NBA Picks

After winning the game in Indiana, where we saw one of the craziest endings ever to an NBA regular season game, the Clippers have now won 4 games in a row and are in prime position to make it 5 straight when they visit the lowly Bucks on Sunday. LA is at full strength for the most part, and they smoked the Bucks 129-96 in the first meeting of the season about a week ago in LA. They forced 22 turnovers in that win, with Kawhi Leonard going off for 28 points in 25 mins played. That’ll be the recipe for success in Sunday’s game as well, Milwaukee is averaging 19.7 turnovers per game in their last 3 outings.

Yesterday’s defeat to the Spurs means that the Bucks have mathematically been eliminated from making the play-in tournament and now the seasons is pretty much over. The last 3 losses have been by 32, 31 and 33 points, and considering the line-up head coach Doc Rivers is putting out there, it’s not at all surprising. Playing on a 2nd night of a back-to-back won’t do the Bucks any favors either here; there could be some tired legs out there on Sunday vs the Clippers. Recent games against Western Conference opponents tell us they’ve covered just once in 6 outings, while in games played on a Sunday this team is only 1-5 ATS.

All the signs are pointing to a convincing win for LA here, and after watching that Spurs vs Bucks game yesterday, I cannot justify backing the Bucks to cover here — even if the spread is at almost 15 points. Leonard and co. have won 6 straight vs East teams; hopefully they can guard against complacency here and get the job done vs a shorthanded Bucks side.

Clippers vs Bucks Predictions: LA Clippers -14 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The case for the under starts with the matchup. Toronto’s season profile is more defense-first than the market sometimes gives credit for. The Raptors are averaging 113.9 points per game, but allowing just 112.4, which ranks in the top 10 in points allowed; Orlando is scoring 115.7 ppg and allowing 114.8 ppg. These are teams that live in the margins and love a good old rock fight.

The matchup itself can bog down, and evidence supports this hypothesis. One meeting this season already in the Great White North finished 107-106. A higher-scoring 130-120 Orlando win in January required massive fourth-quarter offensive spike that was atypical for both combatants. Stylistically overall, neither side is built to consistently generate easy offense in this matchup. Orlando can stagnate in the half court. Toronto, meanwhile, has dealt with inconsistency in shot creation and often relies on grinding out possessions rather than flowing offensively. This creates a game environment where scoring runs are difficult to sustain. With both teams leaning on defense-first identities and capable of dragging pace down, this sets up as a physical, half-court game where every bucket is earned which are ideal conditions for the under.

Magic vs Raptors prediction: Under (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to number.

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Back-to-back wins over the Thunder and Hawks must have felt really good for the Celtics, who are looking to stay in control of the #2 seed in the East. Sunday sees them travel to Charlotte for a date with the Hornets, as they look to avenge a 29-point loss to them from earlier this month. Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta are all on the injury report though, so we’re not certain which version of the Celtics shows up here. The fact that the Knicks are just 1.5 games back in the #3 seed raises the sense of urgency for the Cs, so I think most of those players will gut it out and try to play here.

Charlotte suffered an unexpected loss vs Philadelphia last night, which ended a 5-game win streak. They were caught a bit by surprise with the return of Tyrese Maxey, and we once again got proof that the Sixers will be a tough out for whoever gets them in the postseason if their big 3 is healthy. So far this season playing with no rest hasn’t been an issue for these young Hornets, they are 10-4 SU in 14 such games. However, it’s been a struggle in recent home games against Boston with just 1 win in 8 meetings at Spectrum Center.

I’m hoping all these injuries or the Celtics players are minor and that their team shows up in this game. If that’s the case, I think they’ll be very motivated to get one back over the Hornets who thrashed them the last time they played each other. Knowing the mentality of head coach Mazzulla and his players, that loss has been stuck in their heads ever since it happened. I’ll back the Celtics to get revenge here.

Celtics vs Hornets Predictions: Boston Celtics -1 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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On the surface, Oklahoma City looks like the superior team, but this is a far more difficult matchup for them than the market suggests. The Thunder thrive on chaos: forcing turnovers, getting out in transition, and generating easy offense off defensive pressure. That’s where New York quietly neutralizes them. The Knicks are one of the better ball-control teams in the league. They don’t beat themselves, ranking near the top in limiting turnovers relative to OKC’s pressure-heavy defense. That matters because Oklahoma City’s biggest edge is forcing mistakes and that gets blunted here. If they’re forced into half-court offense consistently, the dynamic shifts.

New York also has a clear advantage on the glass. They rank significantly higher in offensive rebounding and overall rebounding volume, creating second-chance opportunities while limiting OKC to one shot. That’s a critical equalizer against a team with elite efficiency. We’ve already seen how thin the margin is when OKC edged New York 103-100 in a grind-it-out game that required overtime. In this kind of environment, the underdog has real upset pop. I am taking the plunge – Knicks outright.

Knicks vs Thunder prediction: New York Knicks ML (+300) available at time of publishing. Playable to the number or better.