Our free NBA Picks are out for Sunday, November 21st, 2021! Make sure you check our NBA Picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free NBA Picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!
Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Clippers – 3:30pm ET
The Los Angeles Clippers host the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon in a rematch of both the 2020 and 2021 opening round series, which the Clippers won both of. This is also a contest that will see which team will get to 10 wins first. The Clips are 9-6 while the Mavs are 9-5,
Denis Kirilov
Both teams are off to a great start this campaign as they find themselves in the top 5 of the Western Conference. However, both the Mavs and the Clippers lost their past two fixtures. Dallas had tough meetings in the Footprint Center in Phoenix where they were defeated twice by the Suns. The Clippers suffered losses to the Grizzlies and to the Pelicans in two consecutive days. They will now look to bounce back in Staples Center as they are 7-3 at home for the season. The Mavericks are 3-5 on the road and they will try to get their first major win far away from home.
Luka Doncic will miss the game against the Clippers and this will surely have an impact on their overall performance. The main players for LA will be present with Reggie Jackson and Paul George leading the roster. I think both teams have underperformed in their most recent matches and this will affect their meeting tomorrow. That’s why I will go with the option for “under points” as I believe that’s how their head-to-head games will look without Luka Doncic and Kawhi Leonard.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Under 215.5 (-110)
Ready to play. Ready to perform. @sergeibaka is back. pic.twitter.com/W7WHEFHSKF
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 21, 2021
Michael Lantz
After the Clippers got off to a great 8-4 start without Kawhi Leonard in the lineup, they’ve gotten into a recent funk and now look like a team that desperately needs the two-time Finals MVP. They’ve suffered defeats to the Grizzlies and Pelicans; both by double-digits. The Clippers now get ready for two straight games against a Dallas Mavericks squad that may or may not have superstar Luka Doncic at their expense.
Since Luka Doncic went down with an ankle injury last week, the Mavericks supporting cast just haven’t quite had what it takes to pull off a big win. Luckily, the Mavericks may have some good news coming their way. Doncic has been upgraded to questionable ahead of Sunday’s game against the Clippers. Even if Doncic is back, I don’t expect him to be at 100%, which means the Clippers should have no problem handling the rest of the Mavs cast, with or without an injured Luka.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Los Angeles Clippers (-156)
Noah Dunlap
Both of these teams have had decent, if not great starts to the season, but one of them is healthier than the other at the moment. With Luka Doncic being out, and still being set to miss this one against LA, I’m not sure how much faith you can put into Dallas to play well enough to go into LA and get the win.
It doesn’t help that the Clippers have lost two in a row, one to the Grizzlies and one inexplicably to the Pelicans, and I think they look to take out some frustration on a depleted Mavericks team. With Paul George playing pretty well, I think LA gets a bit more help from a few of their role players, and they ultimately cruise to a relatively easy win over Dallas.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Los Angeles Clippers -3.5 (-110)
Los Angeles Lakers @ Detroit Pistons – 6pm ET
Following a tough loss to the Celtics on Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers continue their road trip against the struggling Detroit Pistons. The Lakers are underperforming at 8-9 while the Pistons are right about where people expected them to be, at 4-11.
Denis Kirilov
The Los Angeles Lakers have been the disappointment in the NBA so far. Alongside with the Milwaukee Bucks, they are the other team that shows far less than their 100% potential. It’s quite clear that without LeBron James the team will have troubles this campaign, but they will need to make some amendments in order to deal with that. After missing a total of 8 games, the “King” made his comeback against the Boston Celtics in a game where Jayson Tatum posted a double-double with 37 points and 11 rebounds. The Celtics eventually won the game by 22 points which further worsened the situation within the Lakers.
