NBA Picks

The New York Knicks travel to take on the Boston Celtics in Sundays early tip off. The visitors have been involved in high scoring games of late thanks to their inability to get stops. In fact, 10 of their last 11 games have reached the combined point total mark of at least 232. That includes a meeting with this Celtics team that combined for 235 points. Over the last 10 games the Knicks are just 25th in the league in defensive rating and have both Josh Hart and OG Anunoby listed as questionable to play today. Without the pair, they could have real issues slowing down Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Tatum is averaging 38.5 points against the Knicks this season and should be set to do damage once more.

Neither of these teams have had trouble scoring the ball either. Over the last 10 games they rank 5th and 7th in the league in offensive rating, respectively. The hosts have been phenomenal from range too, making 18.1 threes per game on 39.4% shooting. Both marks are leading the NBA during that stretch. Over those 10 games, the Knicks are allowing teams to make 40.1% of their threes and could be severely punished as a result today. Jalen Brunson has had success against the Celtics this season, averaging 29 points per game. If he can recreate that here, it would go a long way to helping the over hit.

New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Prediction: Over 231.5 available at time of publishing. Playable to over 233.5.

With 5 wins in 6 games the Mavericks have eased the pressure a bit coming from those that are doubting their ability to make it into the postseason, considering the injury situation. Caleb Martin, Dwight Powell, P.J. Washington, Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford could all potentially miss Sunday’s game vs Golden State, but that hasn’t hindered the Mavs as much as people thought it would. Kyrie Irving is showing true leadership averaging 28.3 points per game over his last 8 outings, he’s had some pretty big games vs Golden State this season shooting the ball 57% from the field and almost 53% from three in 3 games. With so many big men out of the line-up, you’d think that rebounding would be a problem here for Dallas, but they are facing a Warriors squad that is averaging just 49.7 rebounds per game in their last 3 outings which is the 4th lowest mark in the NBA.

Implementing Jimmy Butler has gone seamlessly so far through 5 games with the Warriors winning 4 of them. Jimmy has already developed chemistry with most of the Warriors starters, while also raising the level of tenacity of the entire team on the defensive end. He is exactly what this Warriors team needed, as they look to make one final push towards a tittle challenge with Stephen Curry as their best player. Draymond Green even promised a championship during all-star weekend, which only shows how serious this team is. Will all that translate into success vs Dallas? It’s hard to say. The Warriors have covered just twice in 10 meetings and have only 2 wins in the last 7 games head-to-head.

Backing the Mavs to cover has yielded profit in 7 straight games, injuries have not been able to slow this team down. They just beat these Warriors by 4 points in a game played 10 days ago and now they’re 8.5 point dogs? I’ll have some of that action please. Back the Mavericks to cover.

Mavericks vs Warriors Predictions: Mavericks +8.5 is available at time publishing. Playable at that number.

Now you can bet any of our Mavs vs Warriors predictions at FanDuel Sportsbook, which has a great new-customer offer to take advantage of. If you sign up for FanDuel right now, you earn a welcome bonus worth up to $150 if your first $5 bet wins! Use this link 🔗 to join FanDuel right now and learn more.

The Clippers are off to a rocky 1-1 start to their 8-game road trip, on Sunday they have a tough match-up vs Indiana as they look to get revenge for a 7-point defeat suffered earlier in the month in LA. They might be without Norman Powell and Kawhi Leonard here though, which would be a massive handicap. In order to beat this Indiana team you need scoring, we all know how much Powell’s ascent has contributed to the success of the Clippers this year. The Clippers are 4 point underdogs here, understandable considering they’re just 2-4 ATS/SU in the last 6 meetings and have covered the spread just twice in 8 games overall.

Meanwhile, Indiana has been playing at a high level for quite a while now, winning 15 of their last 20 games and climbing all the way up to 4th in the East. With the Bucks and Pistons both on win streak behind them, pressure is on Indy to continue winning if they want to keep hold of the 4th seed. From a health standpoint they are doing much better than the Clippers here with their two main stars Siakam and Haliburton both being healthy and producing. We just saw Indy beat a strong Memphis team without much trouble in their first game after the break, knocking down 17 threes in that game. LA is a much better team defensively though, so I doubt we’ll see them scoring 50 in a quarter like they did on the Grizz.

