NBA 2023-24 Schedule Release – NBA Vegas Odds Having a Ball

NBA Debuts In-Season Tournament and All That

August 23, 2023 108 2 minutes readNBA Picks & Parlays

NBA 2023-24 Schedule Release - NBA Vegas Odds Having a Ball — MADDIE MEYER / GETTY IMAGES

NBA Schedule’s Odds: That Was Fast
Opening Day Odds: Load Up the Star Power
Christmas Day Odds: Rated ‘F’ for Family
The In-Season Tournament in a Nutshell

We finally have the 2023-24 NBA schedule. And as fast as James Harden is to start drama in the offseason, the sportsbook has posted NBA Vegas odds for the top games. This includes the opening night matchups and all five Christmas Day games. This is also the first season of the in-season tournament, which is incredibly popular (sarcasm) with the fans. But that only makes for more fun on the NBA betting lines.

NBA Schedules’ Odds: That Was Fast

Opening Day Odds: Load Up the Star Power

This should be an explosive start with the NBA games schedule with four high-profile teams going against each other. To start, the Denver Nuggets host the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of the Conference Finals. The defending champions swept the Lakers and are favored by 5.5 points in this matchup.

And later in the night, the Phoenix Suns visit the Golden State Warriors as Kevin Durant and Chris Paul face their old teams. The Suns are slight underdogs after trading away Paul for Bradley Beal. The Warriors acquired Paul by trading away Jordan Poole. And the total here at 231.5 is indicative of the all-offense, no-defense style of Phoenix. Fun.

Christmas Day Odds: Rated ‘F’ for Family

Of course, the NBA can’t leave out its largest market during a day when everything outside of movie theatres and Chinatown is closed. I mean those fans could watch the Knicks get smashed (2.5-point underdogs) by the Bucks or they could listen to their senile uncle’s stories. The latter sounds a lot more fun.

Then it’s a matchup between Philadelphia and Miami. This one is worth nothing most since we could have Harden (and maybe even Joel Embiid) out of Philadelphia if the “Beard” ramps up his tantrums. And the Heat could just get Damian Lillard if he too makes it so toxic in Portland that the team kicks him out. As such, the NBA Vegas odds hesitantly favor Miami with a 1.5-point spread.

A classic Celtics-Lakers rivalry is the middle game with Boston favored by 1.5 points. LeBron James is getting old and can’t be traveling on Christmas as his Lakers host the Celtics in this classic rivalry. Boston is favored by 1.5 points.

And the last two games are both five-point spreads. Dallas visits Phoenix as the underdogs in what should be a heartwarming father-son reunion between Luka Doncic and Devin Booker. And to cap it off, the Nuggets host the Warriors in a game between the last two NBA champs.

The In-Season Tournament in a Nutshell

Fans won’t wait long to either watch or whine about the new in-season tournament. It takes place from November 3 to December 9 every Tuesday and Friday between teams from three intraconference groups of five. The top four teams (three division winners and the best non-division winner) from each conference move on to a single-elimination tournament.

All these games, except the championship game, count towards each team’s overall record. Thus, both the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings and the West NBA standings will be affected.

Since it’s a new thing, the NBA Vegas odds are yet to be released for these games. Stop slacking, Las Vegas. Give us those lines.

For NBA betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.