NBA Picks

The Chicago Bulls enter Sundays road game against the Charlotte Hornets as one of the hotter teams in the Eastern Conference. They have won 7 of their last 10 games and will be facing off against a team that has managed just 2 wins over that same stretch of games. The Bulls should be helped by the fact that they are better on the road this season than they are at home, with a .500 record on their travels. With the Hornets also listing Mark Williams as questionable to play, the hosts could be without their best rim protector and inside scoring threat. Without him they suffered a 23-point loss to the Sacramento Kings in their last outing and could face a similar fate here.

Over the last 10 games the Hornets find themselves in 26th place in net offensive and defensive rating. The Bulls on the other hand are just outside the top 10 in the league, ranking 11th. Their offense has been firing on all cylinders led by their backcourt of Josh Giddey and Coby White. The hosts will remain without LaMelo Ball and will struggle to match the production of the visitor’s backcourt here. The Bulls have a fantastic perimeter attack too, being 4th in the league in 3-point percentage and 3-pointers made per game over the last 10 contests. With the Hornets 27th in the latter category, that disparity in scoring should help the visitors cover the spread tonight.

Chicago Bulls vs Charlotte Hornets Prediction: Bulls -9.5 available at time of publishing. Playable to Bulls -10.5.

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Coming into Sunday’s game the Lakers have only one thing on their mind and that is to get a win against the best team in the West. The Denver Nuggets are right behind them in the standings so it is crucial to continue winning in order to preserve that 3rd seed. That would allow them to avoid facing the Thunder until the West Finals potentially, which sounds a lot better than having to face this team earlier. LA has actually had solid success in head-to-head meetings going 5-2 ATS/SU over the last 7 games, however most of those were with Anthony Davis in the middle, so I’m not sure if we can take into account any of those results here. One thing is for sure though – you won’t get this big of a spread for a team with LeBron James and Luka Doncic on its roster often.

There is very little incentive for the Thunder to get a result here. They’ve clinched the number 1 seed in the West a long time ago, plus after their loss against Houston they can no longer win 70 games. SGA and co. would be smart to rest some players in these remaining 5 games in order to get ready for the postseason, if that’s the case then the Lakers could have a slightly easier job here. OKC’s recent numbers speak for themselves, the only potential flaw this team has is in the three-point department. As we saw against Houston they were able to convert on only 13 threes which wasn’t enough to beat the 2nd best team in the West.

The sense of urgency to get a result here is far greater for the Lakers. Beating the Thunder would also send a clear message that they shouldn’t be written off in a potential series down the road in the playoffs. These two teams will meet twice in the next 3 days, the Lakers are definitely winning at least one of those games. So let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and back a Lakers win on Sunday.

Lakers vs Thunder Predictions: Lakers ML (+290) available at time of publishing.

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Sacramento appears to be headed to the play-in tournament, but mainly due to the Phoenix Suns’ struggles to get wins. The Kings have been far from impressive over their past 10 games, winning just 3 of them and posting the 23rd best defensive rating during this stretch. They are coming off a win against the Charlotte Hornets, but on Sunday they await a far greater challenge in Cleveland against the best team in the East. The Cavs have once again caught fire winning 3 in a row, winning only 1 of 8 road games coming into this one isn’t ideal from a Kings perspective. Keegan Murray is also an injury concern, his contribution will be heavily missed here if he doesn’t play.

Cleveland is coming off a 1-point win at San Antonio where they failed to cover as double-digit favorites. Going back home should provide them with a much needed lift in confidence – they’ve lost only 5 of 38 games at Rocket Arena this season and are currently on a run of 9 wins in 10 games there. Unlike the Kings they have no significant injury issues with only Dean Wade being a question mark with an illness. Western Conference opponents have not had a good time facing this team – the Cavs have won their last 5 games against those opponents.

Sacramento’s three-point inconsistency is a worry here. They’ve scored 10 or less threes in 5 of 8 games, that’s just not going to cut it against the most prolific shooting team in the NBA this year. Cleveland is a steady 45-31-1 ATS this year, so even if the spread looks a bit big at first glance I still have faith in Donovan Mitchell and co. here. Give me the home squad to cover.

Kings vs Cavaliers Predictions: Cavaliers -10.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Boston Celtics will look to sweep the season series against the Washington Wizards tonight as the NBA season comes near an end. This will be the fourth game played between the Celtics and Wizards. The Celtics won all three previous games by an average of 15.3 points per game. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are both listed as questionable for tonight’s game with injuries that head coach Joe Mazzulla may want to use a rest day to heal up his star players.

