National Basketball Association

NBA Opening Night odds

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Opening night for the NBA is finally upon us, featuring the season’s first three games to watch— and bet on.

The match-ups include the last three champions, a couple new-look teams and at least a handful of future Hall of Famers.

Here are the latest odds for each, with lines courtesy of SportsBookReview.com:

Cleveland Cavaliers (-9.5) vs. New York Knicks

The inaugural game features the defending world champ Cavaliers (still strange using that phrase). It will be a hotbed of activity tonight in town, as the Cleveland Indians will also be hosting Game 1 of the World Series. All of a sudden, the “Mistake By The Lake” is no longer snakebitten.

The most recent stats have 52 percent of sports bettors believing that LeBron James and company will cover the 9.5 spread. The money line is set at -475 for Cleveland and +420 for New York. Slightly more than half are putting the money on the Cavs, as well.

Over-under for total points is set at 206 points and is up three points (perhaps factoring in new addition Chris “Birdman” Anderson’s likely contribution?) since opening.

Portland Trail Blazers (-6.5) vs. Utah Jazz

Two of the most popular sleeper picks for bettors going into the year. However, the Jazz come in already banged up with their top players Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors sitting out. Meanwhile, Terry Stotts has established himself as one of the top coaches in the league after leading a team in transition to the Western Conference semifinals last season.

With that said, the majority of bettors still like the underdog Jazz to cover, with 55 percent picking them against the spread and 58 percent on the money line. Almost 60 percent are betting that the total points go over the 192 you’ll currently find.

Golden State Warriors (-8.5) vs. San Antonio Spurs

Save the best for last! One of these two teams has represented the West in the past four championships, winning two of them. However, for the first time this century, the Spurs will be playing without Tim Duncan on the roster.

Meanwhile, the Warriors have put together the quintessential fantasy team with the addition of Kevin Durant and the emergence of serial flasher Draymond Green to go along with all-world shooters and NBA legacies Klay Thompson and Steph Curry.

Over 60 percent of bettors see the W’s cover the 8.5 spread at home, while 55 percent are taking them at -400 straight up. The over-under is at 211.5, with 57 percent of the plays on the over. Defensive-minded Gregg Popovich should take umbrage with that.