The NBA regular season is officially back in full swing on Thursday night, with an excellent doubleheader on the docket on ESPN, as Thunder vs. Pacers takes center stage at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by Nuggets vs. Warriors at 10:00 p.m. ET.
Our staff of basketball betting experts dug into the latest odds and identified 4 NBA picks for tonight's matchups.
Continue below for our NBA picks, odds, props, and predictions for Thursday, October 23.
NBA Picks, Odds, Props, Predictions: Thursday, October 23
Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
---|---|---|
7:30 p.m. | ||
10 p.m. | ||
7:30 p.m. | ||
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. |
Thunder vs. Pacers
By Kyle Murray
Mathurin should be coming into this season with an aggressive mindset.
He will be asked to play more minutes and take more shots with Tyrese Haliburton out.
Mathurin will also be a free agent after this season. So, he should have full motivation to put up big numbers whenever he can.
Mathurin averaged right around 0.4 points per minute with Haliburton off the floor last season, and in a 32 minute projection, I have him slated for 19.5 points in tonight's matchup against the Thunder.
Pick: Bennedict Mathurin Over 18.5 Points (-110)
Nuggets vs. Warriors
By Joe Dellera
Cam Johnson now joins the Nuggets after leaving the Nets and he slots pretty neatly into the MPJ role from a spot-up shooter perspective.
One of the primary differences though, is that Cam can effectively run the bench unit in the non-Jokic minutes and is a far better distributor as both a primary and secondary creator than MPJ, something this team desperately needed.
Couple that with a likely increase in efficiency, even if there’s a slight drop in overall volume, and I like the upside here in both the scoring and the assists categories.
Cam could clear this on points alone, but the assists upside is nice as well.
Pick: Cameron Johnson Over 17.5 Points + Assists (-115)
Thunder vs. Pacers
Without Jalen Williams, Isaiah Joe, and Alex Caruso tonight, Wallace is likely going to continue to start and carry a heavy burden.
Wallace is also questionable, but he seems likely to play, and he played more than 31 minutes in regulation (with 23 PRA) in the Thunder's season-opener, and now Caruso is out as well.
He's also a sneaky breakout player for the Thunder, as his offensive skillset looks to be taking a leap in year-three.
Pick: Cason Wallace Over 15.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-120)
Nuggets vs. Warriors
By Kyle Murray
Butler was fantastic in the Warriors' season-opener.
He was extremely aggressive on the offensive end, and looked good from behind the arc as well.
Butler's 28% usage rate from last game likely won't withstand the test of time, but he should be around 24-25% most nights, as he is clearly the 2nd-best scoring option on this team.
I project Butler for 21.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.9 assists in this spot.