The October 31st NBA slate is here, and so is Matt LaMarca with his NBA best bets:

Happy Halloween! As the calendar creeps toward the end of 2024, the NBA is officially in the air. We’ve got four games to choose from on Thursday, with the action getting underway at 8 p.m. ET. There are a couple of intriguing teams to look out for on this slate, including the Bucks, Suns, and Spurs.

Tonight's NBA Best Bets For Thursday, October 31st

My NBA best bets for Thursday, Oct. 31 include:

• Spurs +2.5
• Terance Mann o2.5 rebounds
• Dereck Lively II o7.5 points
• Gary Trent Jr. o11.5 points

Before we dive into the analysis of my NBA best bets for Thursday's four-game Halloween slate, I want to make sure to call out our various NBA tools that will guide us through these slates:

• NBA DFS projections - while the focus here is betting, our NBA DFS projections include minutes projections, a key data point when evaluating player props.
   
• NBA Player Prop Finder - I don't place a single bet without confirming I have the best price, and I suggest you do the same.

We've also got all the NBA betting odds organized in an easy-to-digest table and NBA futures odds for those of you forecasting the season from a macro level.

Finally, I'll have all of my free NBA bets, even if there isn't a standalone article, logged in our bet tracker.

Best NBA Side/Total For Oct. 31st

San Antonio Spurs +2.5 at Utah Jazz (-115; BetMGM)

• Bet to: Spurs +1.5 (-110)

Both of these teams are off to pretty dreadful starts this season. The Spurs have won just one of their first four contests, while the Jazz are sitting at 0-4.

However, the Spurs outlook is significantly rosier. Of course, they have one of the best young players in basketball in Victor Wembanyama. He hasn’t had the best start to his season, but he still figures to be a major difference-maker.

The Jazz have no one of that caliber on their roster, especially if Lauri Markkanen is unable to go. He exited the team’s last outing with back spasms and is officially questionable vs. the Spurs. The Jazz have been the worst team in basketball this season, posting a -17.1 Net Rating through their first four contests. If they’re going to have to play without Markkanen—their unquestioned best player—things could be even worse moving forward.

The only reason the Spurs are available at +2.5 is because they’re on the second leg of a back-to-back. That’s always concerning with a Gregg Popovich-coached team, so make sure that they’re close to full strength before locking in this wager. However, as long as Wembanyama is in the lineup, it’s hard not to like the Spurs as underdogs in this spot.

Tonight's Best NBA Player Prop Bets

Terance Mann Over 2.5 rebounds (-110; BetMGM)

• Play To: Over 2.5 (-130)

The Clippers’ rotation looks a lot different this year, with Paul George now in Philadelphia and Kawhi Leonard out indefinitely. Mann hasn’t seen a huge spike in playing time, but his minutes should be pretty consistent with both guys out of the equation He’s averaged 21.5 minutes per game through his first four contests, and he’s pulled down at least three rebounds in three of them. The Suns are middle of the pack from a rebounding standpoint, so this line seems a bit too low.

Dereck Lively II Over 7.5 points (-135; BetMGM)

• Play To: Over 26.5 (-125)

Lively was a big part of the Mavericks' surprise run to the NBA Finals last season. The rookie center was one of the youngest players in the league, but he came up big for them in the postseason. So far, he’s picked up basically right where he’s left off. He’s averaged 25.8 minutes and 9.8 points per game while shooting 73.9% from the field. Lively has been a bit “boom or bust” to start the year—he has two games with at least 14 points and two games with five—but he should be able to clear 7.5 pretty consistently.

Gary Trent Jr. Over 11.5 points (-120; DraftKings)

• Play To: Over 11.5 (-130)

Trent has yet to crack 11 points for the Bucks this season, but there are reasons to believe in him moving forward. He’s seen plenty of minutes for Milwaukee in his first year with the squad, including nearly 37.5 in his last outing. He just simply hasn’t shot the ball that well. He’s shooting just 36.7% from the field, which is well below his career average of 42.1%. Trent has averaged 17.6 points per 36 minutes for his career, and he’s averaged at least 13.0 points per 36 minutes in every single season. As long as the minutes stay consistent, Trent seems due for some positive regression.

NBA Bets for October 31st

To recap my NBA card for the Thursday, see below:

• Spurs +2.5 at Jazz (-115; BetMGM) - Risk 1.15u
• Terance Mann Over 2.5 rebounds (-110; BetMGM) - Risk 1.1u
• Dereck Lively II Over 7.5 points (-135; FanDuel) - Risk 1.35u
• Gary Trent Jr. Over 11.5 points (-120; DraftKings) - Risk 1.2u

Total: Risk 4.8 units to win 4.0.