NBA Picks

The Philadelphia 76ers now are the sole owners of the worst record in the NBA. Paul George has gone down with an injury and looks set to miss the game. However, they should take positives from the return of Joel Embiid. The center flashed a return to form in his last outing against the Memphis Grizzlies. He dropped 35 points in that game and has had success getting to the free-throw line, somewhere he is yet to miss from this season. Their opponent tonight is a Brooklyn Nets team that is 28th in the league in opponent free-throw attempts per game. Nic Claxton is questionable to play, with Ben Simmons likely to fill in if he does not take to the floor. That’s a matchup Embiid would relish.

The Nets have had issues defensively, ranking just 25th in the league in defensive rating over the last 10 games. They will be a great opponent against whom the 76ers can get out of their offensive slump. Jared McCain has been great recently, managing at least 20 points per game in each of his last 6. With Tyrese Maxey sharing the backcourt with him, they should be well positioned to match the offensive output of Dennis Schroder and Cam Thomas. The visiting Nets do not have the same answer for Embiid. I’m taking the Sixers to win and cover.

Nets vs 76ers prediction: Philadelphia -6 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -7.

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The Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans will meet for the third time this season on Friday night. The Warriors won both of the first 2 games between these teams. Golden State prevailed 124-106 and 104-89. This will be the first time the Warriors and Pelicans are playing in New Orleans and will also be the third NBA Cup game played by each team. The Warriors are 2-0 and lead group C, while the Pelicans are 1-1. The Dubs are coming into this game hot, winning 9 of their last 11 games. The Pelicans have been on the opposite side of the spectrum, losing 9 of their last 10 and 3 straight losses. Golden State is generally healthy heading into this matchup, while New Orleans will be without Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, Herbert Jones, Jose Alvarado and potentially Brandon Ingram.

The Pelicans have struggled to find offense with so many starters benched due to injuries. What may be the most telling for the Pelicans’ current situation is to look at the success they had in a 128-100 loss to Cleveland on Wednesday. Rookie guard Antonio Reeves was asked to play 40 minutes and scored 34 points. Despite this unexpected outcome, New Orleans still lost by nearly 30. I don’t see where else the Pelicans can turn toward for offense. It shows in the numbers. They have only managed to score 100 points per game in their last 10 games, the lowest in the NBA in that time frame. With how well the Warriors have played and scored the basketball, I foresee another blowout loss for the Pelicans.

Warriors vs Pelicans prediction: Golden State -9.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Tensions are always high whenever the Pacers and Bucks play. With both teams 6-9 entering Friday’s game, we are guaranteed yet another high intense matchup. The Pacers have been in a bit of a slump lately, winning just once in 5 games and allowing 130 points in back-to-back contests. This team cannot catch a break on the injury front; a total of 6 players are in danger of missing this game. The Pacers made just 5 3-pointers in their latest loss to Houston and that’s not something you want ahead of a game in Milwaukee — where you have gone 5-15 SU in your last 20 visits.

A stable 3-point shot with at least 13 triples made over their last 5 games has lifted Milwaukee to a 4-1 SU run, which is exactly what this team needed. The Bucks also received some good news on the injury front with Khris Middleton being cleared to play following his ankle issues, however it might take him some time to get into basketball shape before he comes back. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been on a roll this month; he has delivered 41 and 59 points in 2 of his last 4 outings. He always plays with an extra step against the Pacers; in the last 5 meetings, the Greek Freak is averaging 42.2 points and 13 rebounds per game.

Indiana has been in a slump lately, winning just twice in 9 road games and covering a mere 3 times. The Bucks have momentum on their side and I am really liking what I have seen in their last 5 games. I’m backing Milwaukee at home to cover.

Pacers vs Bucks prediction: Milwaukee -4.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Dallas Mavericks begin a 3-game road trip on Friday night when they travel West to Denver to take on the Nuggets. Dallas has quickly flipped the script, going from a 4-game losing skid — including a 122-120 loss to the Nuggets — to a 3-game winning streak — with wins over the Spurs, Thunder and Pelicans. The Mavericks look to remain hot, but they will be down their best player in Luka Doncic for at least the next week after he suffered a right wrist injury on Tuesday night in a win over New Orleans. The Nuggets have won 6 of their last 8 games but have dropped 2 of their last 3, with Nikola Jokic missing Denver’s 3-game road trip due to personal reasons. At the time of writing, Jokic is listed as questionable to return to action at home tonight and it’s certainly something to keep a close eye on.

Despite Jokic potentially missing another game for Denver, it is slated as a -3 favorite with the line surly to move once his availability status is confirmed. I like the Nuggets in this game regardless, and the point spread is only going to increase if Jokic does indeed suit up — so let’s lay the 3 points with Denver now. The Mavs have already lost to the Nuggets with Doncic in the lineup, and Kyrie Irving was the player that carried most of the weight in that game — going for 43 points on 17-for-22 shooting from the field. Without Doncic, Irving will need to be near perfect — especially with Klay Thompson shooting a career-worst 37 percent from 3-point range while averaging his lowest ppg (14.0) since his rookie season. Dallas without Doncic has a much bigger burden on its shoulders than Denver potentially without Jokic. I’m on the Nuggets to cover at home.

Mavericks vs Nuggets prediction: Denver -3 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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Sacramento might be just 2-2 SU in its last 4 games, but the 2 losses vs Atlanta and Minnesota were by just 1 and 4 points. There is optimism that DeMar DeRozan will be back ahead of tonight game against his hometown team the Clippers, which would be a major boost for the Kings’ offense. Without DeRozan it has been pretty much the De’Aaron Fox show over the past few games. The point guard is averaging 45.7 points per game in his last 3 outings, but I think the Kings are better off when he is a distributor of the ball rather than a 40+ point per game scorer. Sacramento is a 2.5 point underdog, which does sound tempting for a team that has gone 4-2 ATS in its last 6 away from home.

It looks like the Clippers have finally settled into their brand new arena, as they have now won 3 games in a row. Their latest victim were the Orlando Magic and for the 2nd consecutive game an opponent failed to crack the 100-point mark vs LA. The play of center Ivica Zubac has been a particular highlight, especially on the defensive end — where he is on a streak of 4 straight games with double-digit boards. I’m curious to see how this Clippers defense holds up against the 6th-best scoring offense in the NBA.

I feel like the Kings match up pretty well against Los Angeles. Fox should have his way against James Harden, who isn’t really a lockdown defender these days. DeRozan has the height advantage over Norman Powell and Domantas Sabonis is just as good if not better than Zubac in the rebounding department. I’m backing the road team.

Kings vs Clippers prediction: Sacramento -2.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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