As a whole, the Phoenix Suns are a team that the general public try to avoid at all costs given how poorly their performances were in the 2016-17 season. However, this is a different Phoenix basketball team and in spite of their deficiencies overall their offense has an explosive element to it. The Nets own of the league’s most prolific offenses at the moment but their lack of defense affords opponents to simply outscore them. Chances are Phoenix will be able to do the same and pick up another win. The Suns are a good option to look at on the Money Line as well.

The Raptors should improve with the expected return of Center Jonas Valanciunas who has missed the last three, but the Trail Blazers are playing extremely well. Portland is 4-2 on the season with both their losses being by one possession including a buzzer beating three-pointer by the Clippers to get the one-point victory. This is an obvious public play, but I can turn down the Blazers at this price at home.

This is not a typical back-to-back. The geographic difference between the Barclay’s Center and Madison Square Garden is microscopic compared to some of the distances teams travel on road trips. For the Nuggets it boils down to taking a different line of the subway, if applicable of course. Be that the Nuggets were on fire last night against the Knicks’ cross-city rival that momentum is bound to carry over as there is no long itinerary to fan those flames. Denver will just wake up and practice as usual waiting for New York to come back home. If anything, the Knicks will be the wearier of the two from travel. The Knicks also enter in off their most impressive win of the season and this sets up the Knickerbockers for a let-down. What kind of hangover the Knickerbockers will have as a result of their victory last night remains a mystery. Once again, Denver gets the call.

Very simply, when we see the prospect of the public gravitating toward a dog we see a prime fade option. The Nets’ offense seemed unstoppable until the New York Knicks forced BK to hit a brick wall. How the Nets respond to their rout on Friday remains a question. The fact remains, Denver is a team that won’t shy away from fireworks and given the fact they can be quite potent themselves offensively, it can be a long night in Brooklyn if the Nuggets get going early.

We have to like Miami in this situation be that they are the better rested of the two teams and further get this one at home. Furthermore, the public is more likely to get aboard Boston be that they have the impressive road win to complement Miami’s bitter defeat against San Antonio. The litmus test of both outings is bound to create a reaction to entice Celtic action. However, Boston has been a cash cow in the early going while the Heat have been a broken piggy bank. These two situations are bound to correct themselves and thus situationally, the Heat offer tremendous upside. In this situation, we recommend trading in the point and a half for an outright win on Miami on the Money Line. A market this close would forecast that the Heat have a great chance of a victory and in playing on a value, we champion reducing juice and maximizing returns. Playing on the Money Line saves takers 10% of the wager and increases their return by 17%, if Miami wins. We have to like that situation.

Houston started the season out with a fantastic one-point win over the Warriors and have gone 4-0 as a visitor this season. The Grizz are undefeated at home including a 111-101 beat down of Golden State. Their lowest margin of victory in their three home W’s came against the Mavericks who they lead by 19 points at the half before coasting home for the five-point victory.

If there was one thing that could be certain from the narratives surrounding both teams so far it is that both are due for correction. The Knicks are bound to get a win and cover, the Nets are prone to lose both outright and against the spread. This contest seems like the ideal scenario for both to happen; we won’t spot extra points however in banking on that. So far, the Nets in particular have had the hot hand on offense. Brooklyn has broken the 120-point mark in their last four games and are averaging a NBA best 121.6 points per game. Typically, this rivalry is a high-scoring one as well so this contest plays right into Brooklyn’s hands. However, that can change with the Knicks using their one strength: defense. Though the Knicks are one of the worst offensive teams in the league, they are one of the best in the defensive rebounding department (6th in NBA). Limiting the Nets’ league-best scoring offense in second chances will result in New York slowing down Brooklyn and bringing us under the number in the Over/Under.

The Clippers have been destroying opponents this season with an average winning margin of 25.3 points and lowest margin of victory being 16 points. That said they’ve had only three games on the season and the lone road game was against the Lakers in both team’s season opener. The Trailblazers have dropped just the one game this campaign and that came on the road against a good Bucks team and they didn’t embarrass themselves losing by three. The line of two points is low enough that if Portland can get the win they are likely to push or cover and that’s where my money is going to land.

Neither one of these clubs has been playing much defense, but the line is a ridiculous 228 and I just can’t play a game needing nearly 130 to get the money. The Lakers need to concentrate on defense or it’s going to be a long season and no better time than to start tonight.

