NBA Picks

The Milwaukee Bucks head to Barclays Center to meet the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m. ET. These are two teams already eliminated from playoff contention, but whether a team has something to play for, or nothing to play for, there is still money to be made on games like these. The Bucks roll in with covers in four of the past five games, and the Over has cashed in three in a row, and six of the past eight games. Milwaukee has scored at least 113 points in four of the past five games, too, including a 119-113 loss at Houston, and a 127-113 loss at home to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Nets topped the equally inept Washington Wizards in a game somebody had to win, but they’re still just 2-12 SU in the past 14 games, while going a respectable 6-3 ATS. The Over has cashed in the past two games, with Brooklyn going for 114.0 points per game (PPG), while allowing 128.0 PPG in the span. As such, we’ll go with the Over for the total, as Brooklyn and Milwaukee aren’t exactly known for lockdown defense.

Over 220.5 (-110) at time of publishing. Playable to 222.

Last night’s loss in San Antonio by the Philadelphia 76ers gives the Charlotte Hornets now an opportunity to leap over them in the standings for the 7th seed. In order to achieve that though, they have to go into TD Garden and take down the Boston Celtics. LaMelo and co. have impressed with a 4-game win streak, scoring 120+ in 3 consecutive games, but I think we can all agree the Celtics are a different animal compared to the Nets, Suns, Pacers and Timberwolves. Charlotte has just 1 win in 8 meetings, while on the road in Boston they’ve won just twice in 17 visits. Coby White is the only potential absentee, the Hornets can base their optimism on their recent shooting from three-point land here. In their last 3 games they’ve knocked down 19, 24 and 18 threes.

The Celtics have been slightly less prolific from three-point land over their last 3 games, but they still won all 3 and are on a run of 8 wins in their last 10 outings. This team has exceeded expectations all season, but especially since Jayson Tatum came back. From an individual standpoint he has looked really solid, Boston fans are dreaming of another deep Playoff run and for good reason. They’ve also been a reliable bet lately, covering 6 times in their last 7 games, while against Eastern Conference opponents they’ve done it in 5 of 6 such games. Believe it or not there’s nobody listed on the injury report for this game, this is a rarity for any team at this point of the season, let alone the Celtics who played more than half of the year without their best player from last year.

This is a good test for both sides to see where they’re at in the final week of the regular season. Both meetings from earlier this year were blowout wins and on both occasions we saw the road team come out on top. I think it’s time we see a home win in this series, Boston has been reliable enough to warrant our trust here. Charlotte’s high octane offense will work on most nights, but on most nights in the NBA you face mediocre defenses these days. The Celtics are anything but mediocre on that end, let’s back them to come out on top here.

Charlotte Hornets vs Boston Celtics Predictions: Celtics -5.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Fresh off their 35-point win over the Utah Jazz, the OKC Thunder are headed to Los Angeles for a date with the all of a sudden injury riddled Lakers. I’ll be the 4th meeting of the season between the two sides, OKC has won all 3 by a combined 81 points. So in theory they should be blowing the Lakers out again, right? There’s still no room for complacency as the number 1 seed still hasn’t been secured, a win her gets the defending champs an inch closer to achieving that goal. This team has won 9 in a row vs West opponents and is 5-1 ATS/SU in 6 meetings with the Lakers.

In their first game since Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves’ injuries the Lakers fell on the road to the lowly Dallas Mavericks. LeBron did his best with 30 points, 15 assists and 9 rebounds, and while he did gets some help from his teammates offensively, there was not much the Lakers could do about Cooper Flagg in that loss. We learned a lot from that loss on Sunday, moving forward LA will depend quite a lot on James to carry the offensive burden. The game in Dallas saw him record 117 touches total – his most in a game since 2021. Is that strategy sustainable moving forward for the 41-year old? I have my reservations about that, especially before a game against the defending champs.

I expect the Lakers to come out with a ton of energy here, the home crowd is their only hope of keeping this game reasonably close. But in the end the Thunder are just way better. Even with Jalen Williams out injured, they should run this team over. They’ve beaten them by more than 17 points twice already this season, the Lakers were in much better shape in both those losses compare to what we’ll get from them on Tuesday. I’m backing the Thunder to cover the big spread.

OKC Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers Predictions: Thunder -16 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

This is the spot where I’m willing to fade the better overall record and take the hungrier side. Detroit is 57-21 and already clinched the top seed in the East with Saturday’s 116-93 win in Philadelphia. Orlando, meanwhile, is 42-36, sits ninth in the East and just won its third game in 4 tries by rallying from 15 points down to beat New Orleans. Why? Because the Magic want to avoid the play-in tournament altogether. The motivational gap is real and the records don’t reflect this. The line, however, does.

