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The NBA season will officially kick off with a double header on TNT. First the Philadelphia 76ers will visit the Boston Celtics. Then the Los Angeles Lakers will visit the NBA champion Golden State Warriors. The Celtics and Warriors were the better teams last season and should be again this season. However, that does not always mean they are the best bets.
Draftkings Odds
The Celtics are favored by 2.5 points and the Warriors by 6 points respectively. The public heavily favors the 76ers and the Warriors, with over 64 percent of the wagers on each game being placed on them. A whopping 84 percent of the money wagered on the Celtics/76ers game has been bet on the 76ers. If there is such clear money on both teams in both games, it is incredibly likely that the public is wrong on at least one of them.
That means that you are better off picking one particular game and going with it. The Celtics are a better team than the 76ers but Joel Embiid is enough of a deterrent to prevent anyone from feeling comfortable betting on them. The Celtics and 76ers split their two games last season and never played with Harden on the 76ers. There is a reason that the house always wins. That is why I am staying away from the Celtics/76ers game. The house would crumble if it lost very many games where 84 percent of the wagers were on the winning side. The house is doing just fine.
The game to go with is the Warriors -6 versus the Lakers. Whatever money you are willing to wager on opening night throw it into this game. Lebron James is 7-12 on opening night in his illustrious career including 0-4 as a Laker. It is tempting to read too much into Draymond Green’s recent antics with the Warriors and the drama that has followed. The Warriors will want to rally around each other, and this should be a good chance to do so. Plus, Stephen Curry is just really fun to root for and really annoying to root against. It is much better to enjoy those deep threes rather than pray they miss.
The Warriors are simply a better team, and it is not like the Lakers are drama free. Russell Westbrook remains a Laker and Anthony Davis remains adamant that he prefers to play the four despite not shooting well enough to do so.
If you prefer to bet the over/under, the Celtics vs 76ers over/under is 214.5. The public loves the over with a whopping 73 percent of the total bets going to the over and 60 percent of the total money. If you are looking to parlay an over with a game result parlay the Celtics/76ers over with the Warriors -6 in order to get the best odds. Overall, be glad the NBA is back and always gamble responsibly if you choose to do so.
Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.
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