The NBA has four games on the slate for Thursday night. We have four treats, including the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies at 8 p.m. ET on NBA TV in the first of a doubleheader.
In the late window, the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers battle at 10:30 p.m. ET. The Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks also tangle at 8:30 p.m. ET, while the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz meet at 9 p.m. ET.
Let’s get that bankroll in the blank with our best NBA picks for Thursday, Oct. 31.
Thursday’s Best NBA Picks
NBA odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All NBA picks are for 1 unit
Houston Rockets (+200) at Dallas Mavericks (-250) | O/U 225.5 (-110/-110)
The Rockets (2-2) hit the road to battle the Mavericks (3-1) at American Airlines Center on Thursday night.
Houston split a pair of games in a back-to-back set with the San Antonio Spurs, winning 106-101 as a 2.5-point favorite in Monday’s game, rebounding after a 109-106 loss in the front end of the set. The under (220) cashed in Monday’s game and it went 2-0 in the set with the Spurs, while going 3-1 in the first four games of the season.
The Mavericks racked up a 120-114 road win against the Minnesota Timberwolves as a 4-point underdog on Tuesday, as the Timberwolves swept a back-to-back set against Utah and Minnesota. The over and the under have split in four games to date.
Dallas hit 48.4% (45-of-93) from the field in Monday’s win in the Twin Cities, while hitting 41.0% (16-of-39) from behind the three-point line. Kyrie Irving led the way with 35 points, five assists and four rebounds while hitting six three-pointers in 39 minutes. Luka Doncic chipped in with 24 points, eight assists and eight rebounds while hitting 10-of-27 from the field. Daniel Gafford added 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, too.
The Mavericks have rolled in this series in recent seasons, winning six of the past seven meetings, while going 3-0 straight up (SU)/against the spread (ATS) in the past three battles at American Airlines Center. The over has connected in three of the past four meetings, too, while going a perfect 3-0 in the past three battles in the Metroplex.
Let’s back the Mavericks laying the points and go high on the total. Even though the Rockets have cashed low in three out of four games, let’s bet on the series trends.
Picks: Mavericks -6.5 (-110) & Over 225.5 Points (-110)
San Antonio Spurs (+110) at Utah Jazz (-135) | O/U 223.5 (-110/-110)
The Spurs (1-3) and Jazz (0-4) hook up at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City in this battle between two Western Conference teams that have combined for just a single win so far. Don’t look at this as a bad game, though. It should actually be very interesting.
San Antonio split a pair of games with the Houston Rockets at home Saturday and Monday, before scoring a season-low 93 points last time out against the Oklahoma City Thunder, although San Antonio did manage to hang on for the cover as a 12.5-point underdog at most shops. The under has cashed in three straight games since an over result at Dallas in the first game
The Spurs have averaged just 103.0 points per game (PPG) to rank 29th in the NBA in the early part of the season while hitting just 44.5% from the field and only 33.6% from behind the arc. The good news is that the Spurs are a decent free-throw shooting team (81.4%), so they don’t leave a lot of points on the floor.
Defensively, San Antonio is allowing 109.3 PPG to rank eighth in the NBA, while teams are hitting just 42.4% to rank third in defensive field-goal percentage. Teams are hitting 39.3% from behind the arc, though.
For Utah, the under has cashed in three in a row. The Jazz have scored 102 or fewer points in three in a row while failing to hit triple digits twice. Offensively, Utah is last in the NBA with 102.0 PPG and a dismal 38.5% shooting rate. It doesn’t help that Taylor Hendricks suffered a broken tibia earlier this week. Defensively, the Jazz are allowing 119.0 PPG to rank 23rd, while teams are hitting 48.2% to rank 25th. The Jazz are decent, though, against the three-pointer, with teams hitting just 33.9% from downtown, ranking ninth.
Utah has dominated this series lately, going 3-1 SU/ATS in the past four meetings, while the over has cashed in three of those four meetings. Let’s back San Antonio on the Moneyline, as it is positioned much better for a victory. We’ll eschew the series trends to use info based on totals during the early going. Let’s go low, too.
Pick: Spurs Moneyline (+110) & Under 223.5 Points (-110)
Daniel E. Dobish is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Daniel, check out his archive and follow him @danieledobish.