NBA Picks

Just 2 days after beating the Kings 113-100, the Lakers are now 6.5 point underdogs against the same team in the same building. Neither team had the best of nights shooting the ball, the Lakers were able to capitalize on their rebounding and defense in general to get the win. It was only the 4th time in 14 road games that the Lakers covered the spread this year, there is a chance some players get rested here as Rui Hachimura, Anthony Davis and LeBron James are all game-time decisions.

Meanwhile, the Kings have now dropped 2 in a row following a 3-game win streak. Consistency is what has eluded this team all year long. It was an unusually quiet game on the offensive end on Thursday as they managed just 100 points, their 4th lowest output of the season. Expect them to make adjustments for Saturday’s game, a faster pace is something that would benefit them here. With the offensive firepower on their roster, it’s pretty clear that this team is at its best when the ball moves and they play fast.

Thursday’s game was an outlier in many ways. The Kings and Lakers have cashed on the over 8 times in the last 12 games head-to-head, with an average of 245.5 points per game scored in the 10 most recent meetings. Sacramento’s three-ball has cooled off a bit, but that will have to change at some point. They’ve gone 5-1 on the O/U at the Golden 1 Center in their last 6 games, so I believe that trend will continue here. Back the over.

Lakers vs Kings Predictions: Over 228 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Celtics are seeking revenge following an unexpected home loss to the Bulls on Thursday. Now the series moves to the Windy City, once again Boston is a double-digit favorite despite playing a team that’s on a 3-game win streak here. The Celtics live and die by the three ball this year, so it’s not surprising they lost Thursday’s game after shooting just 14-for-45 from downtown. Head coach Joe Mazzulla was visibly frustrated with his team’s play and went after the officials in the 4th quarter, Boston recorded 3 technical fouls as a team.

The current 3-game win streak that the Bulls are on is their longest of the season believe it or not. This team has been stuck in mediocrity for quite some time now, refusing to tank and start over. Zach LaVine is doing his best to present himself in a good way to potential suitors, he just had his best game of the season with 36 points, including 6 threes. However, judging by the way the Bulls have played this season this run will not last long. This team plays the fastest pace in the league, while also having the 5th worst defensive rating. That’s a recipe for disaster in most cases.

It all depends whether or not the Celtics take this game seriously, if they do this game should be over by the 4th quarter. Thursday’s game was a solid wake-up call I think, they’ve already beaten the Bulls by 11 points earlier in the season at the United Center. I’m counting on the men in green to show some resilience here as they face rare adversity this season. Give me Boston to cover the spread.

Celtics vs Bulls Predictions: Celtics -10.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors will play for the third time this season tonight. The season series is split at one win per team. These two teams recently played a back-to-back set at the beginning of December where the Timberwolves won game one 107-90, and the Warriors took game two 114-106. Neither team is playing well right now. The Warriors have lost 4 of their last 5 and 9 of their last 11 games. Their last game was an embarrassing 114-93 blowout loss at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Timberwolves welcomed back Karl-Anthony Towns to Target Center in their previous game and proceeded to get blown out 133-107 to their former superstar. Anthony Edwards showed his frustrations after the game by questioning the team’s identity on offense in post-game interviews. “We don’t have any identity. We know I’m going to shoot a bunch of shots. We know Randle is going to shoot a bunch of shots. That’s all we know.”

Despite the tough loss to New York, the Timberwolves have been playing better compared to the beginning of the season. Minnesota has won 6 of their last 8 games, and their defense is once again beginning to look like a top unit in the NBA. In the past 10 games, Minnesota is once again ranked as the number one ranked defense in the NBA, and this is in large part due to the effort provided on that end by Rudy Gobert. Against New York, Gobert got played off the floor by the Knicks. In Gobert’s 22 minutes played, his plus/minus was -37. Based on Gobert’s play recently, this seems like an outlier instead of a trend. I expect Gobert to come out with a better effort tonight, and for Minnesota to answer the call of their star player against the struggling Golden State Warriors.

