A pair of marquee games ring in the new NBA season, and there’s plenty of prop betting potential in both matchups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pregame narrative<\/strong>: In the first matchup, I’m fading Mikal Bridges as he makes his New York Knicks debut against the Boston Celtics. Later on, I like both Julius Randle and LeBron James to start strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out these NBA prop bets for opening night on Oct. 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go to full NBA betting markets<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Best Bet: Randle over 31.5 points\/rebounds\/assists (+102)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Embed: #97959<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In a new season, and with a new team, there are some pretty significant unknowns for Randle tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How will he fit with a ball-dominant guard like Anthony Edwards? What will his workload look like in his first meaningful action since January?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s take these one at a time, starting with the question of playing alongside a ball-dominant guard like Edwards. The flashy point guard was fourth in the NBA in usage rate last year (31.4%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n But keep in mind that Randle was just on a team led by Jalen Brunson, who was sixth in usage rate a season ago (31.1%). And that worked out just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the two seasons that Randle and Brunson were teammates for the New York Knicks, Randle averaged 24.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists (38.8 PRA). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now for the question about Randle’s workload, which is a fair concern. The three-time all-star missed the latter half of the season and all of the postseason last year due to a shoulder injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He returned to action for one preseason game, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes. That’s an encouraging start for a guy who hasn’t seen NBA competition in months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Randle was second only to Edwards in minutes for that Oct. 16 game against the Bulls. I expect a standard workload for him tonight and a nice stat line to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Key stat<\/strong>: Randle averaged 38.2 PRA over the past four seasons, with an average of at least 35.1 PRA in each individual season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LeBron over 1.5 threes (-130)<\/strong>: Minnesota was among the best teams at defending the 3-point game last year, which helps explain why this line sits where it is. But the over is still very attainable for the King.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNBA prop bets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Quick picks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n