NBA Best Bets Today: Pacers, Grizzlies and Trail Blazers Picks

After just a couple of games Thursday night, the NBA returns tonight with a busy 12-game schedule, starting early at 4 p.m. EST with the Chicago Bulls taking on the Milwaukee Bucks. With so many games, there are plenty of great markets for people to bet on.

But what are the NBA Best Bets of the day? Here are the three that I’m betting on tonight:

Dallas Mavericks vs. Indiana Pacers

Cooper Flagg was great in the season opener for the Mavs against Houston, but nothing else about that game was exceptional for Dallas. Kyrie Irving looked like a guy who hasn’t played competitive basketball in over a year. Dusty May has his work cut out for him as he adjusts to the NBA.

As for the Pacers, Tyrese Halliburton had a double-double in his return, Pascal Siakam scored 30, and Ivica Zubac also chipped in a double-double. The Pacers looked solid on offense but may need to work on defense after allowing New Orleans to score 120.

My Pick: Pacers -6.5 at -108

I liked the opening line of -5.5 better, but I’ll still take the Pacers at -6.5. If Dallas were at full strength, they might make this game competitive. But with all the injuries they are dealing with, well—Cooper Flagg can’t do it all. Indiana will cover.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors

I almost get the feeling the line was set with the memory of the Warriors in mind, because it can’t be based on the team that lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. They couldn’t hit 3-pointers (22%), turned the ball over way too much (16), and did little on the boards. With all the injuries they are dealing with, I’m not sure they can be better until they get some of those players back.

To be fair, it is way too soon to call Memphis even “good” yet. Yes, they had a great opener against Utah—but that doesn’t say much. Against the Warriors, they'll have a serious size advantage inside. If they can shoot 3-pointers like they did against Utah (38.2%), they might put this one away quickly.

- My Pick: Memphis ML at +130

Memphis has a long way to go. But with the players Golden State has available right now, they aren’t going to beat anyone anytime soon.

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Sacramento Kings

The season openers could not have been more different for Portland and Sacramento. For the Trail Blazers, their backcourt, defense, and rebounding ruled the day against Phoenix, leading to a 41-point win (124-83). But the Kings struggled to generate offense (96 points) and had no answer for anything the Clippers did (hence, LA winning 121-96).

- My Pick: Portland -7.5 (-110)

I’m a little surprised the spread opened at -6.5; I would have thought it would have been higher. DraftKings has since bumped it up to -7.5, but even that feels low. Portland looked ready to play and compete. Sacramento looked like a team that hasn’t reported to camp yet.

Portland covers, easily.