Our free NBA picks are out for Friday, January 28th, 2022! Make sure you check our NBA picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free NBA picks for the best five games on today’s schedule!
Los Angeles Clippers @ Miami Heat – 8pm ET
The mammoth road trip continues on for the Los Angeles Clippers and on Friday night they take on the Miami Heat. The Clippers are currently on a two game winning streak, after they won against the Wizards and Magic. The Heat have a season record of 31-17, and they are also on a two game winning streak.
Denis Kirilov
The Los Angeles Clippers take on the Miami Heat in one of the most anticipating games for Friday night in the NBA. The two teams will surely have high ambitions later this season as both of them are looking to grab the title. The Clippers, however, are still without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard who are expected to make their return before the kick-off of the Playoffs. This will be the sixth straight match on the road for the team from Los Angeles as they managed to win three out of five games so far. Amir Coffey has been their most improved player this year as he found a way to shine on the court with his skills and quickness.
The Miami Heat, on the other hand, are looking to continue their winning streak at home after being victorious in their last four meetings at FTX Arena. The Heat were able to use most of their roster recently as Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo made a full recovery for the team from Florida. Their impact on the court has been huge, helping Miami defeat some of the toughest competitors including the Hawks, the Suns, the Lakers, and the Knicks. I think that this won’t be a close game as Clippers regularly fail to deliver against the top teams in the NBA this season. Hence, my pick here goes in favour of the Heat as I support them in covering the spread.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Miami Heat -6.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
Even with no Kawhi Leonard and Paul George only playing a little over half the team’s games this season, the Los Angeles Clippers have continued to find a way to win, including a 35-point comeback on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards. They followed that with a dominant win over the lowly Orlando Magic. But with George potentially needing surgery, the Clippers will have very little margin for error going forward. With teams like the Los Angeles Lakers getting back to full strength and breathing down their neck, they’ll need the likes of Reggie Jackson, Nic Batum, and Amir Coffey to keep having big games going forward.
Duncan’s last 3 games – 18 3s (56.3%)
25pts (7) vs NYK, 25pts (6) vs LAL, 19pts (5) vs ATL pic.twitter.com/RVV1jGnlAm
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 27, 2022
On Friday, they’ll be tested against a Miami Heat that currently sits in first place in the Eastern Conference. They’ve gone 8-2 in their last ten and with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler now healthy, they look to increase their lead over their Eastern Conference rivals. Miami is currently one of the top defences in the NBA and with some of their depth getting quality playing time during Adebayo and Butler’s absences, they’ve become arguably the league’s most complete team. In this battle of two teams that haven’t let injuries control their fates, I’ll go with the Heat, who’ve been great at home and are really starting to thrive thanks to being healthy.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Miami Heat -6.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
The Los Angeles Clippers are staying afloat, which is honestly probably the best way to describe their season to this point. There were reasonably high hopes coming into the year, but with Kawhi Leonard still not returning, their roster is already down one star. And now to make matters worse, they’ve been without Paul George for roughly a month, and it’s expected to be at least a few more weeks before he is able to return as well. Despite the injuries to their stars, they’re hanging around the playoff hunt, and have continued to play decent basketball, as they enter this one on a two game winning streak.
Now they travel down to South Beach to continue their road trip, to take on the one seed in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat. The Heat have faced numerous obstacles this year, as virtually everyone on their roster has missed time here or there, including Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, and Bam Adebayo, but even with all of this they’ve proven that all they do is win. Now, with virtually everyone back healthy and in the lineup, I like Miami to try to go on a run and show why it is that they should be considered a title contender. As for this matchup, with PG13 and Kawhi still being out for Los Angeles, I’m just not sure where the Clips find advantages in terms of position by position, so give me the Heat and the points at home.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Miami Heat -6.5 (-110)
Utah Jazz @ Memphis Grizzlies – 8pm ET
The Utah Jazz kick off a two game road trip and their first stop is Memphis when they take on the Grizzlies. The Jazz are currently on a three game losing streak, as they have losses to the Warriors and Suns (twice). The Grizzlies have won three of their last six games, which takes their season record to 33-17.
