NBA Picks

The Boston Celtics travel to meet the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the C’s look to maintain their mastery of the Cavs. Boston has won each of the first two meetings this season, including a 117-115 victory in the most recent meeting on Nov. 30 in Cleveland, as the Celtics won outright as a 7.5-point underdog. The Under has cashed in each of the two games, too, while going 4-1 in the past five installments in the series. Boston has won seven of the past eight meetings, while covering three of the past four encounters.

Jayson Tatum has made his way back for the Celtics on Friday, playing in his season debut after recovering from an Achilles injury. Boston blasted Dallas 120-100 as a 15.5-point favorite on Friday, as Tatum was good for 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists with three 3-pointers. C Neemias Queta also went off for 16 points and 15 rebounds with a block. For the Cavs, they topped the Detroit Pistons 113-109 as a 2.5-point underdog at home on Tuesday despite Donovan Mitchell continuing to miss time with a groin. Jaylon Tyson stepped up with 22 points, including five 3-pointers, while swatting two shots. But, to beat Boston, especially back at full staff with Tatum, the Cavs need Spida. Even then, Boston seems to have Cleveland’s number.

Celtics -1 (-110) at time of publishing. Playable to -2.5 (-110).

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The New York Knicks have won 4 of their last 5 games heading into a showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers inside Crypto.com Arena in L.A. on Sunday afternoon. New York is playing stellar basketball, with only a 3-point loss to defending NBA champion Oklahoma City during this 5-game stretch. I expect momentum to continue, so my Knicks vs Lakers pick is for the visitors to win and cover. New York’s current 5-game road trip could not have started any better, as it absolutely humiliated Denver 142-103 on Friday night. Karl-Anthony Towns extended his double-double streak to 5 games with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while OG Anunoby delivered 34 points. It’s also worth noting that the Knicks’ fine form has been showing for a long time now, as they are also 16-5 SU in their last 21 overall. This can be explained in part by the fact that they have never been healthier this season than they are right now. Miles McBride (out until the playoffs following core muscle surgery) is the only player on the roster with any kind of injury designation.

Los Angeles is mostly healthy, too, although Deandre Ayton is questionable for Sunday with a knee problem. LeBron James (elbow) is probable. LeBron, however, has not been playing particularly well. The 41-year-old has been held under his season-long points per game average (21.4 ppg) in 6 of 8 contests since the all-star break. Ayton has been pretty much useless in recent weeks, so the Lakers can’t feel good about their presence down low regardless of his status. The Lakers are just 6-6 in their last 12 games; their relative struggles are likely to continue against such a red-hot and confident opponent.

Knicks vs Lakers prediction: New York -3.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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For the Rockets, Sunday’s game is massive. Their form has been up and down lately, exchanging wins and losses in their last 5 outings. Despite failing to master consistency in this period, they have been able to keep hold of the third seed — mainly because the Nuggets have also struggled a bit in this period. Playing the Spurs will be a proper test. The Rockets’ only win against them this season came at home, so they are looking to even things out as far as the regular-season series goes.

We witnessed the comeback for the ages by the San Antonio Spurs in their last game, as they overcame a 25-point deficit and beat their former star Kawhi Leonard and his Clippers. That performance has the league on notice; San Antonio means business. Victor Wembanyama has been playing extremely well since the break. He delivered 27 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks in just 22 minutes against the Clippers. His matchup with Alperen Sengun down low could decide the outcome of Sunday’s game against the Rockets.

I find it hard to bet against the Spurs these days, no matter who the opponent is and no matter how big the spread is. For Sunday against the Rockets, the number is at 5 points — which is very reasonable considering that the Spurs’ 2 head-to-head wins have come by 11 and 12 points. Playing at home will also be a boost; in 29 games there, Wemby and company are a dominant 23-6 SU. I’ll back San Antonio.

Rockets vs Spurs prediction: San Antonio -5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The hottest team in the league got cooled off a bit in its last game with Charlotte’s 128-120 home loss to Miami. The loss ended a historic streak of 6 wins in a row by double-digits, but the Hornets won’t be discouraged after that result as they head into Phoenix for a date with the shorthanded Suns. Charlotte’s turnaround this season has been very impressive — so much that it now goes into games as a favorite on a regular basis — even against teams that have better records. Over the years, the Hornets have not had the best of times in head-to-head meetings with Phoenix — winning only once in 9 such games.

Phoenix snagged a narrow 2-point win over the Pelicans earlier this week despite that game being the second night of a back-to-back. That is very encouraging for a team that has battled a lot of injuries lately — and with Dillon Brooks still being out due to a hand isse. Devin Booker is back and leading the charge offensively, so a lot will depend on his performance in Sunday’s game. It’s not often you get the Suns as home underdogs. For a long time they were the league’s most reliable ATS team this season, but just recently the Hornets actually overtook them. Phoenix is a far better home team than the one that goes out on the road — it is 21-13 SU in 34 games at the Mortgage Matchup Center.

The way the Hornets have been playing lately, it’s going to be hard to overlook them here for a lot of people. However, taking into account that some of those big wins during the streak came against tanking teams and the fact that the Suns have the superior head-to-head record, I’m going to lean Phoenix — but just barely.

Hornets vs Suns prediction: Phoenix +4.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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