Lakers vs. Warriors predictions: Best bets, pick against the spread, over/under on Tuesday, October 18

The 2022-23 NBA season is back, and it all gets started with a doubleheader Tuesday on TNT. The night will close out with the Los Angeles Lakers traveling to take on the reigning champion Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, with tipoff set for 10 p.m. ET.

The Warriors come in as seven-point favorites on the night, priced at -275 on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Lakers will server as the underdogs at +230 while the point total is set at 224.5 for this game.

Lakers vs. Warriors, 10 p.m. ET

Pick ATS: Warriors -7

The Lakers come into this season with a new regime. Frank Vogel was fired at the end of last season after finishing 33-49 and missing the playoffs. Darvin Ham makes his head coaching debut tonight after serving as an assistant coach in the NBA since 2011, most recently in Milwaukee before being tapped to run the show in Los Angeles.

LA comes in with a somewhat different roster that saw the departure of players like Carmelo Anthony, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Avery Bradley. The Lakers added the likes of veterans Patrick Beverly and Dennis Schroder. Of course, they'll still have LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook serving as their big three this season as they chase down a postseason appearance.

The Dubs come into this season looking to repeat their title run from last season's playoffs as they retained the core of the championship team with the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney all coming back for the 2022-23 season. This will be Thompson's first full season since 2018-19 as he was sidelined with injuries for roughly two and a half seasons, making his comeback just ahead of the playoff push last year. He made a huge impact on the team after his return, averaging 20.4 PPG through his 32 regular season games, followed by 19.0 PPG during the playoffs.

I'm backing the defending champs to get the win in this one. Last season's opener saw the Warriors finish 121-114 on top of the Lakers on the road. Expect the Dubs to win and cover at home.

Over/Under: Over 224.5

While it's tough to gauge with the first game of the season, I'm taking the over in this one as both teams will come out looking to get an early advantage over the other. Both teams went over the total 47 times last season, including playoff games. These teams met during the preseason and the Lakers grabbed a 124-121 win. That game finished over tonight's projected total, so take the over here.

  
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