Denis Kirilov
The Utah Jazz took a serious hit in January. After what were really promising first 30 games for the season, the team started losing grip after the beginning of the new year. They were placed 3rd in the West as they were erasing the gap between themselves and the first two teams. Their enormous lead over the 4th place of the Grizzlies has vanished after Memphis went on an 11-game winning streak. Their closest rivals also managed to get close to them after the Jazz lost 9 games in their last 11 appearances. The team has been struggling without Rudy Gobert for a couple of matches, while they were also without Donovan Mitchell who suffered a concussion.
The Memphis Grizzlies have been spectacular this whole season. The team managed to successfully fight off against some of the best teams in the NBA which helped them climb the ladder in the Western Conference. They are now 3rd with 33 wins and 17 losses and are getting closer and closer to securing a spot in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. The team has lost some of their last games ahead of this fixture as they were defeated by the Dallas Mavericks and the Milwaukee Bucks on the road. I believe that Desmond Bane and Ja Morant will be able to lift the team just enough to surpass the Utah Jazz on Friday night in FedExForum.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies (-146)
Michael Lantz
In this battle between the Western Conference’s third and fourth seeds, the Utah Jazz travel to Tennessee to take on the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis’ rise to dominance has been one of the more exhilarating headlines this season, as this young team has gone on two separate double-digit win streaks this season. Ja Morant is playing his way into superstardom as he’s averaging 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists on the season. The team will look to have him continue his hot run of play and they’ll also be thrilled to have Desmond Bane back from COVID protocols. Bane returned on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs, scoring 20 points. The Grizzlies will look to put away a Utah Jazz team on Friday that has some uncertainties surrounding them.
Just about a month ago, the Utah Jazz looked like they were inching toward the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors as one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, a series of injuries and COVID cases have brought them down as they’ve largely been without Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell both together and individually. Despite the Jazz having tremendous depth, they’ve looked a bit lost when these two have missed games. Mitchell is questionable for this matchup against the Grizzlies while Gobert should continue to be out. Even though the Grizzlies will be missing Dillon Brooks and Kyle Anderson, they should be just fine as they’ve been just fine when Morant, Bane and big man Jaren Jackson Jr. all play together. I’ll pick Memphis to cover.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies -3 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
This matchup has the potential to be the best game of the night in the NBA, as we get two top-tier teams in the West fighting for playoff position, and trying to show why they both should be considered potential title contenders. For Utah, they’ve struggled a lot as of late, although I do think it’s somewhat excused, as in their last three they have losses to Phoenix twice, and Golden State once. Those are arguable the two best teams in the league, so that just goes down as a brutal stretch to their schedule. And to make matters worse, they’ve been without their two best players a lot recently, as both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell have missed pretty substantial time for different reasons.
On the other side, the Memphis Grizzlies have been one of the biggest surprises in the league, coming into this one sitting as the third seed in the West, largely led by Ja Morant, who was just named an All-Star starter. They’re also getting help from guys like Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr, who have been great in their roles, when they’re on the floor. This help has shown that this is a Grizz team led by one of the best players in the league, but also having a young, talented roster that can help balance things out. With the fact that Gobert and Mitchell are still out for Utah, I like the play here to be to take Memphis to get a huge win at home over one of their direct competitors in the West.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies -3 (-110)
Chicago Bulls @ San Antonio Spurs – 8.30pm ET
The Chicago Bulls are on the road for one game when they take on the San Antonio Spurs, who themselves wrap up their two homestand on Friday night. The Bulls are currently on a two game winning streak and this takes their season record to 30-17. The Spurs have lost three of their last four games, and their only win came against the Rockets, 134-104.
