NBA Picks and Predictions – October 22, 2021

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New Pelicans Center Jonas Valanciunas, posting up for a shot.

 

We’ve started out the NBA season WHITE HOT, going 10-1 so far for +17.8 units. Sign up for my premium plays by clicking the below link and make sure to follow me on Twitter and on my BetUS shows for more NBA angles! Today I’m giving out these two picks below, both of which are premium, for free! Let’s go!

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NBA 20/21 Season: 207-152 (58%)
NBA 21/22 Season: 10-1, +17.8 units
MLB Season: 229-199 (54%)
NFL Season: 46-40 (53%), +23 units

Pelicans +7 (-115), 2 units: If you can only get this number at 6.5, I still like it. The Pelicans played hard on Wednesday against the 76ers, but that just wasn’t a great spot for New Orleans against a Sixers team no doubt ultra-motivated after all the Ben Simmons nonsense. Philly shut down New Orleans in the 2nd half, limiting the Zion-less home team to only 44 points. While it wasn’t the Pelicans’ best look, I was impressed by their effort in the 1st half. New Orleans shot 43.3% from beyond the arc in that contest (Philly shot 52% from 3 point land, which is absurd) and they kept the game close until the 3rd quarter. Newly signed center Jonas Valanciunas didn’t have a great debut, shooting a putrid 3-19 for only 9 points, though he did snag 12 rebounds. I expect better things tonight against the Bulls, who already suffer from bad defense and below-average rim protection. Chicago won, and covered, but they were lucky to do both in their opening game. Zach LaVine had a great game, going 11-17 for 34 points, but the rest of the roster looked clumsy and out of sync. I don’t think the Bulls deserve a line this big just yet, especially after they barely out-played the lowly, talent-poor Pistons and got away with a win. Give me the points with the Pelicans in a good spot, motivated to not go 0-2, for 2 units.

Rockets/Thunder under 221.5 (-110), 2 units: This is a pretty simple handicap. Coach Silas and the Rockets’ front office made it clear this offseason– they’re building around their defense. Meanwhile they have one of the poorest rosters in the NBA from an offensive perspective, although maybe not as poor as the bottom-feeding Thunder. Oklahoma City got trounced by the Jazz in their opener, that’s nothing new, in a game where they only scored 86 points. I’m not sure why this total is set above 220, maybe it’s because of how fast Houston attempted to play Wednesday, but this number feels very inflated. I make this total closer to 205 (and that’s assuming that both of these teams experience some positive regression when they have the ball). Until proven otherwise, I’m going to keep playing unders on both of these teams, especially when they’re matched up against bad offenses or good defenses. Last year the Rockets were 27th in offensive efficiency and OKC was dead last in the association– I don’t think much has changed. I’ll take the under.