Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The NBA’s eight-game regular-season restart features 22 teams all playing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando during a coronavirus pandemic in the United States. Florida is in the midst of arguably the worst virus surge in the U.S.A, but so far the NBA has gotten good news in terms of positive tests among its players because in theory they are protected in their campus-like “bubble.”

The restart tips off Thursday night with two games, and expect incredibly high betting action and television ratings as NBA fans have gone four months without basketball.

The first game at 6:30 p.m. ET features the Utah Jazz at New Orleans Pelicans, who are 2.5-point favorites. While the word “at” doesn’t really work at a neutral site, it does somewhat matter because the league is going to great effort to make the home team feel like it is at home with some virtual on-site additions for each game (signage, etc.).