NBA Preseason Plays 10/16

NBA Preseason Pick #1: Denver Nuggets @ Golden State Warriors

Rating: 3 units - Single Dime Play

Pick: Denver Nuggets (+4,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on 5Dimes

Detailed Write Up:

This pick is fairly easy to explain. Denver will take this game very seriously, while Golden State won’t:

"I'm going to start playing our starters a little bit more, and our rotation guys a little bit more to get them" Denver’s head coach Brian Shaw said. "To get them in the kind of shape that they need to be in and to get them more accustomed to the type of minutes that they are going to be playing for us. And then the other guys, not so much. I'm going to start playing these games a little more like the regular games."

“Harrison Barnes will have an added chance to shine 30 minutes away from his hometown of Ames, because he should get plenty of shots. Center Andrew Bogut and power forward David Lee will not play in the first game of a back-to-back set, and guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are expected to play only the first half.”

“They’re vets and don’t need to play in a preseason back-to-back” said Golden State’s head coach Steve Kerr, who predicted that he’ll sit Andre Iguodala against Miami on Friday in Kansas City. “They’ve shown that they’re in good shape. I just want them to get rhythm, without too much wear and tear.”

Even if Golden State gets to half time with an interesting lead, Denver should have no problems in getting back into the game in the second half. Therefore, I’ll take the Nuggets tonight.

NBA Preseason Pick #2: Oklahoma City Thunder @ New Orleans Pelicans

Rating: 3 units - Single Dime Play

Pick: Under 202 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

Detailed Write Up:

Besides Kevin Durant being obviously out for tonight’s game, the same will happen with Russell Westbrook, who won’t be on the field tonight. Oklahoma City’s starters tonight will be Steven Adams, Lance Thomas, Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb and Sebastian Telfair, while Anthony Morrow is questionable with a sore left ankle.

While this lineup from Oklahoma City lacks obvious scoring punch, Steven Adams is a nice defender at the rim and he will cause problems to the Pelicans’ frontcourt offense as well. I expect an ugly game in here, with both teams struggling to score and so, I’ll take the Under in here.