The Wizards have failed to be competitive this season, losing 10 of their last 12 games, and they are at risk of losing by double digits tonight even if either Brown or Tatum don’t play. They are taking on the Celtics, who just broke the NBA record for most three-pointers by a team in a season with 1,370 makes. The Celtics shoot an absurd number of three-pointers at 48.3 attempts per game. The second closest team to that total is the Warriors at 42 attempts per game. The Celtics are a very versatile team where even if their stars don’t play, their game plan is not going to change. Their goal is to try and overwhelm their opponent from beyond the arc. With the questionable status of Brown and Tatum, I’m looking to back the over.

Wizards vs Celtics prediction: Over 225.5 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The New York Knicks are set to take on the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden, and I’m expecting plenty of points on Sunday. This game marks the return of All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson to the lineup for New York, and he should have a favorable matchup against a Suns defense that has been shockingly bad to this point in the season. Phoenix currently sits at 27th in defensive rating on the year, and the Suns particularly have issues at defending opposing guards, something that Brunson previously demonstrated when he racked up a 36-point double double against Phoenix earlier in the campaign. The Knicks offense is elite with Brunson in the lineup (3rd in offensive rating) and their positive momentum should continue following a drubbing of Atlanta on Saturday. Opponents have tallied 120 or more points against the Suns in each of their last 5 losses, and Brunson should spearhead a massive Knicks effort on the offensive end in this one.

On the other side, the Suns offense has easily been the strong suit of an otherwise disastrous season. Phoenix currently sits at 10th in offensive rating league-wide, as both Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have led the charge for another efficient offensive season in the valley. Durant in particular has been outstanding all season long, and while the legendary scorer is out with an ankle injury for this game, I’m not sure that Phoenix’s offense still won’t be able to get its points against a Knicks defense that is squarely in the middle of the pack in terms of defensive efficiency. It’s important to note that New York is also operating on no rest heading into this game, which also points me in the direction of the over given that the Knicks starters continue to log heavy minutes. Fatigue could set in by the time the second half rolls around, so let’s take the over at the Garden.

Suns vs Knicks prediction: Over 225 available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Indiana Pacers will take a three-game winning streak into Denver Sunday night to take on the Nuggets. The Indiana Pacers seem to be locked into the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference as this season comes to an end. They are three games back of the Knicks and three games in front of the Bucks and the fifth seed. The Pacers have built their winning streak with wins against the Kings, Hornet, and Jazz all on their home court. They will be taking on a Nuggets team that has lost three straight games. The Nuggets’ losing streak has dropped them into a position where they need to start worrying about falling into the play-in tournament. Before tonight’s game, only one game separates the Nuggets from the seventh seed. Tonight’s game is a big opportunity for Denver to right the ship and get momentum back on their side.

This is a matchup that has fared well in favor of Denver in recent years. The Nuggets have defeated the Pacers in their last nine games played against each other. If the Nuggets want to extend the streak to ten, their focus tonight needs to be on turnovers. The Nuggets coughed up 25 turnovers in their previous loss against the Golden State Warriors. It has been a common problem for the Nuggets as they continue to wait for their star point guard, Jamal Murray, to return from injury. With a season defensive rating of 113.6, the Pacers are a middle of the pack defense the Nuggets should be able find success against. The Nuggets are a team that has been successful for quite some time, and we have seen them pull through in the past when they need a win. The Nuggets need a win tonight, and I’m backing them to find that win at home against a Pacers team that has a losing record on the road this season.

Pacers vs Nuggets prediction: Nuggets -6.5 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Golden State Warriors will be trying to extend their winning streak to 6 games when they host the Houston Rockets on Sunday night. Houston is also playing great, with a 14-2 record in its last 18 contests. I’m not especially inclined to fade either team, so I will instead look toward the under for this Rockets vs Warriors pick. These 2 Western Conference rivals have faced each other 4 times this season and 3 of the 4 encounters have resulted in no more than 203 points. Their 3 most recent combined point totals are 203, 181 and 192. The 4 meetings are averaging 203.5 points in regulation. For those counting, that is more than 20 points under Sunday’s listed total — so there really is no need to overthink this one.

Stephen Curry has been red hot, but the Rockets generally have an answer for him on defense. The Davidson product played in only 2 of the first 4 head-to-head matchups and in those games he averaged a modest 23.0 points on 44.1 percent shooting with a combined 8-for-22 effort from 3-point range. For Houston, Jabari Smith Jr. (12.2 ppg) is questionable because of a sprained ankle. It’s also worth noting that neither side plays particularly fast; both teams are outside the top 13 in the league in pace of play (possessions per game). Expect another low-scoring affair tonight.

Rockets vs Warriors prediction: Under 225.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to 225.

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