NBA Best Bets Tuesday November 4th: Expert Betting Picks, Predictions

The defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder have looked unstoppable early in the campaign with seven consecutive victories.

They will look to keep the success going on Tuesday night when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers in the opener of a four-game road trip.

You don’t have to be Terry Rozier to know Oklahoma City won’t go undefeated. Heck, they probably won’t approach the record 24-0 start by the Golden State Warriors in the 2015-16 season.

Speaking of the Warriors, they host the Phoenix Suns in a game where points should be plentiful. And with Giannis Antetokounmpo fresh off a game-winner, we’ll look at the Milwaukee Bucks visiting the Toronto Raptors.

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER AT LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

The Thunder crushed the New Orleans Pelicans 137-106 on Sunday to end a three-game homestand. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points, reaching that mark for the fifth time this season. You don’t give out MVP awards after seven games, but barring injury, you can count on SGA being in the conversation again.

The road trip includes games in Portland (Wednesday), Sacramento (Friday) and Memphis (Sunday) so the Clippers would appear to be the most logical team to hand OKC a setback. However, Los Angeles (3-3) will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back that began with Monday’s 120-119 home loss to the Miami Heat.

Kawhi Leonard has two 30-point outings and James Harden fell one point away from his second against Miami so the Clippers have solid firepower. But Leonard could be held out due to his troublesome knee and that helps make it probable that Oklahoma City improves to 8-0.

Pick: Thunder minus-7.5 spread, -105 (DraftKings)

PHOENIX SUNS AT GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

The Warriors (4-3) are returning home after road losses to the Bucks and Pacers and they better enjoy the Bay Area while they can. After this contest with Phoenix, Golden State plays eight of its next nine games on the road. That raises the importance of this game.

An improved shooting effort from star Stephen Curry would be nice. Curry was 4 of 16 from 3-point range in Saturday’s 114-109 loss to the Pacers. Curry 24 points thanks to the high volume of shots (23). We don’t need Chauncey Billups’ input to know a bounce-back effort could be in the cards.

The Suns (3-4) have won two straight games after losing four in a row and the post-Kevin Durant era means the Devin Booker Show is back. ‘Book’ has topped 30 points five times and recorded 28 points and 13 assists when Phoenix led by as many as 31 while handing the San Antonio Spurs their first loss of the season on Sunday. The 130-118 win represented Phoenix’s second-highest scoring output of the season.

Pick: Curry to score 30-plus points, +207 (DraftKings)

MILWAUKEE BUCKS AT TORONTO RAPTORS

Antetokounmpo hit the decisive 17-foot jumper as time expired in Monday’s 117-115 road victory over the Pacers. Now we wonder if the Bucks (5-2) will have enough energy for another win with the postgame travel and getting through customs in Toronto. Of course, Milwaukee posted a 122-116 win in Toronto on Oct. 24 when it had a day off before the game.

Giannis had 33 points and 13 rebounds against the Pacers and has scored 30 or more points in five of his six appearances this season. He had 31 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists in the earlier win against the Raptors, putting up the type of performance that would even impress Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Toronto (3-4) has notched back-to-back victories after losing four in a row. Newcomer Brandon Ingram has been solid with five outings of 20 or more points, while holdovers RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes join Ingram in averaging more than 20 points per game.

Pick: Raptors minus-4.5 spread, -110 (DraftKings)