The NBA season will be here before you know it. We have some NBA preseason picks from the best NBA betting sites today for mid-week action involving the Washington Wizards at the New York Knicks, the Houston Rockets at the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Orlando Magic at the San Antonio Spurs, and the Golden State Warriors at the Sacramento Kings.
Betting on the NBA preseason can be difficult because you never know how many minutes the usual starters will play, or which veterans sit out. That’s why the edge typically goes to the home team, and teams with a much deeper bench. The second half will often come down to each team’s second units or rookies playing against each other.
NBA Preseason Picks – Oct 9
| Preseason Game | Pick |
|---|---|
| Wizards at Knicks | Wizards +9 |
| Rockets at Thunder | Thunder -4 |
| Magic at Spurs | Magic -1.5 |
| Warriors at Kings | Warriors +2 |
Washington Wizards (0-1) at the New York Knicks (1-0)
- Point Spread: Knicks -9
- Pick: Wizards +9
Karl-Anthony Towns suited up for the Knicks for the first time after the blockbuster trade with the Timberwolves a couple of weeks ago. The Boston Celtics are still the consensus favorite to win back-to-back titles, but the Knicks are currently second co-favorites to win the NBA championship on most US betting apps with the Thunder.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau maintains a short playing rotation during the regular season where his starters tend to log significant minutes. As a direct result, many of the starters do not play a lot during the preseason. Expect a similar rotation in the first preseason game in which the starters log 15 minutes, then the second and third units play the majority of the game. Veterans Precious Achiuwa, Deuce McBride, Landry Shamet, and Cam Payne all logged at least 25 minutes. Rookie draft pick Tyler Kolek saw 14 minutes of action.
The Wizards are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, and they’re among a handful of teams that will tank for a chance to land Cooper Flagg in the lottery. Flagg is about to play a one-and-done season at Duke, and he’s projected as the #1 pick.
Brian Keefe, the new head coach of the Wizards, let his starters play approximately 22 minutes in the first preseason game, or about two quarters. That included Alex Starr, the #2 pick in the draft from France, at power forward. The rest of the starters include Jordan Poole, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyle Kuzma, and newly acquired Jonas Valanciunas. Incoming rookie and first-round draft pick Kyshawn George from Miami also logged 20-plus minutes off the bench.
Houston Rockets (0-1) at the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0)
- Point Spread: Thunder -4
- Pick: Thunder -4
The Thunder are a popular pick to win the Western Conference at betting apps and compete for an NBA title. They already have their starting five dialed in, but they’re trying to integrate new acquisitions into their rotation including veterans Alex Caruso and Isiah Hartenstein. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not play in the first preseason game, and Chet Holmgren was limited to nine minutes. Rookie first-rounders Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell logged 20+ minutes off the bench with Caruso and Hartenstein.
The Houston Rockets finished 41-41 last season, and they’re expected to battle for the #8 seed in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. With the exception of Fred VanVleet, the expected starters logged 20+ minutes in the first preseason game. Reed Sheppard, the #3 pick in the draft out of Kentucky, saw 24 minutes of action off the bench. Cam Whitmore, a first-round draft pick from last season, saw the most minutes with the second unit.
Orlando Magic (0-1) at the San Antonio Spurs (0-1)
Point Spread: Magic -1.5
Pick: Magic -1.5
- Point Spread: Magic -1.5
- Pick: Magic -1.5
The Magic won 47 games last season. They have a similar starting rotation returning this season with the exception of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who they signed in the offseason to play point guard. KCP logged 17 minutes, and the other starters got roughly 20 minutes in the first game. The Magic wanted to get a good look at first-round draft pick Tristan da Silva from Colorado, and the rookie spent time with second-unit players like Cole Anthony, Anthony Black, Mortiz Wagner, and Garry Harris.
The San Antonio Spurs were missing three projected starters in the lineup for the first preseason game. Julian Champagnie and Harrison Barnes started but only played 20 minutes. Devin Vassell is banged up and will most likely miss the beginning of the season. Newly added Chris Paul is in his 40s, but the veteran All-Star has yet to log any court time with his new squad. The Spurs also didn’t want to risk an injury to Victor Wembanyama either. It’s still unsure if Wemby or Paul plays against the Magic, or if they’ll skip another game.
Head coach Greg Popovich rotated 15 total players in and out of the first game. He got extended looks at incoming rookies, and recent draft picks from the last two seasons. The Spurs selected Stephon Castle with the fourth-overall pick out of UCONN. Castle saw a lot of action off the bench. Harrison Ingram, a second-round draft pick from North Carolina, logged court time in the second half.
Golden State Warriors (1-0) at the Sacramento Kings (0-0)
- Point Spread: Kings -2
- Pick: Warriors +2
Klay Thompson joined the Dallas Mavs in the offseason, and the Splash Brothers are no longer a tandem. The current Warriors still have Steph Curry and Draymond Green, but they only played 13-14 minutes in the first game. Head coach Steve Kerr got a chance to see newly added veterans like Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton, and Kyle Anderson in action. Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis were rookies last season and earned Kerr’s trust to crack his rotation. They played approximately 18-20 minutes in the preseason opener.
Forward Lindy Waters III barely played last season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he’s trying to lock up a bench spot on the Warriors. Waters led the Warriors in scoring in the first preseason game with 15 points on five 3-pointers in 15 minutes. Rookie Quinten Post from Boston College and Reece Beekman from Virginia are also trying to impress Kerr while vying for a coveted spot on the roster.
The Kings have yet to play a preseason game, so it’s unknown who head coach Mike Brown will start or how much time the starters will play. The Kings were the surprise team in the NBA two seasons ago, but they took a serious step back last season with a 46-36 record.
Veteran forward DeMar DeRozan joins the Kings, and he’s expected to start on their frontline that includes Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray. De’Aaron Fox is the anchor of the backcourt, and Keon Ellis made a splash last season with 21 starts. Ellis is penciled at the other guard spot while Kevin Huerter is still banged up and recovering from shoulder surgery. Malik Monk, last year’s Sixth Man of the Year runner-up, will anchor the second unit. First-round draft pick Devin Carter is out until mid-season while he recovers from a torn labrum, so expect Brown to audition backup guards in their first preseason game.
