The NBA grind continues tonight, and our Action Network staff has you covered from every angle. We've pooled our top analysis and broken down the board to bring you our favorite spreads, totals, and player props for today's slate.
Continue below for our NBA predictions and picks for Thursday, October 29.
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NBA Best Bets for Thursday, October 29
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
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  | 8 p.m. | |
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  | 10 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NBA Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Cavaliers vs. Hawks
Aaron Wiggins Over 12.5 Points
The overarching angle for this play is rooted in the chaotic nature of the current NBA schedule. We are seeing an influx of early-season injuries—something like 79 players across the league were on the injury report on Wednesday alone—and a huge part of that is due to these grueling back-to-backs.
When you have teams playing on the second night of a back-to-back, you always have the possibility of a starter missing time, getting scratched right before tip-off, or simply having their minutes managed.
In these sloppy, fatigue-filled games, give me the high-energy bench guys to come in and wreak absolute havoc. Aaron Wiggins is exactly the type of player who benefits and steps up if a starter sits, which acts as a built-in bonus to this cap.
But even if the rotation stays intact, he has been hitting this number consistently on his own merit. Wiggins has scored 16, 16, 19, and 12 points this season before getting hooked at 10 against a desperate Miami team in his last outing.
I love the bounce-back spot for him here against a Cleveland team that is also operating on the second night of a back-to-back. If you look at the underlying volume, his field goal attempts are steadily climbing; he has taken 10-plus shots in three consecutive games.
There is a clear progression happening where he started the year with low volume and high efficiency, but head coach Quin Snyder clearly liked what he saw and is now giving him much more leeway within the offense.
I love backing role players in these specific spots. Wiggins over 12.5 points is a fantastic look.
Pick: Aaron Wiggins Over 12.5 Points (-105)
If you want more picks for this game, read our full Cavaliers vs Hawks betting preview!
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Kings vs. Pelicans
Dejounte Murray Over 23.5 Points & Assists
By Joe Dellera
The New Orleans Pelicans face off against the Sacramento Kings tonight as both of these squads desperately try to avoid sitting at the absolute bottom of the Western Conference.
Let's be honest: neither team has looked particularly strong out of the gates. Because of those early struggles, the Pelicans' rumor mill has already started churning, and Dejounte Murray has emerged as one of the primary subjects.
When you are a veteran guard hearing your name floating around in trade talks, you might find yourself a little bit more motivated to go out there and put up some gaudy numbers to boost your potential trade value.
When you couple that distinct motivation angle with a soft matchup, this becomes an excellent spot. The Kings' defense has been highly exploitable, currently allowing the second-most points per game to their opponents.
Against a porous Sacramento unit that is giving up buckets in bunches, this is a prime opportunity to back Murray. He is going to have plenty of chances to dime and dish in this game environment, so I will gladly take over 23.5 points & assists.
Pick: Dejounte Murray Over 23.5 Points & Assists (-114)
Kings +6.5
By Bet Labs
This is an ideal spot for our Bet Labs system titled "Road to Road, Early Year." The market routinely overvalues the penalty of consecutive road games, particularly here in the opening weeks of the season when legs are fresh, cross-country travel fatigue has yet to accumulate, and teams are desperate to find an early identity.
Sacramento fits this profile. Coming off a 130-103 drubbing in San Antonio where their defensive rating cratered to 131.0, oddsmakers are pricing the Kings as an automatic fade on the second leg of a road trip. Their surface numbers look dreadful—sitting at 0-4 with a league-worst -17.6 net rating and allowing 125.5 points per game.
But, early-season market corrections on back-to-back road spots tend to overreact to small-sample blowouts. When you look under the hood, Sacramento is not getting completely outclassed possession-to-possession; they assisted on 70% of their field goals against the Spurs and ran a 107.0 offensive rating across four games against tough competition.
New Orleans has no business laying 6.5 points against anyone. The Pelicans are also winless at 0-4, coming off a flat 104-91 home loss to Denver where their offense completely stalled out, posting an anemic 90.9 offensive rating and turning the ball over on 17.2% of possessions.
New Orleans ranks 25th in opponent scoring at 122.0 points per game with a -5.5 net rating. The Pelicans simply lack the defensive consistency or offensive margin to blow teams out right now.
When you get two winless teams trying to pull out of early adversity, the system targets the side catching multiple possessions where motivation and continuity trump road disadvantage. The Kings have enough offensive rhythm to exploit a leaky New Orleans defense, and +6.5 is simply too many points to lay with a struggling Pelicans squad.
Take Sacramento to keep this inside two possessions.
Pick: Kings +6.5 (-115)
If you want more picks for this game, read our full Kings vs Pelicans betting preview!
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Grizzlies vs. Trail Blazers
Over 232.5
I don't typically bet a ton of totals, but these two teams just score, score, score, and score some more.
The pace they are playing at combined with their sheer offensive efficiency to start the season makes this a must-play. I would hate to be sitting around sweating an under in a game featuring this much firepower.
Portland's offense has been incredibly dynamic so far, and the way they closed out the Lakers down the stretch the other night was very encouraging.
On the other side, Memphis has been an absolute offensive wagon led by Ty Jerome operating at the point.
