NBA Picks

Looks like not having their head coach on the sidelines has made the Blazers a better team. Jokes aside, it was really impressive to see them score 139 points on the Warriors in a 20-point home win. All five starters and three bench players scored in double-figures, as the Blazers recorded 30 assists on the night. Sunday’s game against the Clippers will show us if that was a fluke or does Portland really mean business. They’ve won only once in 12 meetings vs LA, plus in the last 11 visits to the Intuit Dome they are 1-10 SU.

So far in two games played we’ve seen two vastly different Clipper teams. On opening night in Salt Lake City they got destroyed by the Jazz 129-108, but in their 2nd game they did the same to the Phoenix Suns 129-102 at home. So which team will show up on Sunday? Well, since they’re playing at home we can only hope it’ll be the one that blew out Phoenix. If the Clippers are smart here, they’ll get Ivica Zubac involved early and often as he goes up against the inexperienced Donovan Clingan down low. In the backcourt James Harden and Bradley Beal can go toe to toe with the young and springy Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara while Kawhi Leonard can keep Jerami Grant in check.

There’s a ton of offensive firepower on both squads here. Under interim head coach Thiago Splitter the Blazers will look to run, their defense has allowed 119 and 118 points in the two games so far. This should be a high paced game, the last 10 meetings have averaged 231.4 points per game which is almost 10 points over the projected total. Back the over.

Over 226.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable up to 228.5.

The Brooklyn Nets have started the season by being involved in a couple of really high scoring games, with both of their games surpassing the combined 250-point mark. That trend has a great chance of continuing as they visit the San Antonio Spurs. The Nets have a really young roster and unsurprisingly that has resulted in them playing up tempo basketball. They rank in the top 10 in pace so far this season. The Nets also have 2 players in Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. who are capable of creating their own looks on offensive and can heat up quickly. They each had over 30 points in their last game and should prove difficult to slow down.

The Spurs should be capable of matching the tempo here. They currently lead the league in fast break points per game. They have a couple of young guards in Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell who can push the floor down the floor too and get to the rim. With Victor Wembanyama starting the season hot, averaging 34.5 points per game, they should cause the visitors plenty of issues. The Nets are currently dead last in the league in defensive rating which makes it unlikely that they will be able to slow him down.

Nets vs Spurs prediction: Over 228 available at time of publishing. Playable to over 230.

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The Detroit Pistons are coming into this game after an impressive win against the Houston Rockets. They will get a chance to build on that here as they welcome the Boston Celtics who have dropped each of their first 2 games. The visitors are still adjusting to life without Jayson Tatum and their offense has been slacking. They currently rank 25th in offensive rating. Neemias Queta is starting at center but he offers little as a scoring threat with his back to the basket. Not having a reliable option down low should really limit their chances of bouncing back offensively here. Having to go up against Ausar Thompson should compound matters. The Pistons wing is a terrific on ball defender and should have success slowing down Jaylen Brown or Derrick White.

The Pistons are a very efficient unit with Cade Cunningham running the show. They currently rank 3rd in the league in assist to turnover ratio. They are currently in the top 10 in the league in opponent points off turnovers and looking after the ball here should help limit the Celtics from getting out in transition. The hosts should have no issues putting up points too. They were able to knock down 16 3-pointers in their last outing on 41% shooting from deep. If they can keep that level of efficiency going here, they should be able to cover the spread.

Celtics vs Pistons prediction: Pistons -3.5 available at time of publishing. Playable to Pistons -4.5.

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Both the Charlotte Hornets and the Washington Wizards finished last season near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. These two teams are looking for a fresh start in the 2025-26, and they each have the chance to win two of their first three games with a victory Sunday afternoon. The Hornets won their opener 136-117 over the Brooklyn Nets, but then lost Saturday 125-121 against the 76ers. LaMelo Ball has led the Hornets in scoring, averaging 23.5 points per game in the Hornets first two games. The Washington Wizards lost their opening game 133-120 to the Bucks, but then they bounced back with a 117-107 win against the Mavericks. 21-year old guard, Kyshawn George has led the Wizards in scoring, averaging 27.5 points per game. George scored 34 points against the Mavericks while shooting 73% from the field.

The Wizards were bad last year. They finished the year with only 18 wins, and they never really had a true scorer. But I think the Wizards took a really good step forwards toward being competitive this season. First they brought in two veterans in CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton. Both of these players have both been high level scorers in their career, and it will be exciting to see how they work together this season. Next the Wizards have seen their sixth overall pick in this last year’s draft. Tre Johnson, get off to a quick start. Johnson has scored a combined 33 points on 50% shooting to start his career. The Wizards could see Johnson as their starting point guard later this season. Finally the Wizards get to see talented players such as Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, and Kyshawn George develop as they enter their second season. There should be more optimism around the Wizards this season as they head in the right direction, and I think this results in a home opening win over the Hornets who may be without Brandon Miller.