The host in this game, the Detroit Pistons, will try to climb the ladder in the East as they find themselves in 14th place with just 4 wins out of 15 matches. They had some success in their most recent matches defeating strong teams like the Indiana Pacers and the Toronto Raptors. However, everyone expects the Pistons to be one of the weakest teams in the NBA this year. I believe this is a “must win” for the Lakers as if they lose this one, they will go on a 4-game losing streak and the fans in Staples Center won’t be quite happy with everything. They are also looking to get their second week away from home as they are 1-4 so far this campaign. My pick here goes to the Lakers.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Los Angeles Lakers (-310)
Michael Lantz
On Friday night, the Lakers were thrilled to have LeBron James back in action. What they weren’t thrilled about was losing to the rival Boston Celtics by 22. Especially when that Celtics team didn’t have Jaylen Brown. But, the Lakers must move on and they’ll luckily get to face off against a poor Detroit Pistons squad.
But, let’s not count the Pistons out yet. This young Detroit team took the 14-2 Golden State Warriors to the brink losing 102-105. Prior to that, they beat an offensive-heavy Indians Pacers team 97-89. So it’s safe to say, you shouldn’t sleep on the Detroit Pistons. That being said, the Lakers will lose their big loss to the Celtics as a chip on their shoulder. I expect them to bounce back against the Pistons.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Los Angeles Lakers -7.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Initially, I told myself I wouldn’t make any positive picks surrounding the Lakers until they decided to play better basketball, and then I saw this matchup against Detroit and realized that I had to change my opinion. While LA has looked atrocious at times this year, with or without LeBron in the lineup, I still think they’re a team that just has too much talent than to come out and slip up to Detroit.
While the Pistons have been playing far above their talent level over the past few games, it doesn’t change the fact that the team isn’t very good, and lacks the depth to continue to keep up this play that exceeds the roster’s should-be limitations. I expect the Lakers to take out some serious pent up frustration out on a Detroit team that simply gets put in the bad situation of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when it comes to this one, and I think LeBron and company absolutely maul the Pistons in blowout fashion.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Los Angeles Lakers -7.5 (-110)
New York Knicks @ Chicago Bulls – 8pm ET
Two of the top five teams in the East square off as the Chicago Bulls return home to host the New York Knicks. The Bulls defeated the Nuggets on Friday to end their five-game trip 3-2, while the Knicks only just scraped past the Rockets last night.
Denis Kirilov
The New York Knicks will try to repeat what they did in late October when they defeated the Chicago Bulls in United Center. The Bulls ended the game with a 12-0 run, but they didn’t manage to make one of the most impressive comebacks for this season, losing eventually by just a single point. The Knicks won the game as they scored much more off the bench than Chicago. Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, Taj Gibson, and Obi Toppin were among the reasons why the “Big Apple” defeated the “Windy City”.
The Chicago Bulls seem to be quite on fire as they occupy the 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with 11 wins and 5 losses, while the Knicks follow them in 7th place with 8 wins out of 15 matches. The main difference between the upcoming fixture and their previous one would be the absence of the Bulls’ center, Nikola Vucevic. Taj Gibson is the only uncertainty for Tom Thibodeau ahead of this game. I think that even without their starting center, the Bulls will take what’s theirs from this matchup and they will do it in high fashion covering the spread.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls -5 (-110)
Where would the Knicks be without Immanuel Quickley?
🎥 @nyknicks pic.twitter.com/HcJlZCft2i
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) November 20, 2021
Michael Lantz
The New York Knicks ended the week on a positive note, beating the Houston Rockets 106-99. Yes, the Rockets only have one win, but that doesn’t mean they were an automatic loss against a Knicks team that’s lost two out of three against the Orlando Magic. The Knicks are hoping to come up big in a game with playoff implications as they face the Chicago bulls at home.
When the Knicks and the Bulls played earlier in the season, it was an instant classic. It ended up being a one-point victory for the Knicks, but not before the Bulls came back and made it a game to remember. Now the Bulls will look for payback as they face a Knicks team that started 5-1, but have been inconsistent since. A big factor in the prior matchup was Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic, who scored 22 points and hauled in 8 rebounds. He’ll be absent in this rematch due to COVID, and I expect the Knicks to go inside to exploit that. The Bulls will once again make it close, but I expect the Knicks to walk away from the United Center with a win.
