backcourt.

The over could be an intriguing choice as the teams combined for at least 237 points in three of four matchups last season. This was quite surprising since the Celtics ranked second in defensive rating, and both teams were among the 11 slowest-paced squads.

However, instead of betting on the total, I'm targeting the point spread. The Knicks got the best of Boston last year, but I believe that will change starting on Wednesday. The Celtics' defense should remain among the top units in the league, which spells trouble for New York, who was 21st in effective field goal percentage (eFG%) last season.

The Knicks were also 10th in three-point rate in the 2022-23 season (40.0%), and Boston finished 5th in opponent points from three-pointers (35.5). I like the Celtics' defense to lead to a Boston cover.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Chicago Bulls

Thunder Moneyline (+112)

The Oklahoma City Thunder might be the most surprising underdog of the night. After appearing in the Play-In Tournament last season, OKC has generated offseason buzz and is -184 to make the postseason. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls failed to make the playoffs last year and are +124 to earn a postseason berth. But it's OKC who is the underdog today.

These teams seem to be trending in opposite directions. The Thunder feature one of the NBA's most promising young cores with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and Jalen Williams. The Bulls' future seems uncertain as the core of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic has not yielded results. LaVine has even landed in some trade rumors, but that's a discussion for a later date.

For now, Chicago will play host to Oklahoma City in the season opener for both sides. According to numberFire's nERD-based power rankings, the Thunder rank 15th compared to the Bulls coming in at 18th. OKC also has a higher projected win total of 44.5 while Chicago is at 37.5 when looking at FanDuel's NBA win totals.

By nearly all accounts, the Thunder are expected to be the better team this season. Chicago returns nearly the same roster as they re-signed Vucevic and Coby White. The Bulls also added Jevon Carter, who should add a scoring boost off of the bench.

OKC seems on track for another leap. Gilgeous-Alexander could be in MVP contention (+2300), Giddey and Williams are on an upward trajectory, and Chet Holmgren can significantly improve the Thunder's rebounding (29th in defensive rebounding percentage last season).

Wednesday's matchup could be a battle of pace. Chicago had the 12th-slowest pace last season while the Thunder featured the 6th-quickest pace. Oklahoma City controlled the pace in both matchups last season; the over was 2-0 and the Thunder were 2-0 ATS. With Holmgren improving the Thunder's rebounding, look for OKC to start the season with a win.

Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Clippers

Over 227 (-110)

With a quick glance, the Portland Trail Blazers against the Los Angeles Clippers could be one of the most underwhelming matchups of the night. The Clippers are favored by 9.0points -- tied for the largest spread for Wednesday. However, there are still enticing lines that could yield favorable results.

Of course, the Blazers traded Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in the offseason, leaving the backcourt to Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, and Shaedon Sharpe. This backcourt has plenty of scoring upside.

Simons averaged a career-high 21.1 PPG with a 116.2 offensive rating (fifth-best on the team) last season, and Sharpe averaged 23.7 PPG in his final 10 games of his rookie campaign. Henderson was hailed as an elite guard prospect and has the third-shortest odds to win Rookie of the Year (+500). Don't forget about Jerami Grant, who boasted the third-best offensive rating on last year's team (117.5). Add Grant to the equation, and now you're cooking with gas.

While Portland has intriguing scoring upside, the defense will likely struggle as they had the third-worst defensive rating a year ago. This bodes well for the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, who has the 10th-most projected fantasy points via numberFire.

The Trail Blazers' pace could determine the total. They had the 13th-slowest pace last season, but I expect that to speed up with the revamped backcourt led by uber-athletic guards.

Ultimately, I'm not bold enough to take Portland to cover the spread. Their defense will likely be a problem in the 2023-24 season. However, the over seems like a favorable pick. The Blazers will likely look to push the pace and have a promising offense, and their concerning defense could allow Los Angeles to thrive on the offensive end.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.