Hornets vs Wizards prediction: Wizards -1.5 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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A good matchup between top Eastern Conference teams is set to tip off Sunday afternoon when the 2-0 Milwaukee Bucks travel to take on the 1-1 Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bucks have started their season with wins against the Wizards and the Raptors. Giannis Antetokounmpo has gotten off to a good scoring start to his season, averaging 34 points and 17 rebounds per game in his first two outings. The Bucks were able to let Antetokounmpo guide them to a comfortable victory in the first two games, but Sunday’s game against Cleveland will be their first test against a team that made last year’s playoffs. The Cavaliers finished last season as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 64-18. They lost their first game in New York against the Knicks 119-111, but they managed to bounce back with a win behind 35 points from Donovan Mitchell against the Nets.

The starting lineup for this year’s Bucks looks a lot different than it has in previous years. With Damian Lillard leaving in the offseason, it left the Bucks with a question mark at starting point guard. Kevin Porter Jr. is the starting point guard on Milwaukee’s depth chart, but he will miss Sunday’s game with an injury. Time will likely be split between a 23-year old Ryan Rollins and Cole Anthony. Gary Trent Jr. and AJ Green will also both take a more consistent role in the starting back court rotation. The good news for Milwaukee is Cleveland will also be lacking the experienced back court they had last year. At the time of writing, Darius Garland, De’andre Hunter, and Max Strus are all set to miss Sunday’s game with an injury. That leaves the Cavaliers’ front court with Lonzo Ball, Sam Merill, and Jaylon Tyson to play around Mitchell. All things considered, these two teams are similar with the talent they have available for this game. They both consist of a strong front court and an inexperienced back court around their star players. Not knowing which back court will show up, I’m siding with Milwaukee plus the points.

Bucks vs Cavs prediction: Bucks +6.5 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Knicks will look to stay unbeaten in this young season as they head to South Beach hoping to spoil the party in the Heat’s home opener. Life has been good under new head coach Mike Brown so far, as New York has taken down two reputable East rivals in the Cavaliers and Celtics. The 2-0 record in itself isn’t spectacular, but Knicks fans should be pleased with the way their team has performed, especially on the defensive end. New York is allowing the fewest points per game so far and is holding opponents to 44.6% shooting (8th best in the NBA). Paint protection is another area where this team has excelled, teams have averaged just 33 points per game against them from up close in the two games so far. On top of all this you add the fact they are 5-1 SU in 6 games vs Miami, it’s no wonder why Knicks fans are optimistic ahead of this game.

Facing adversity on the road in their first two games of the season wasn’t ideal, but the Heat managed a split vs Orlando and Memphis to open their season. What is surprising for a Heat team is the fact that they averaged 133.5 points in those two games, which is uncommon for a team that normally relies on their defensive play to win games. Plus their leading scorer from last season Tyler Herro is also out, which makes the 146 points scored at Memphis all that more impressive. Against a Knicks team, they’ll need all that offensive firepower to step up, a quality team like them will surely look to expose the lack of a closer in Herro’s absence.

Playing good defense will win you a lot of games and I’m hopping on the Knicks bandwagon here. They’re 2-0 on the season, make it 3 straight wins in Miami on Sunday.

Knicks vs Heat prediction: Knicks -2.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable to -3.5.

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After an impressive night of scoring the ball in their season opener, the Raptors were brought back to Earth by Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on Friday in a 122-116 home loss. That defeat shouldn’t discourage Brandon Ingram and co., the offense clicked for long stretches, they just ran into a superstar player who torched them for 31 points and 20 points. Against the Mavs on Sunday things could get interesting, as Dallas is struggling out of the gate following an awful loss to the Wizards. Toronto will look to take advantage, historically it hasn’t been a favorable match-up for Canada’s team with just 2 wins in 9 games. However, from a bettors perspective they are 4-2 ATS in 6 meetings against the Mavs.

What on Earth is going on with Dallas? Not a lot of people can answer this question after back-to-back losses to San Antonio and Washington. Losing by double-digits against the worst team in the league last season at home is enough to sound the alarms, as the Mavericks look to turn things around. Anthony Davis is the only player who has done his part so far, he had another 27 and 13 outing on Friday. The likes of Klay Thompson, D’Angelo Russell, Dereck Lively just haven’t provided AD with enough help. There’s also Cooper Flagg who is starting at the point guard position, trying to make a name for himself in the big boys league. The Mavericks are desperate to get a result here, falling into a 0-3 hole would be devastating.

Points are leaking all over the place for the Mavs, they rank 26th in three-point defense with teams shooting 41.1% against them from deep. They’re also in the bottom 10 in opponent points in the paint, I just feel like this is a really good match-up for the Raptors who know how to score the ball and they’re really good at it. I’ll be backing the road team plus the points.

Raptors vs Mavericks prediction: Raptors ML available at +110 at time of publishing.

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