What an opening night for the NBA as both games came down to the wire. Day two of the NBA restart has 12 teams in action, so there will be plenty of betting options. After doing research, here are my three favorite NBA picks and parlays for today, Friday July 31:

NBA Picks & Parlays July 31 2020

Boston Celtics +5 vs. Milwaukee Bucks

I love watching both of these teams and this game might just be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. While the Bucks have crushed opponents this year, the Celtics are one of the few teams to contain them this season. The two teams split their two matchups, with Boston holding a slight scoring edge in those contests (119.5 PPG vs. 116.5).

The Bucks won’t be at full strength, as they will be without Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton, who are still working their way back to full strength after positive COVID-19 tests. Bledsoe’s loss is huge and should be felt out of the gates. Couple that with the fact that Milwaukee might not be as motivated as the C’s because they have all but locked up the No. 1 seed in the East, and this seems like too many points.

Jayson Tatum is an absolute stud and I love his game. Look for him to have a big game in this spot and this game coming down to the wire. Take the points is our first NBA pick for July 31.

Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks -1.5

I’m excited for this matchup for sure. While I do see the Rockets as a dark horse to win it all if they can get hot from 3-point range, I like Dallas in this spot for a few reasons.

The Rockets will go small, but their defense is vulnerable to guys that can slip screens. Because of that, look for Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic to have big games via the pick and roll.

KP should be able to slip screens and score by rolling and hitting short-range jumpers all day. I also LOVE Luka in general and this matchup is perfect for him. He usually eats vs. isolation as he averaged 1.12 points per possession in iso ball vs. switch per Synergy Sports.

The Rockets will also be missing Eric Gordon, which hurts them offensively. Lastly, the public is all over Houston in this spot, but the line is going up in some places to Dallas -2. This indicates reverse line movement on Dallas, which also bodes well for this bet.

Brooklyn Nets +7 vs. Orlando Magic

This line seems inflated, just like Clippers-Lakers last night. While their roster is depleted, the Nets still have Caris LeVert and should compete in this one. Yes, they are a bad team, but they are playing against a mid-level squad. The Magic should win and have a solid defense, but seven points is a bit ambitious for the No. 24 offense in the NBA in a neutral site game.

The public also loves Orlando in this spot, which makes me like the Nets even more.

That’s all from me, and my picks for the NBA games on July 31. Good luck guys.