NBA Picks

Ordinarily, I would look to back the Nets at home as double-digit underdogs, especially considering Brooklyn is off 3 consecutive losses — 2 of them in blowout fashion — to close out a 6-game road trip and is in desperate need of a win to stop the bleeding. The same can’t be said of the Knicks, as New York enters this game on a back-to-back following a comeback victory over the Hawks on Monday, exacting a bit of revenge from a loss in the NBA Cup knockout stage earlier this season in the process. With that said, I want no part of backing this awful Nets team, especially since this is Brooklyn’s first game following a 10-day road trip where it went 1-5 and was blown out by current playoff teams in 3 of those 5 losses. My decision to fade Brooklyn has been made easier by the fact that Karl-Anthony Towns is back in the lineup for the Knicks, which immediately transforms the entire makeup of their offense. 

Towns looked rusty on offense in the Knicks’ win over the Hawks on Monday, but the encouraging sign was that he played 37 minutes, looked very engaged defensively and hit a massive three-pointer to help New York pull away in the 4th quarter. This time out, there should be plenty of opportunities for Towns and the Knicks offense to attack the Nets in the paint, and Brooklyn is 25th in rebounding, which offers plenty of opportunities for Josh Hart and New York (6th in rebound percentage) to collect second-chance points. Therefore, even though Towns might be limited in his minutes in the second game of a back-to-back, he should still have an impact with his offensive prowess. Even if the Knicks’ frontcourt doesn’t contribute much in this game, Jalen Brunson has a great matchup against a porous Nets perimeter defense, and he should be expected to carry the scoring load for New York. We can also expect a strong game from Mikal Bridges, who should have a favorable matchup on the wing and can be expected to get plenty of open looks off Brunson’s gravity. The Knicks’ offense is still a top-5 unit in the league and the defense is gradually improving (up to 14th in defensive rating), while the Nets are sitting at 25th in both offensive and defensive rating. Let’s back New York to cover this number in what could end up essentially being a home game for the Knicks at Barclays Center.

Knicks vs Nets prediction: Knicks -10.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

You can bet on our Knicks vs Nets pick at DraftKings Sportsbook, which has thousands of betting options available and a great new customer offer where you can get $200 in bonus bets INSTANTLY when you make a first bet of just $5! Click here 👈🏼 to sign up for a DraftKings account now.

The good news for the Philadelphia 76ers is that Joel Embiid has recovered from his foot injury, but the bad news is that his knee has started swelling again and he will miss the game at Denver on Tuesday night. It’ll be the 6th year in a row that Embiid will not play at Ball Arena, so this is nothing new for Philadelphia. Right now this team is on a 6-game losing streak, with 3 of their last 4 losses being by double-digits. They’re once again 13.5-point underdogs, with 5 other players besides Joel Embiid on the injury report. Paul George and Andre Drummond are among those players and the rebounding department would suffer mightily without those 2.

Denver continues to slowly climb up the Western Conference leaderboard. They are now 4th and just 2 games behind the 2nd-seeded Rockets. A big reason for the ascent of this team has been the play of Russell Westbrook, who has thrived in the starters’ role alongside Nikola Jokic. Aaron Gordon has taken a step back and is coming off the bench for the time being, but the Nuggets are a veteran team that is willing to put its egos aside for the greater good. However, 4 of their last 5 games were on the road and fatigue might set in sooner rather than later, which is my only gripe with backing them to cover here.

Philadelphia really hasn’t got much to base their optimism on here, but one of those things is their 5-1 ATS record in the last 6 meetings. They have nothing to lose in this game, which could unlock Tyrese Maxey on offense. Coming back from Florida, the Nuggets could start this game a bit flat, so I’ll give Philly the benefit of the doubt and back them to keep this game somewhat close.

76ers vs Nuggets predictions: 76ers +13.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Bet like a Caesar with this awesome new customer offer from Caesars, where you can get a welcome boost worth up to $1,000 on Caesars. Become a Caesars member 👥 using the Caesars promo code PICKSWISE1000, where you can bet on our 76ers vs Nuggets picks.