I just feel like the defense of the Clippers gives them the edge here. We were all surprised when Indiana won that first meeting in LA. Rebounding is another area where the Clippers should dominate, Indiana ranks only 28th in rebounds per game. That’s bad news going up against Ivica Zubac who has elevated his game quite a bit this season. I’m taking the Clippers to even out the regular season series here.

Clippers vs Pacers Predictions: Clippers +4 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Now you can bet any of our Clippers vs Pacers predictions at FanDuel Sportsbook, which has a great new-customer offer to take advantage of. If you sign up for FanDuel right now, you earn a welcome bonus worth up to $150 if your first $5 bet wins! Use this link 🔗 to join FanDuel right now and learn more.

The Memphis Grizzlies and the Cleveland Cavaliers will face off for the first time this year in an Eastern vs Western Conference contest Sunday night. The Grizzlies currently hold a record of 37-19 and sit as the second seed in the Western Conference. They last played Friday when they defeated the Orlando Magic on the road 105-104. Ja Morant led the Grizzlies in scoring with 23 points, and Jaren Jackson Jr. blocked a shot as time expired to secure the victory. The Cavaliers are the current one seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 46-10. The Cavaliers have won six straight games. They are coming off a dominating 142-105 victory at home against the New York Knicks. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers in scoring with 27 points in only 26 minutes played.

This will be a contest between the two top scoring teams in the NBA. Both the Cavaliers and Grizzlies are tied for first with 122.8 points per game this season. Offense should be expected tonight as the highly efficient Cavaliers, who are coming off a game where they shot 60%, take on the fast-paced Grizzlies. Memphis will have the highest defensive uphill battle in this game as their defense currently ranks 22nd in points allowed per game. The Cavaliers have been proving doubters wrong all year long, despite being heavily favored in most games, the Cavaliers sport an ATS record of 37-19. There was optimism heading into this season, but I don’t believe most fans saw this success coming from Cleveland. Now that we are past the All-Star game and heading towards the end of the season and postseason, it’s time to back this team as true contenders.

Cavaliers -5.5 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The 2024-25 NBA season is in full swing and Sunday’s card features a couple of compelling matchups, including the Oklahoma City Thunder facing off against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ordinarily, I would look to back the Timberwolves at home as three-possession underdogs, especially considering the Thunder are off a blowout win over the Utah Jazz on Friday and have won 8 of their last 10 games. It also helps that Minnesota just thoroughly outplayed Oklahoma City in the final game before the All-Star break, giving the Thunder a nice revenge angle from a disappointing game that should be fresh in the minds of every player on the roster. Even though Minnesota has been playing better basketball of late, I still want no part of stepping in front of the best team in the Western Conference in this spot. My decision has been made easier by the fact that Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo are expected to miss this game, and it wouldn’t shock me at all if this line got to double digits by tip-off. 

It didn’t feel like the prettiest game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Friday against Utah, and he still managed to finish with 21 points and 8 assists on nearly 50% from the field. There is room for that performance to be replicated against a Minnesota defensive scheme that will be happy to play some drop coverage without Gobert’s rim protection, which should allow Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Oklahoma City guards to take lightly contested midrange shots from inside of 15 feet. On the other side, the elite Thunder defense could have a field day against a Wolves team that doesn’t shoot the ball well, is 25th in turnover percentage and 26th in pace for the season. I don’t doubt that the Timberwolves will try and limit the number of transition opportunities for Oklahoma City in this game, but the Thunder are still an outstanding halfcourt unit on both ends of the floor, and they should feel extremely comfortable operating at a slower pace in this one. Oklahoma City is covering the spread at nearly a 64% clip as a road favorite, while the Thunder are also covering the number at just over a 73% clip with equal rest. It wouldn’t shock me at all if Oklahoma City played a focused, consistent game and won by margin on the road in this spot.  

Oklahoma City vs Minnesota prediction: Thunder -9 available at time of publishing. Playable to 9.5

You can bet on our OKC vs Minnesota pick with BetMGM, where right now new users can activate your new BetMGM account ⚡ and get $150 in bonus bets INSTANTLY if your first $10 wager is a winner.