We saw immediate sharp action hit this total early; it opened at 231.5, immediately got steamed all the way up to 234.5, and then saw some slight buy-back to settle the around 233.5.
Regardless of where you grab it in that specific range, the over is the only way to look. If you dig into the pace stats, they actually look a bit weird on paper—the Blazers are 18th in pace and the Grizzlies are 20th—but those numbers can be deceiving relative to the actual game flow.
Memphis is currently third in the entire NBA in offensive rebound rate, meaning they are consistently generating extra possessions and second-chance points. Meanwhile, the Blazers boast the number one scoring offense in the league right now.
When you have two teams that shoot a high volume of three-pointers, crash the offensive glass, and boast elite scoring efficiency, there are simply too many different paths to cashing an over. Expect fireworks and a ton of points in this one.
Pick: Over 232.5 (-110)
Grizzlies +7.5
I am irrationally excited about this basketball game; this is the undisputed League Pass Super Bowl of the night. We have the undefeated Memphis Grizzlies taking on the undefeated Portland Trail Blazers two weeks into the season, which absolutely nobody saw coming.
Let's be honest with ourselves: this is fun, early-season NBA weirdness, but one of these teams is simply not for real.
We have to ask ourselves which scenario is more plausible: do we believe the Grizzlies legitimately have a top-five defense, or do we believe the Blazers actually boast the best offense in the entire NBA? I am going to lean toward the Memphis side of that equation.
Having Damian Lillard and Ja Morant operating the backcourt for Portland is incredibly fun, but I see a wave of statistical regression on the horizon for this Trail Blazers offense.
There is also a bit of a rest advantage at play here. The Grizzlies have had two full days off to rest and recover, while the Blazers are operating on just a single day of rest.
Matchup-wise, Memphis has the specific personnel to match wits with this Portland roster. Ty Jerome is playing out of his mind and can go toe-to-toe with the Blazers' guards, while Zach Edey has the size to be a total Donovan Clingan-eraser in the paint, coming off a strong performance with two blocks in his return the other night.
Early market reads indicate that sharp money is backing Memphis as well, so I will gladly take the 7.5 points. Seven is one of the key numbers in the NBA, so grabbing the hook at 7.5 is important, especially if you can find it at even-money or +102.
Pick: Grizzlies +7.5 (-110)
Zach Edey Under 8.5 Rebounds (-138)
By Prop Bomb
After playing just 11 games last season, Zach Edey has returned to the Grizzlies’ starting lineup, but his role on the glass looks different.
Memphis now has Cam Boozer (instead of Jaren Jackson Jr.) and Cedric Coward crashing the defensive boards, and Edey is splitting rebounds he used to own.
Edey now heads to Portland to face the best rebounding frontcourt he’s seen all season, and I’m eyeing him to go under his rebounding total.
This former Purdue big man averaged 11.1 rebounds last season, and the books are still pricing him close to that mark. However, I always weigh the matchup over the reputation, and this one doesn’t suit him.
Portland has won the glass in all three of its games — by 24 against Phoenix, by eight against Sacramento, and by 20 against the Lakers.
Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams have combined for 17, 17, and 20 boards in those games while splitting about 40 minutes at center.
The centers on the other side haven’t had much success. Walker Kessler played 32 minutes in Portland on Tuesday and finished with eight rebounds; just two of them offensive. Khaman Maluach managed six in 16 minutes.
The only big who got through was Domantas Sabonis, the league’s best rebounder, and it took him 38 minutes to grab 19.
Edey won’t get anywhere near 38 minutes. He’s played 21, 22 and 20 this season while picking up three, two, and five fouls — and he averaged 3.4 fouls per game a year ago.
Portland’s backcourt now runs through Ja Morant and Deni Avdija, two guards who make their living getting downhill. With Edey sitting in drop coverage, every one of those drives forces him to step up at the rim, and Portland closed its last game with Williams to switch more and pull bigs away from the basket.
Even in his minutes, Edey isn’t cleaning up the defensive glass like he used to. In his three games, Boozer grabbed 10, 11 and 7 defensive rebounds and Coward added 7 and 10, while Edey’s defensive totals were 6, 6 and 2.
That leaves Edey leaning on offensive rebounds, the most volatile part of any rebound line — and the part Clingan and Williams take away best.
Edey's good games this season came against Utah’s Hayes and a small Golden State lineup that gave him room inside. The one time he saw a true defensive big in Jaren Jackson Jr., he finished with 3 rebounds and 5 fouls in 20 minutes.
As for the past, In his last meeting with Portland, Edey grabbed 10 boards, but Clingan didn’t play and he was matched up against rookie Yang Hansen and Duop Reath.
At roughly 21 minutes and his current pace of about 0.35 rebounds per minute, I’m projecting Edey around 7 to 7.5 rebounds with some foul risk.
The market has already moved toward the under, from -128 to -138, and I’m buying that it won’t be easy for him to stat-stuff against a frontcourt this big.
Pick: Zach Edey Under 8.5 Rebounds (-138)
If you want more picks for this game, read our full Grizzlies vs Trail Blazers betting preview!
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