We have a jam packed 10-game slate scheduled in the NBA this Saturday. So, as you would come to expect, our basketball betting experts have locked in plenty of bets, a grand total of 11 options for today's action, including three picks against the spread, two over/under predictions, four player props, and more!
Continue below for our NBA best bets and NBA picks for Saturday, October 26.
NBA Best Bets, Picks, Predictions: Saturday, October 26
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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. | ||
Clippers vs. Nuggets
By Joe Dellera
I expect Jokic and the Nuggets to bounce back after their opening night loss to the Thunder and Jokic should lead the charge.
He has dominated in this spot against Ivica Zubac. He has averaged 14.4 rebounds against Zubac over the last few seasons, while exceeding this 12.5 rebounds line in eight of nine games. He’s been even better lately, and has recorded 17, 15, and 16 in his three games last season, while averaging 25 rebound chances.
Given the history and the style of defense LAC runs with Zubac, this is an excellent spot to back the Joker.
Pick: Nikola Jokic Over 12.5 Rebounds (+100)
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Heat vs. Hornets
By Chris Baker
Perfect spot for the Heat to get right after being blown out in their home-opener against Orlando. They will have a 2-day rest advantage over the Hornets who played a tight game in Atlanta last night. This team is more talented than the Hornets and should play with some urgency here.
The Heat do a great job of defending the rim and limiting 2nd chance opportunities so the Hornets will need to hit a ton of threes here to stay in the game.
The Hornets competed against Atlanta because they grabbed 43.3% of their misses, but the Heat will absolutely not allow them to dominate the offensive glass at that rate. Charlotte ranks 4th in three point attempt rate and is shooting 40% from three through their first two games, but I think they have been getting a bit lucky on the defensive end of the floor.
The Rockets shot 43.2% (3rd percentile) effectively from the field against this Hornets. This is a bad Hornets defense when Mark Williams is out of the lineup, and I expect the Heat to win this game comfortably.
Pick: Heat -5 (-112)
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Heat vs. Hornets
This is a brutal situational spot for the Hornets this early in the season. They are on the second leg of a back to back with travel.
Despite it being a home game, they are traveling home from Atlanta and Houston. The Heat got a bit embarrassed by the Magic on opening night, and now go to a place they are very familiar in a division matchup against Charlotte.
I expect this to be a pretty easy win for the Heat, with them giving LaMelo Ball various defensive looks to confuse him. The loss of Brandon Miller will show in this matchup.
Pick: Heat -5 (-112)
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Cavaliers vs. Wizards
The Cavaliers have one of the best defenses in the league. Last season they were seventh in Defensive Rating and had the seventh slowest pace in the league. Meanwhile, the Wizards played at the fastest pace and had the third-worst defense. But this line is still too high.
The Wizards are already fully committing to the future, playing Alex Sarr (22), Bilal Coulibaly (30), and Bub Carrington (26) a lot of minutes. Coulibaly and Sarr are solid defensive contributors but none of them have any offense to speak of.
We have a few outs with this under. The defensive-minded, less-offense Wizards team could contain the Cavaliers more than expected. We could have a total offensive meltdown from the Wizards. Or there's some combination of both resulting in a garbage time blowout where both offenses take it easy.
I see value on the under down to 227.
Pick: Under 229.5 (-110)
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Magic vs. Grizzlies
Paolo Banchero just attempted eight threes last night against the Nets, one game after just going 1 for 2 from deep against the Heat.
Banchero attempted 5.7 threes per contest in Orlando's last 13 regular season games in 2023-24, and he made two or more in five of the Magic's seven postseason contests.
It's their first back to back, and just their third game of the season, so we're still getting a feel for the new slate, but there's some decent value here given the -106 tag, as Banchero's three-point volume has progressively gone up throughout his young career. So, I think we'll see a continuation of that tonight.
Pick: Paolo Banchero Over 1.5 Three-Pointers (-110)
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Magic vs. Grizzlies
Yes, the Grizzlies are without Jaren Jackson Jr. and they have Ja Morant, but this line is way too high.
The Magic had the third best defense in the league last season, and despite only playing the Heat and the Nets so far, have yet to allow more than 102 points in a game.
Orlando's offense has looked better, but they were a bottom-10 offense last season and haven't improved enough to warrant this number.
