New Orleans Pelicans @ Houston Rockets (ESPN)
Houston will be looking to go one better this season, as they host the New Orleans Pelicans to kick off their 2018-19 campaign.
The Rockets fell to the Warriors in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals last season, and have added another piece to the puzzle they hope will see them advance past Golden State this season.
Carmelo Anthony is brought in to partner with James Harden and Chris Paul, as the Rockets look to cancel out the Warriors’ superstar line-up with their own.
Losing Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute could hurt them however.
For the Pelicans, they’ve lost DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo, although have certainty made some interesting inclusions.
They picked up Julius Randle on the cheap and have added Jahlil Oakfor and Elfrid Payton, who could all make an impact.
Houston will be the Warriors’ number one challengers again this season, and their campaign will get off to a positive start with a win here.
Tip: Houston -7.5 @ $1.92
Minnesota Timberwolves @ San Antonio Spurs
The big news surrounding the Timberwolves is still Jimmy Butler, although he is expected to take the court against the Spurs in their season opener.
Butler only just returned to training, and had words with pretty much everyone on the Minnesota roster during one of the most intense-sounding training sessions in recent memory.
Miami are pushing hard to bring Butler across to the Eastern Conference, although as it stands, he’ll be taking the court for the Wolves on Thursday (AEST).
This is the most unknown San Antonio have been for a long time before a season opener, with a lot of movement and an unfortunate injury headlining their off-season.
They lost Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to Toronto, Tony Parker to Charlotte, Manu Ginobili to retirement and Kyle Anderson to Memphis, and have replaced them with DeMar DeRozan, Jacob Poltl, Marco Belinelli and Dante Cunningham.
The season-ending injury to Dejounte Murray might be the biggest news of all however, as he was set to lead the side this campaign.
It would be very NBA of Butler to come out and dominate after all of this, so that’s what we’re expecting him to do.
Tip: Minnesota @ $2.30
Dallas Mavericks @ Phoenix Suns (ESPN)
This game doesn’t involve teams that are expected to feature in the post-season. In fact, both of these sides are tipped as being two of the worst in the competition.
However, this particular match-up pits two of the best rookies in the game up against each other in Phoenix’s DeAndre Ayton, and Dallas’ Luka Doncic.
Ayton was selected with pick 1 in the recent NBA Draft, while Doncic was taken at pick 3.
Both of these talents are expected to dominate the NBA landscape for the foreseeable future, with Ayton set to terrorise big men and Doncic set to dazzle guards for years to come.
Given Doncic didn’t play college basketball, the pair haven’t played against each other and don’t have a real rivalry, but they’d certainly love to get one over each other in their season openers.
There won’t be much in this game, but with star guard Devon Booker likely to suit up and play for the Suns, Phoenix should be too strong on their home court.
Tip: Phoenix @ $1.85
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