NBA Picks

First the Cavaliers took their point guard away and then they proceeded to hand the Clippers one of their worst losses of the season by beating them 124-91. It’s been one hell of a start to 2026 for Donovan Mitchell and his Cavs who have won 7 of 8 games, while also covering in 5 of their last 6 games overall and in 6 of 7 on the road. Another dominant performance is expected from them on Saturday as they take on the lowly Sacramento Kings, with a chance of James Harden suiting up and making his Cavaliers debut. Even if that isn’t the case and the Cavaliers opt to wait with him, they should still handle their business here.

The Kings hung in there against the Clippers last night, but ultimately they fell by 3 points at home, covering as 3.5-point underdogs. Now the spread is much bigger at 12 points, adequate for a team that’s lost 11 games in a row and is playing on a 2nd night of a back-to-back scenario in which they’ve gone just 2-7 SU in 9 games played this season. Domantas Sabonis continues to be on the injury report, so Sacramento is giving a lot more playing time to its reserves at the moment and developing its young guys. That will result in a lot of losses, but at least they can something for the future.

Cleveland has been very consistent of late. They are averaging 16 threes made per game in their last 4 outings, while the Kings have really struggled in this area, averaging just 8.8 made threes per game in their last 10 outings. If they guard against complacency, the Cavaliers should come out of Sactown with an easy win.

Cavaliers vs Kings prediction: Cleveland -12 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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For the second night in a row, we have the Grizzlies battling the Trail Blazers following a tough 20-point loss by the Grizz on Friday. Memphis’ offense could just never get going in that game, as it fell to 1-1 since the JJJ trade to Utah. Getting rid of their best player this season caught a lot of people by surprise, but at least now we know the direction in which the Grizzlies are going this season. At 20-30 SU, they are stuck in mediocrity. Post all-star break I feel like they’ll be losing a lot more games on purpose in order to jump up the NBA Draft lottery standings.

Portland’s objective is to make the play-in tournament at least — that would be considered a success given what this team has gone through so far this season. Deni Avdija did not play on Friday due to his lingering back issues, but even without him Portland was able to end the long losing streak — winning a game for the first time in 2 weeks. It was a total team effort with Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday stepping up to lead the charge offensively. At one point the Blazers led by as many as 30.

Facing the same team on back-to-back days could be a double-edged sword, but then again Portland is the one motivated to win here. The Blazers’ position as the 10th seed would be a lot more comfortable if they can once again beat the Grizzlies, who are actually the team that’s behind them in the standings. Both meetings so far this season were blowout wins; that trend should continue on Saturday with another big win for Portland.

 Grizzlies vs Trail Blazers prediction: Trail Blazers -8.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Washington Wizards head to the New York Metropolitan area to battle the Brooklyn Nets, but they’ll do so without Anthony Davis. It was determined that the newly acquired star will miss the remainder of the season as he gets his body right for what Washington hopes is a resurgent 2026-27 season for A.D. and the organization. Washington heads into this game on a little high, posting a 126-117 victory as 16.5-point underdogs on the road last time out on Thursday. Don’t look now, but Washington has won 4 of the past 6 outright while going 5-2 against the spread in the past 7 games and 7-3 ATS across the past 10 outings. The over is 4-0 in the past 4, too, if you’re looking for a Same Game Parlay opportunity.

The Nets are coming off a 118-98 loss at Orlando on Thursday, and they have been beaten by 16 or more points in each of the past three games — going 0-3 ATS in the span. In fact, the average losing margin in the past 3 outings is 29.7 ppg, including a 130-77 loss in Detroit on Feb. 1, the same Pistons team that the Wizards just beat outright. Brooklyn has no business laying 6 points to anyone.

Wizards vs Nets prediction: Washington +6 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to +5.

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The Houston Rockets hit the road to battle the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in matinee action on ABC Saturday afternoon. The Rockets are just 14-13 on the road this season, while the Thunder are 22-4 at home. OKC has won the first 2 meetings in this series this season, although the road team is 2-0 against the spread in both meetings so far. OKC pounded Houston 111-91 at Toyota Center on Jan. 15, easily covering as a 4.5-point favorite and snapping a 3-0 ATS run in the series by the Rockets.