Michael’s NBA Pick: New York Knicks (+172)
Noah Dunlap
In their second meeting of the year, the Bulls will seek to even up the series at one game each, after losing their first matchup against the Knicks by one, early in the year. Both of these squads are current playoff teams, with Chicago looking like one of the best teams in the league behind the new additions of Lonzo Ball and DeMar Derozan to go along with Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. The down side of this for the Bulls is that Vucevic is out for this one against New York.
As for the Knicks, after a hot start, they came back down to earth, yet they’re still holding onto the 7-seed in the East currently. Behind the play of Julius Randle, they’re hoping to keep up the hopes of managing to become a high seed in this year’s postseason, but I don’t think it comes in this one. I think Chicago uses depth to sneak by New York in this one, in a game that ends up similar to the first meeting, as one that comes down to the wire.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls (-205)
Denver Nuggets @ Phoenix Suns – 8pm ET
The Phoenix Suns just keep winning, with their streak now at 11 games, however they host a side that is one of just three teams to beat them this year, the Denver Nuggets. However, while the Nuggets have beaten the Suns before, they have dropped three straight games and now get on the road to hope to turn things around.
Denis Kirilov
The Denver Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns are among the top teams in the NBA in recent years. The Suns’ revolution began in 2015 when they selected Devin Booker as a 13th pick in the draft. He started developing his game and grew as a player which first had an effect in the 2019-20 season when they improved from 19 wins in 2019 to 34 wins in 2020. They missed on the Playoffs, but the best was yet to come for them. By acquiring Cameron Payne and Chris Paul, they managed to reach the NBA Finals where they lost to the Bucks in a 6-game affair. They have been breaking records since 2020 and they are on a 11-game winning streak ahead of this game. The Suns have been quite dominant in recent times and it will be very hard for the Nuggets to get past them for a second time this year.
Denver started off quite well with 9 wins and 4 losses, but suffered defeats in their past 3 games. It would not have been such a big thing, if they hadn’t lost these matches by a huge margin. The Mavericks and the 76ers didn’t give them a chance, while the game with the Bulls might have been tight until the end, but I think most of the people following the match had the right idea how it would end. Nikola Jokic has been playing on a very high level during the Nuggets’ opening games, but he eventually suffered a wrist injury and he is put on day-to-day monitoring. Aaron Gordon and Will Barton might be amazing players, but they have difficulties in carrying the team without their two superstars – Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. I think that this will be a one-sided show where the Suns will take the lead early in the game and won’t give it away until the end.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Phoenix Suns -7.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
As corny as it sounds: the Phoenix Suns are simply on fire. The defending Western Conference champions are winners of eleven straight as they take on the Denver Nuggets at home on Sunday night. Phoenix has been incredibly balanced during this process, working their way up to a top-five team in points per game, while sitting as a top-ten team in opponent field goal percentage as well. They look to continue their two-way play against a Denver Nuggets team that may or may not have defending MVP Nikola Jokic in their lineup.
Whether he is or not, I just don’t see the Suns dropping this game to the Nuggets with all the weapons they have on their bench. Not only is the team getting big results from the usual suspects of Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton, but they also are getting some helpful scoring from Cam Johnson, Javale McGee, and Cam Payne.
I just don’t see the Nuggets having a chance in this one against all the scoring options for the Suns; especially in “The Valley”. I’ll pick the Suns to get 12 straight and continue to show their one year dominating the Western Conference in 2020-21, was no joke.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Phoenix Suns -7.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
The Denver Nuggets have some serious issues. Despite being one of the better teams in the NBA, they come into this one on a three-game losing streak, and they look worse than that. Some of the issues revolve around injuries, including Nikola Jokic being day-to-day, but the injuries don’t explain everything. Until they seem to fix some of these problems, I’d be wary of taking them to win anything.