On the Memphis side, they were 11th in defense last season, and the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. certainly changes things. But again, this number is way too high for two teams on a back-to-back.
In fact, teams on a back-to-back with a home 'dog and a total of 220 or higher are 52-43-1 to the under for a 6.1% ROI. I would set this number in the low 210s, and would play the under all the way down to 215.5.
Pick: Under 223.5 (-110)
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Thunder vs. Bulls
By Joe Dellera
I’m going back to the well here with Jalen Williams, even though he let us down against the Nuggets in the opener. That was a much tougher matchup, and he still got it rolling as the game progressed. Here, he gets a softer matchup against the Bulls, who are playing their second game in as many days.
I have Williams projected at almost 24 points, and when he has played without Giddey, he has seen an uptick in his scoring of nearly 10 points per 100 possessions. Couple that with the Bulls playing at the fastest Pace in the league, and this is a spot where we could see plenty of opportunities for Jalen.
Pick: Jalen Williams 20+ Points (-115)
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Celtics vs. Pistons
The Boston Celtics picked up right where they left off last season, obliterating teams in their quest for another title.
There’s a ruthlessness about this team that feels somewhat aggrieved from how their star players, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, were treated by the USA Basketball Men’s National Team over the summer.
Tatum, a First-Team All-NBA player, averaged only 17.5 minutes during the Olympics, and didn’t even come off the bench in two of the six games. As for Brown, he didn’t even make the final roster, and felt the omission was likely due to some of his strong criticism of Nike, a major Team USA sponsor.
Nonetheless, the Celtics are out to prove a point this season, winning both games to start the new campaign by 20 or more points.
On Saturday night, they’ll visit a Pistons team that doesn’t look any closer to climbing out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Detroit is off to a 0-2 start and will be on short rest after losing 113-101 on the road to Cleveland.
Through two games, the Celtics lead the NBA in all 3-point categories: percentage (43.4%), attempts (53 per game) and field goals made (23 per game). They’re showing even more aggression from the perimeter than last season, making it even more difficult for opponents to keep up with their pace.
Detroit ranks in the bottom half of the league in those three-point categories, and when you factor in the short rest, look for the Celtics to jump out to another big lead heading into halftime.
Pick: Celtics 1H -8.5 (-105)
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Rockets vs. Spurs
By Chris Baker
This is a back-to-back for Houston, but they obviously don’t have to travel far, and none of their players exceeded 34 minutes last night, so I don’t expect fatigue to be an issue for this young team. I was impressed with their 2nd half effort last night as they outscored the Grizzlies by 26 points and completely dominated them on the offensive glass grabbing 46% of their offensive rebounds (98th percentile).
I continue to be much lower than many on this Spurs team, as to me, it looks like virtually the same roster except with slightly washed veterans Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes in the lineup. Those guys are good mentors for Wemby, but they aren’t exactly difference makers on the basketball court at this point in their careers.
I expect this athletic Houston team to do a great job of defending Wemby and keep him away from the rim. I also like the fact that their bench should have a massive advantage over this weaker Spurs bench. Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, and Reed Sheppard have all shined off the bench in their first two games. Back the better team at this short number of -2.
Pick: Rockets -1.5 (-110)
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Rockets vs. Spurs
This is a back to back spot for the Rockets after beating the Grizzlies on Friday.
The Spurs have leveled up this season, Wembanyama, Paul, Barnes; they have a lot of veterans to surround the young core and play a style that could give the Rockets fits.
This is a matchup where the pace may slow down, and the end result may come down to shot making. Give me the home veterans in this spot at plus-money
Pick: Spurs ML (+105)
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Mavericks vs. Suns
By Joe Dellera
Luka gets a matchup against the Phoenix Suns today who are playing their second game in as many days.
Luka has dominated in this spot against the Suns, making 6, 4, and 8 three-pointers in matchups against them last year. Luka knocked down four three-pointers in this year's opener, and he’s made 4+ in nine straight regular season games.
Through two games, the Suns are allowing their opponents to shoot nearly 40% from beyond the arc, and while they’ve limited three-point looks, I think that’s mostly noise based on their two opponents’ shot profiles (Lakers and Clippers).
Luka always gets his shots up, and I expect him to do so once again against the Suns.
Pick: Luka Doncic 4+ Three-Pointers (+110)
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