SportsMall offers predictions for all of today's NBA preseason games, including Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors.
© Imago
Kicking off NBA preseason action on Wednesday, the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics square off this week despite meeting at Scotiabank Arena for the second time this week.
When these two faced off on Monday morning, the Celts won 115-111, taking their season record to 4-0, and the result marked the Raptors' second loss in three games so far.
We say: The Celtics should win by 7+ points
Despite resting the starters, five Boston players scored in double figures in the win at TD Garden. Drew Peterson (23), Lonnie Walker IV (20), Payton Pritchard (19), Jordan Walsh (16) and Nehemiah Quetta (12)
Now suffering back-to-back losses in the preseason, the cracks are starting to show for the Raptors, who despite facing the arguably third-string Celts, find themselves trailing 69-37 at halftime and with a mountain to climb. Second period.
Although the Raps cut the gap to four points by the final buzzer, losing to a side without seven of their top eight players doesn't inspire much confidence in their chances in this one.
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The New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets step up preparations for the 2024-25 NBA campaign when they go head-to-head at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
This will be the second meeting between the two sides during the pre-season Miles McBride The Knicks squared off in the first exhibition game on October 6, scoring 22 points to spark a 111–109 victory.
We say: win by 5+ points
With Ball ready to resume action here, we expect an improved Charlotte Hornets team to pose a tougher challenge than the one they suffered against the Knicks a fortnight ago.
However, Thibodeau's men have already hit their stride, starting the preseason with three wins from three, and we're looking to knock off the Hornets at Madison Square Garden.
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Game three comes to us early Wednesday morning from the Kaseya Center in Florida, where the Miami Heat will face the San Antonio Spurs in their third preseason game.
The Heat lost their opener to the Hornets before beating the Pelicans on Monday, while the Spurs lost to the Thunder in their last two games, beating Orlando and Utah.
We say: win by 2+ points
Miami was a mixed bag in the preseason, but they were able to field the starting lineup they wanted Terry Rozier, Tyler Hero, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic And Pam Adebayo In the end, not being able to do so last season due to injury will be seen as a huge positive.
The Spurs moved to 2-1 with Monday's win over the Jazz and did so without the services Victor VembaniamaHe had just one appearance last season, scoring 11 points in last week's win over Orlando.
While San Antonio will certainly look like a better side this year, the season fixtures will be disappointing and will represent their toughest challenge since this will be their first match on the road.
With Vembanyama likely to return, we expect Spurs to put up another good performance, but we think the Heat will take them to a narrow victory.
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The Houston Rockets will play their first home game of the NBA preseason on Wednesday morning when they welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to the Toyota Center.
Before the Heat fell in Miami on Sunday, Houston had won one of its two road games so far when the Pelicans beat the Magic in Louisiana last week.
We say: Pelicans should win by 3+ points
After a 19-game breakthrough Preparation of UdokaFirst off the season, and with a roster largely unchanged from last year, the Rockets look set to mount a strong challenge for a playoff spot this season.
For the Bells, all indicators point to how far their season will depend Zion Williamson They can be picked up, and early signs show he's ready to embrace the expectation after scoring 13 points on 50% shooting from the field in just 17 minutes in the first half against the Heat.
With this being New Orleans' exhibition finale, we expect them to deliver a big performance before they start preparing for the regular season opener against the Bulls on October 24th.
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The Utah Jazz look to bounce back from Monday night's loss when they return to the Delta Center on Monday night.
Utah was denied a third straight NBA preseason win by the Spurs on Monday night, while the Kings have lost all three of their preseason games to date.
We say: Jazz win by 4+ points
After coming off back-to-back wins in the first two games of the preseason, the Jazz played a very boring game against the Spurs on Sunday, committing a staggering 22 turnovers that contributed to San Antonio's 24 points on the night and ultimately led to their loss.
However, the Kings have been one of the most disappointing teams during the preseason, and their crushing 105-85 loss to the Trail Blazers saw them commit 27 turnovers that led to 33 points, a third of their own. beating
While the Kings are undoubtedly the better side on paper, you can't back them with any confidence at this point, so we hand the result to the hosts.
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The Denver Nuggets hope to get their first win of the NBA preseason when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at Ball Arena on Wednesday morning.
Denver lost its two Abu Dhabi games early in the preseason to the Celtics and fell to the Suns on Monday morning, while the Thunder have split their two preseason games so far.
We say: Thunder to win by 3+ points
The Nuggets haven't found top gear this season and come into this matchup off zero days of rest, while OKC last played on Thursday and had time to refine their tactics.
With some new faces on the team, there are some growing concerns surrounding the Nuggets' preseason performances that may take some time to address, so we're using the Thunder to edge this decision.
© Imago
In two preseason meetings three days apart, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors will face off at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.
As the Lakers edged out a close game against the Milwaukee Bucks, both teams came out on top late against Eastern Conference foes, while the Warriors took on the Detroit Pistons convincingly.
We say: Warriors should win by 7+ points
The Warriors are in tremendous form at the moment, and their ability to knock down shots around the team will pose a tough test for the Lakers.
We can see Steve KerrThe men go on another rampage from beyond the arc to claim their fifth win on the bounce.