With Phoenix, they started the year slow, but have since seemed to find their rhythm and are beginning to look more like the team that ended up making it to the the NBA Finals last season. With Devin Booker playing well, to go along with DeAndre Ayton and Cameron Johnson adding quality minutes, I don’t see a way that the Suns don’t come out on top in this one. I’d be hesitant on picking the spread, because I’m not convinced the margin of victory comes close to the 7.5 number, but I would feel comfortable getting what you can with a Phoenix moneyline.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Phoenix Suns (-330)
Toronto Raptors @ Golden State Warriors – 8:30pm ET
In a rematch of the 2019 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors host the Toronto Raptors. While the Warriors have been the best team so far this season, with only two losses, the Raptors have cooled off of late, going just 4-6 over their last 10 games.
Denis Kirilov
The Golden State Warriors have been dreaming about this moment ever since their loss in the 2019 NBA Finals when Nick Nurse outclassed Steve Kerr in a 6-game fiasco. The Warriors are once again back in top form and they are looking to make their statement early on this season. Steph Curry displays an MVP performance in the first 16 games as he solely leads his team to the first place in the West with 14 wins and 2 losses. They are, without a doubt, the most dominant team in the NBA and it seems they might give it a shot at their 73-9 record, no matter how impossible it sounds at the moment. Klay Thomson’s return is expected to be soon, right before Christmas, and I am sure that everyone in Chase Center will cherish this moment. However, this match promises to be problematic for the Warriors as they will be without Curry, Iguodala, Green, and Porter. They will need to trust Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole to continue their streak.
The Raptors, on the other hand, find it hard to be the competitive team from 2019 when they had Kawhi Leonard in their squad. Although the rest of the roster hasn’t changed a lot, it seems that Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam will need some help from their teammates to come close to this magnificent form from 2-3 years ago. At the moment, they are 11th in the East with 8 wins and 9 losses. The Warriors will be eager to take revenge not only for the Finals in 2019, but also for the 53-point loss last year. However, I think that the Raptors have the capacity to overcome the challenge of the Warriors yet once again and I will go for the upset here.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Toronto Raptors (+270)
NBA teams that have scored at least 100 points in every game this season:
– The Golden State Warriors pic.twitter.com/UTrYXspufQ
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 20, 2021
Michael Lantz
In a rematch of the 2019 NBA Finals, the Toronto Raptors travel to the Bay Area to take on the Golden State Warriors. Golden State currently owns the best record in the NBA at 14-2, as they’ve dominated on both offense and defense. Meanwhile, the Raptors have been a team of highs and lows.
Just a little over a week ago, the Raptors were 7-6 and were seen as one of the NBA’s grittiest teams. Then they lost three straight, even with a previously injured Pascal Siakam back in the lineup. After those tough losses, the Raptors came away with a big win on Friday night as they beat the Kings 108-89. Can they carry that over and beat the league’s best team? With the ebay Golden State has been playing, it’s hard to say. The Raptors may not get a win, but the +8 spread is too good to pass up.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Toronto Raptors +8 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Golden State has been the best team in basketball this season, and is slowly beginning to resemble the teams from 4-6 years ago that were some of the most dominant in NBA history. The idea that they’ve jumped out to a 14-2 record without Klay Thompson should scare the rest of the league, as assuming Klay comes back healthy in the next few weeks, I expect the Warriors to get even better.
With Toronto, they showed the potential to play arguably better than the roster they are currently putting out should be able to play. As a whole, they’ve been decent this year without being great, and the question becomes which Toronto team shows up in this one. With Golden State putting out a roster that is without Steph, Andre Igoudala, Draymond Green, or Otto Porter, I like the Raptors to come out and get a win that normally I don’t think they’d be able to pull off.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Toronto Raptors (+270)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