Houston enters with consecutive losses while going 0-4 ATS in the past 4 outings. The Rockets are also a dismal 1-6 ATS in the past 7 games and 4-15 ATS in the past 19 outings. Oklahoma City is coming off a 116-106 loss as a 10-point underdog at San Antonio last time out. The Spurs have been kryptonite to the Thunder all season long. OKC will be without MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander due to an abdominal strain, while the Rockets are without Steven Adams (ankle). While it certainly looks bad for the Thunder without their star, OKC should still be able to gut out a victory on its home court — but confidence is much lower than it would be with SGA on the court, obviously.

Rockets vs Thunder prediction: Oklahoma City -2.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Cooper Flagg just became the youngest player in NBA history to score 30+ points in 4 consecutive games. He also became the first rookie since Michael Jordan back in 1985 to record 4 consecutive games with at least 30 points and 5 rebounds. With the 151 points scored in this span, he became the first player since Allen Iverson in 1997 to score 150+ points over a 4-game span. That’s basically what the Mavs fans can look forward to the rest of this season. After shipping out Anthony Davis to Washington, it’s quite clear that they are focusing solely on developing Flagg instead of trying to win games for the remainder of this season.

San Antonio has other plans. At 35-16 SU, it is second in the West only behind the OKC Thunder — and with the defending champs struggling a bit with injuries, the Spurs could even attack the #1 seed if they want to do so. They have won 3 in a row, beating the Mavericks on Thursday 135-123 to take a 2-0 lead in the regular-season series. Adjustments will be made from both teams ahead of Saturday’s game, but the oddsmakers have remained consistent with their prediction — giving the Spurs a massive 10.5-point advantage ahead of tipoff.

It’s not often we see a team win both games in a back-to-back scenario by double-digits. More often than not, they split, I’m not going as far as backing the Mavericks to win outright, but I think they’re capable of keeping things close. The injury situation at San Antonio isn’t ideal with Jeremy Sochan, Luke Kornet and De’Aaron Fox all being game-time decisions. The Spurs probably win, but the Mavs don’t give up that easily.

Mavericks vs Spurs prediction: Dallas +10 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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After reaching the 50-game mark in the season, the Orlando Magic are still trying to find their spark to compete in the Eastern Conference. Orlando had a tough month of January, only going 6-7 in 13 total games played. The Magic are coming off their first win of February, a 118-98 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, and they will be looking to make it 2 in a row tonight against the Utah Jazz. Utah has struggled all season, but the Jazz are expected to see the debut of newly acquired big man Jaren Jackson Jr. tonight. Jackson Jr. averaged 19.2 points on 47.5% shooting in 45 games played this season for the Memphis Grizzlies.

The pairing of Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen will be a front-court duo that will cause trouble for opponents. The Jazz’s now loaded front court also includes Jusuf Nurkic and rising star Kyle Filipowski. The good news for the Magic is they are one of the better teams in the NBA at defending opposing bigs. Wendell Carter Jr. and Paolo Banchero are both healthy and are holding down the interior. On average, the Magic only allow 12.9 points per game to opposing centers and they do a good job at defending without fouling. There are a lot of questions revolving around Jackson Jr.’s will to win after being traded from the failed experience in Memphis. I like for the Magic to get their second straight win.

Jazz vs Magic: Orlando -7 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Charlotte Hornets are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference. They have won 8 straight games and will be looking to make it 9 straight against the new-look Atlanta Hawks tonight. The Hornets have found their groove, picking up impressive wins in this streak against teams like the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets. The Hornets look to win games by putting a large number of points on the scoreboard. They are led by 4 main scorers. Brandon Miller leads the team in scoring with 20.4 points per game, while Lamelo Ball averages 19.1, Kon Knueppel at 18.8 and Miles Bridges at 18.3. The emergence of Knueppel has propelled Charlotte into one of the top 3point shooting teams in the NBA. The Hornets make the third-highest number of threes a game at 15.2 and they shoot it at the sixth-best percentage at 37%. Individually, Knueppel ranks third in the NBA with 168 made threes this season.

