The NBA season is just one week away and opening night features some of the league’s brightest stars. First, SGA and the Thunder begin their championship defense against Houston at home, where they are heavy favorites.
In Los Angeles, the Luka revenge tour begins as they are underdogs against Curry, Butler, and the Golden State Warriors.
The Oklahoma City Thunder return for the first time since their Game 7 victory over the Pacers that concluded one of the more memorable NBA postseasons in recent times.
They take on the Rockets, who are championship hopefuls, but took a huge blow recently with Fred VanVleet's season-ending injury. OKC is simply too deep and too well-coached to lose their season opener.
They return all of their key pieces while picking up a new face in Brooks Barnhizer, who I actually expect to see some playing time in the middle of this season.
SGA cooked Houston for 33/6/6 per game last year, and getting switched onto Reed Sheppard in what could be just his fourth start of his young career, I like OKC to pull away in the 2nd half with a big opening night statement victory at home.
I like Los Angeles this year. While DeAndre Ayton comes with his issues, this roster is much more balanced than last season, and I am expecting a Luka MVP campaign in 2025-26.
Their starting lineup has minimal holes, while their bench pieces are now full of various playstyles that can sub in and make instant impacts.
Los Angeles beat Golden State in three of four games last season, and even with LeBron nursing an injury, Luka’s revenge tour officially begins next week at home, and I wouldn’t be shocked if a 40-bomb is on tap for one of the league’s best.
This ‘over’ hit in each of their four regular-season matchups last season, with production levels off the chart for the stars on both sides of this star-studded matchup.
While it is the first game of the year and nerves might affect shooting splits, I’m looking for a fast-paced matchup that will allow both Curry and Luka to find their shooters in rhythm and get their respective sides going early in this one. Luka is averaging 27.1 PPG in season openers and has hit this prop in two straight openers.