The Night After Opening Night

Despite a pair of marquee matchups yesterday, the vast majority of NBA teams will begin their season tonight. With a dozen games on the schedule, 24 teams will tip-off between 7 and 10PM EST 🏀

While every team looks different and has new storylines surrounding their squad, here's what I think are the best games of the night 👇

• Pelicans @ Nets, 7:30 PM EST

• Bulls @ Heat, 7:30 PM EST

• Cavs @ Raptors, 7:30 PM EST

• Knicks @ Grizzlies, 7:30 PM EST (ESPN)

• Mavs @ Suns, 10:00 PM EST (ESPN)

After a season marred by injuries to stars across the league, combined with an offseason of aggressive player movement and an extremely loaded draft class, the entire league is set to look a lot different than the way it did last year 🍿

In addition to the returns of verified superstars like Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard and Jamal Murray to the teams they last played for, a whole host of young stars are set to make their franchise debuts tonight 🚨

New Digs For Big Stars

In the first of three exciting matchups featuring the initial looks at superstars in their new homes, the Cavs host the Raptors in a battle against two of the East's most promising young squads. While the Raptors effectively banked on internal improvement from relative youngsters like OG Anunoby and Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, the Cavs cashed in a number of assets to get back a certified star...Donovan Mitchell 🕷

As a reminder, the Cavs gave up A LOT to get the three-time All-Star 👇

• Collin Sexton

• Lauri Markkanen

• Ochai Agbaji

• Three first round picks

• Two pick swaps

• Mitchell is owed $135M over the next four years

Cavs vs. Raptors Betting Preview (subject to change)

• Spread: Raptors -2.5

• Moneyline: Raptors -144 (bet $144, win $100), Cavs +122 (bet $100, win $122)

• O/U: 214 Total Points

Things already look good for Cleveland's backcourt, as the fit of Garland and Mitchell has serious potential 👀

In a cross-conference matchup, polarizing former number one overall pick Ben Simmons makes his Nets debut when Brooklyn hosts the Pelicans. Although Simmons is the star playing for a completely new team, the Pelicans will get an even bigger boost by bringing Zion back into the fold, after he too missed the entirety of last season 💪

Zion went crazy in his sophomore season, and the team around him is so much better than they were in 2020-21. Since Zion last played a game, the Pelicans have picked up all of these players 👇

• CJ McCollum

• Jonas Valanciunas

• Larry Nance Jr.

• Trey Murphy III

• Herb Jones

• Dyson Daniels

If Zion is back and better than ever, the Pelicans might have at least as good of a chance to win the West as the Nets do in the East 📈

Pelicans vs. Nets Betting Preview

• Spread: Nets -3

• Moneyline: Nets -156, Pelicans +132

• O/U: 230.5 Total Points

Lastly, despite failing to reach the heights of their 2020-21 campaign that concluded with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks just doubled-down on building a winner around Trae Young this offseason 🧊

• First, they packaged Danilo Gallinari with three first round picks and a pick swap for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray

• Then, with their backcourt of the future set, they handed out a four-year, $95M extension to De'Andre Hunter, despite coming off of tear in his meniscus that required surgery to repair

They should have one of the better top sevens in the East if they can stay healthy...

• PG: Trae Young

• SG: Dejounte Murray

• SF: De'Andre Hunter

• PF: John Collins

• C: Clint Capela

• 6th man: Bogdan Bogdanovic

• 7th man: Onyeka Okongwu

Rockets vs. Hawks Betting Preview

• Spread: Hawks -10

• Moneyline: Hawks -490, Rockets +380

• O/U: 232.5 Total Points

For My Parlay Gurus

I'm expecting the Raptors to outperform their 45.5 projected win total, so why not get started on a winning season with a Game 1 dub? With a new Big 3, it might take the Nets a bit longer to figure out how to work with Ben Simmons than it'll take for the Pelicans to reintegrate Zion. And finally, expect the Hawks to take care of business on their home floor by blowing out the Rockets 💸

• Raptors ML vs. Cavs: -144

• Pelicans ML @ Nets: +132

• Hawks -10 vs. Rockets: -110

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