There is also a style argument for the ‘dog. Detroit has been excellent all year, but its edge is usually built through physicality, rebounding and depth. Orlando can answer that on its own floor, and its defensive profile is the right kind to make this ugly enough to put them in punching reach. Detroit is averaging 117.5 points to Orlando’s 115.1, but the Magic protect the ball a little better and get to the line more efficiently. In other words, the Magic can outmuscle the Pistons. I am taking Orlando outright.

Pistons vs Magic prediction: Orlando ML (+135) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to face the Memphis Grizzlies on in a matchup between a playoff caliber contender and a rebuilding team. Cleveland enters at 49-29 and is pushing for playoff positioning, coming off a 117-108 win over Indiana behind Donovan Mitchell’s 38 points. The Cavaliers have been one of the more efficient offensive teams in the league, thriving in half court sets while maintaining defensive balance. Recently, Cleveland has leaned into a more controlled tempo, focusing on shot selection and limiting turnovers rather than playing at a fast pace.

Memphis enters in poor form, losing 17 of its last 19 games and coming off a 131-115 loss to Milwaukee. The Grizzlies have struggled defensively and continue to deal with roster inconsistency, leading to frequent breakdowns on both ends. While they have shown occasional offensive flashes, consistency remains a major issue against stronger teams. With Cleveland likely to control tempo and operate efficiently in the half court, this matchup sets up for a game with slower flow. Given Memphis’ struggles to sustain offense against structured defenses and Cleveland’s preference for controlling pace, this projects as a lower-scoring game.

Cavaliers vs Grizzlies prediction: Under 234 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to 233.

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I was really disappointed with the effort of the 76ers in their last game, as they lost to the Detroit Pistons 116-93. A portion of that defeat could be attributed to the fact that Philly was playing on a back end of a back-to-back scenario, but I still didn’t expect them to get blown out by a Cade Cunningham-less Pistons team at home like that. Monday sees the Sixers face an even more difficult challenge, as they head to San Antonio for a date with Victor Wembanyama and the high-scoring Spurs. San Antonio blew them out by 40 points in the first meeting about a month ago; in that game the Sixers were without Joel Embiid and Paul George.

San Antono’s 11-game winning streak was halted by the Denver Nuggets over the weekend in a narrow 2-point OT loss. It was an impressive offensive display from both sides, but in the end the experience of the Nuggets gave them the edge — as did Nikola Jokic, who had 40 points, 8 rebounds and 13 assists. Wembanyama also responded with a 34-point, 18-rebound, 7-assist and 5-block performance, adding to this MVP case. However, with 4 games remaining and the Thunder now seemingly pulling away with the top seed, it’s very unlikely the Frenchman gets the crown this time around. I do not anticipate the Spurs rolling over here, though, as they are still playing games like their lives depend on it. I’m expecting a max effort from their side.

I was really impressed with the shooting display by the Spurs in their last game despite the loss to Denver. The Sixers have shown glimpses of brilliance lately with their Big 3 back and playing together, but it’s still not consistent enough to warrant my belief in them that they can get a result against a quality team like San Antonio. I’ll take the home team.

76ers vs Spurs prediction: San Antonio -8.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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The Denver Nuggets dominated the Portland Trail Blazers the last 2 times these sides met, picking up 16 and 54-point wins. They are coming into this home matchup in great form, with their 8-game winning streak being the longest current one in the NBA. They have found some health of late, too, with their usual starting 5 all available for this contest. The same cannot be said for the visitors, with Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharp both being listed as out. While the Trail Blazers are riding a 3-game winning streak, themselves, they have had issues on the road this season with an 18-21 record.

The Nuggets have been in incredible offensive form, leading the league in points per game over the last 10 contests. They are up against a Trail Blazers team that is top in defensive rating during that time. Donovan Clingan is a major part of that, helping them reduce opponents to the seventh-fewest paint points. However, this will be his hardest matchup of the season up against Nikola Jokic. The former MVP has been lethal from beyond the arc against the Trail Blazers this season, making 46.7% of his 3-point attempts. That should help vacate the paint, allowing the rest of the starters to flourish. With the Blazers down in 17th in offensive rating over the last 10 games, they have not shown the required firepower to keep pace. I’m backing Denver to cover.

Trail Blazers vs Nuggets prediction: Denver -8.5 (-105) available at time of publishing. Playable to -9.

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