Warriors vs Wolves prediction: Minnesota -3 available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors will play for the third time this season tonight. The season series is split at one win per team. These two teams recently played a back-to-back set at the beginning of December where the Timberwolves won game one 107-90, and the Warriors took game two 114-106. Neither team is playing well right now. The Warriors have lost 4 of their last 5 and 9 of their last 11 games. Their last game was an embarrassing 114-93 blowout loss at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Timberwolves welcomed back Karl-Anthony Towns to Target Center in their previous game and proceeded to get blown out 133-107 to their former superstar. Anthony Edwards showed his frustrations after the game by questioning the team’s identity on offense in post-game interviews. “We don’t have any identity. We know I’m going to shoot a bunch of shots. We know Randle is going to shoot a bunch of shots. That’s all we know.”

Despite the tough loss to New York, the Timberwolves have been playing better compared to the beginning of the season. Minnesota has won 6 of their last 8 games, and their defense is once again beginning to look like a top unit in the NBA. In the past 10 games, Minnesota is once again ranked as the number one ranked defense in the NBA, and this is in large part due to the effort provided on that end by Rudy Gobert. Against New York, Gobert got played off the floor by the Knicks. In Gobert’s 22 minutes played, his plus/minus was -37. Based on Gobert’s play recently, this seems like an outlier instead of a trend. I expect Gobert to come out with a better effort tonight, and for Minnesota to answer the call of their star player against the struggling Golden State Warriors.

Warriors vs Wolves prediction: Minnesota -3 available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have been on fire of late. They have managed at least 115 points in 7 of their last 8 games and have surpassed the 120-point mark in each of their last 2 contests. Tonight, they will be taking on a Philadelphia 76ers team that will be holding out Joel Embiid. While they will miss his scoring here, it will mean that the offense will run through Tyrese Maxey. The 76ers are just 29th in pace over the last 10 games but with their superstar center out, they will not have a need to work the ball into the post. Do not be surprised to see their pace increase as a result. With the Cavaliers 10th in that category over that same stretch, they could be set to rope the 76ers into a fast back-and-forth game.

The Cavaliers offense has been clicking, ranking 7th in the league in offensive rating. In the previous meeting between the sides the 76ers struggled to contain the backcourt pair of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, who dropped 23 and 25 points, respectively. Without Embiid to deter them from driving in the paint, and Maxey being an undersized defender as a point guard, look for them to dominate proceedings once more. The Cavaliers have however been vulnerable in transition, with only 6 teams allowing more fast break points per game over the last 10. That will be an incentive for the 76ers to get out and run. It should help ensure there are enough possessions in this one for the over to hit.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Cleveland Cavaliers Predictions: Over 220.5 available at time of publishing. Playable to over 222. 

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The Los Angeles Clippers picked up a dominant 23-point road win in their last outing against the Dallas Mavericks and will be confident they can recreate that performance here in what will be the second straight game between the sides. The hosts were without the services of Luka Doncic in the previous game and he will remain unavailable on Saturday. Without him, the Mavericks managed just 95 points. While the return of Kyrie Irving should help, he is coming back from a shoulder injury, so his scoring could be impacted here if he is not at 100%. The last meeting between the sides was also the 4th straight game in which the Mavericks have given up at least 118 points to opponents. Irvings return would do little to change this.

Over the last 10 games the Clippers have been 9th in the NBA in defensive rating. They have active perimeter defenders in Kris Dunn, Norman Powell and Derick Jones Jr. who could all be used here to make life difficult for Irving. During that same stretch of games they are also 6th in the league in 3-point percentage. While the Mavericks have been leading the league in that category, they will struggle to create clean looks without the playmaking abilities of Doncic. That was evident in the last contest, where they made just 7 of 30 shots from beyond the arc. Let’s take the Clippers on the money line.

Los Angeles Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks Predictions: Los Angeles Clippers ML (+135) available at time of publishing.

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