The low number in this market says it all. Houston and Philadelphia are classified as two different animals from many analysts and pundits. Yet, the two are priced as fairly even-matched foes. Many are looking at this preposition with wonder, after all Houston is the team that beat Golden State to open the season and is considered at this point to be one of their biggest threats in 2017. Philadelphia appears to be one of the East’s bottom feeders again despite a dominant performance in Motor City. Simply, the line looks too good to be true. If there is one thing that can be stressed it is that no market is a gift. Philadelphia has a cornucopia of young talent in their ranks and they play with reckless abandon. Thus they are a dangerous outfit to sleep on. There is a very good chance that not only Philly can cover here but win outright. The Sixers are also worth consideration on the Money Line as well in what will likely be an offense-only contest. As a result, the Over is also worth a glance.

The Pacers haven’t been playing any defense this season allowing all three opponents to score 112 or greater points in their three matches. The Timberwolves have proven they can score with the highest score total allowed by any of their three opponents this season.

Spotting a double-digit point total is ill-advised even if the juice is reduced. These lofty numbers are often very hard to cover given the sheer dynamic nature of basketball. As good of a team as Cleveland is and given their superior quality to Chicago on paper, it is still a risky move to spot this hearty helping of points. Instead, we will take an alternative approach and take the Under at 208.5. There is a very good chance that this game could get out of hand early and Cleveland calls off the dogs. Generally, this can result in the number coming in whilst avoiding the perils that accompany spotting lofty point totals or laying extra juice to take them back.

Yes, the two teams have had good starts to the season going 2-0, but the Spurs will be without both Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard. The line has been adjusted to reflect this, but I still believe the value is with the visitor tonight.

For both Philadelphia and Detroit, corrections are due to their performance portfolios. The Pistons have yet to fail to cover so far this season, while the Sixers have yet to win a game. Situationally, this scenario sets up where both can be addressed in one foul swoop. Targeting overreactions is an angle we traditionally like to employ as it affords us to opportunity to take back a team with an enhanced price tag. Nevertheless, Philadelphia at the open of this market was priced as a team that has a solid chance of winning the game outright. Due to their loss at Toronto, many have hit the sell switch on the Sixers as many are quick to assume they are once again the Black Sheep of the East. However, it is too quick to judge that and now we get Philly with even more points to work with.

I’ll take a shot on the Lakers here who rebounded big time with a narrow win. What was impressive about it as it came on the back end of back to back with travel and they battled back hard in the 4th to get the win. It’s a step up to New Orleans for sure, but the confidence boosting road win and the plus points has me on the host.

Despite Atlanta blowing a huge lead against Charlotte, the public is reluctant to buy in to the notion of Brooklyn being favored be that the Hawks made the playoffs in the 2016-17 season. However, Brooklyn is known for a robust home court advantage and Atlanta has an illustrated track record of road woes. Both of these narratives make the Nets a quality play especially when the public is reluctant to get aboard the Hawks. Nevertheless, when the public gets on a dog it raises a red flag. This is especially true considering the morale of Atlanta is in question after Friday’s outcomes. One thing is for sure the Nets will be fired up and they will be honing some home cooking to look for yet another win to keep their momentum going. The Nets are a great choice here as a likely short-sold favorite.

Typically, when one takes the Knicks at home, they pay a premium to do so be that Madison Square Garden is the most marquee arena in the NBA. However, in this situation the Knicks bode tremendous value. As mentioned, Detroit is playing their third game in three days and traveling while they do so. The Knicks have had time to return home and recuperate from the thrashing they received in OKC and are the better rested of the two. We will go ahead and trade the points in and take the Knicks outright to reduce the juice. New York on the Money Line is our call.

The Grizz took the first two games outright against the Warriors last season and catch them on the backend of back to back scheduling. There’s lots of value in taking the points here even without PF JaMychal Green in the lineup.

Minnesota got off to a slow start in San Antonio in their season opener shooting just 43.5 percent from the field, but I expect them to improve on that number tonight. Utah had the league’s best scoring defense last season, however the last two in Minnesota the Timberwolves put up 113 and 107 and I think they can do the same this time around. Minnesota gave up 107 to the Spurs and anything near 100 should get us over the total here.

Portland enters this contest in a capacity we look to take advantage of. West coast teams travelling several thousand miles across several time zones is a great angle to implement when making betting selections. However, Portland was in Phoenix Wednesday night and the one-hour difference had no effect at all. Chances are a transition from Mountain time to Central time will also have little effect. What does have an effect is the reaction that one sole result produces from a consensus perspective. More often than not when a team comes in off a huge win like Portland’s, they are a great team to target on their follow-up given the fact they are prone to spotting a bigger number than they should by virtue of heavy public affection. Indiana is a much better basketball team than Phoenix and they will have the perfect opportunity to prove it against the team with the most impressive win on the defacto opening night. Indiana is a great look as an outright proposition, as well.