For Atlanta, it has been a month since they traded away Trae Young and added CJ McCollum. McCollum has averaged 17.5 points per game in his last 10 and has done it all coming off the bench. The latest Hawks’ trade was bringing in Jonathan Kuminga, who is not expected to make his debut tonight. The Hawks are fueled by first-time all-star Jalen Johnson, who averages a team-high 23.2 points, 10.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists. Johnson has led the Hawks to an impressive streak of their own, winning six of their last eight games. The Hornets have been hot, but so have the Hawks. I’m leaning towards the Hawks tonight on their home floor, a place the Hornets have lost their last 3 times visiting. 

Hornets vs Hawks prediction: Atlanta ML (+110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Fresh off the trade deadline, the Chicago Bulls will host the Denver Nuggets Saturday night. The Bulls currently sit in the 10th and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They revamped their roster by adding Jaden Ivey and Anfernee Simons, hoping that it helps propel the team over the hump. Both Ivey and Simons had reduced minutes with their previous teams, and will be asked to do a lot more after joining Chicago. Both players logged over 32 minutes in the Bulls last loss against the Toronto Raptors, the highest total number of minutes for each player all season. They will need to rely on the new pair again tonight with Josh Giddey sitting out with an injury, and Coby White now gone after being included in the trade package. The Nuggets recently got center Nikola Jokic back from an injury, but the former MVP is listed as questionable tonight and will likely miss this game as he works his way back to 100%.

The good news for the Nuggets is that they have proven they can still win without Jokic in the lineup. Denver went 10-6 in the games played without Jokic this season and maintained to keep hold of its positioning in the Western Conference. Jamal Murray will look to lead the Nuggets tonight after scoring 39 points in Denver’s last game. Murray scored 34 points the last time these two teams faced off. I like the Nuggets tonight even if Jokic does not play. I believe the Bulls are asking a lot out of Ivey and Simons, and that the moves will eventually drop Chicago out of the play-in tournament. Denver has shown their depth this season, and they can certainly rally around Murray if Jokic does not play. 

Nuggets vs Bulls prediction: Denver -5.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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This is not your typical Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers matchup in terms of star power, as both Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic are on the sidelines. Golden State will likely be without Curry (knee) for several more games, while Doncic (hamstring) appears to have avoided a long-term injury and could return next week. Doncic is obviously the better player of the two at this point in their careers, but Curry is more valuable to his team. After all, Doncic has LeBron James and Austin Reaves to pick up the slack; Curry doesn’t even have Jimmy Butler III — who is out for the year with a torn ACL. As such, my Warriors vs Lakers pick is for the home team to win and cover.

Reaves is back from missing more than a month with a calf injury, and he is heating up. The Oklahoma product scored 35 points in just 25 minutes of action during Thursday’s victory over Philadelphia. His minutes climbed from 21 a game earlier, so don’t be surprised if Reaves approaches the 30 mark on Saturday. LeBron has scored at least 20 points in 14 of his last 18 contests. That duo alone should be enough to take care of a Golden State squad that was active at the trade deadline, shipping Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to Atlanta for Kristaps Porzingis. As expected, Porzingis will not play this weekend — so the Warriors are even further depleted.

Warriors vs Lakers prediction: Los Angeles -3.5 (-108) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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I was very disappointed with the Philadelphia 76ers in their last game as they fell on the road to the Lakers, despite LA losing Luka Doncic very early in that game. Philly led 75% of the time, but it just couldn’t close out the shorthanded Lakers. Saturday sees the Sixers take on a strong Phoenix Suns team in a venue where they are winless in their last 6 visits. In general, it has been all Phoenix in this matchup over the years with 11 wins in 13 meetings — so is it realistic for the Sixers to get something out of Saturday’s game?

The Suns laid an egg in their last game at home losing against the shorthanded Warriors 101-97. It was a very uncharacteristic performance from the otherwise stable Suns, who have been the NBA’s most successful team against the spread this season. Golden State erased a 14-point lead late in the game despite not having Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler at their disposal. It was the second loss in 3 games for the Suns — not exactly confidence inspiring ahead of a game against a team like the 76ers.

In the end, it will probably all come down to how Joel Embiid plays. The 76ers’ 3-ball went ice cold against the Lakers, as they knocked down just 5 of 24 attempts. I’m confident that will improve today, as the Suns are allowing opponents to shoot almost 35% from deep over their last 3 games. I’m backing the underdog Sixers.

76ers vs Suns prediction: Philadelphia ML (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable at that price.

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