Denis Kirilov
The Chicago Bulls will try to get back their winning momentum after suffering tons of losses in the recent weeks as they were without one of their superstars, Zach LaVine, who suffered from a knee injury. The Bulls won their last two matches in the NBA, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Toronto Raptors. DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic were the most valuable players on the court for the team during these games. Zach LaVine gets slowly, but surely integrated into the team as he gets more than 20 minutes on the court. Their playing style has been one of the most extraordinary ones in the NBA which helped them rise to 2nd place in the East with 30 wins and 17 losses.
The San Antonio Spurs, on the other hand, are looking for their rhythm after winning just 4 out of their last 17 matches in the NBA. The team started quite well keeping in mind that they are in a rebuilding stage at the moment. They even had a decent chance at fighting for the Playoffs, but as of now the situation isn’t looking so bright, although they are just a couple of wins away from the 10th spot of the Portland Trail Blazers. The team lost its last three matches at home against the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Memphis Grizzlies. I think that their downside movement will further continue as the Bulls will be able to cover the spread on Friday.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls -2 (-110)
Michael Lantz
Even with their point guard (Lonzo Ball) and various key defensive players (Alex Caruso, Derrick Jones Jr.) injured, the Chicago Bulls proved all they really need is their lethal combo of DeMar DeRozan and Zach Lavine. The high-scoring duo dropped 29 and 23 points respectively to take down a Toronto Raptors team that has been one of the hotter teams lately. The Bulls are hungry to overtake the Miami Heat and regain the first seed in the Eastern Conference. That being said, they can’t look past their Friday night test as they face the San Antonio Spurs, a young team that you can never count out of any competition.
“Bad fit.”
“Washed up.”
“Worst offseason signing.”@DeMar_DeRozan is an All-Star STARTER.#NBAAllStar | #ProveEm pic.twitter.com/LoNCsprSG4— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 28, 2022
San Antonio has seen major growth this season from their young core that consists of Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell. They may only be 18-31 but with big wins this season over the Warriors, Jazz, and Bucks. It feels like this team is just one more good player away from being able to compete with the best teams in the Western Conference. They’ll have their work cut out for them on Friday as they face their former teammate DeRozan and a Bulls team with their eye on the Eastern Conference top seed. Even though the Spurs are always capable of an upset, I think the Bulls should be able to outlast the Spurs. Chicago is the second most efficient shooting team in the NBA and the Spurs have one of the worst defenses. I think with DeRozan and LaVine thriving again, the Bulls should be able to take advantage.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls -2 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
After a horrible start to the year, the San Antonio Spurs picked up the pace a bit and had people questioning whether they could potentially have an outside shot at sneaking into the postseason. However, the roster quite simply isn’t on that level, or really anywhere close to it, which they’ve shown over the last month or so, as they’ve gone 4-13 in their last 17. Now as they take on the Chicago Bulls, I don’t think that rough patch comes to an end for San Antonio.
Chicago comes into this one as the two seed in the East, despite having just gone through a rough stretch that saw them drop out of the first position. A large reason for that is the fact that they were without Zach LaVine for a reasonable amount of time, and now are without Lonzo Ball. They do finally have LaVine back, though, which has shown to give them an immediate boost. An iffy Spurs team, a Bulls team excited to have LaVine back, along with DeMar Derozan just being named to the All-Star team, has me taking the Bulls to go on the road to San Antonio and pick up a relatively easy win.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls -2 (-110)
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Phoenix Suns – 9pm ET
The Minnesota Timberwolves face a huge challenge when they travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns. The Timberwolves are playing on back-to-back nights, and last time out they lost 115-124, to the Warriors. The Suns are currently riding high on an eight game winning streak, which takes their season record to 38-9.
Denis Kirilov
The Minnesota Timberwolves continue with their journey on the road as they will face yet another strong team from the West in the face of the Phoenix Suns. After losing a tight battle with the Golden State Warriors, the Timberwolves will try to redeem themselves with a win over the best team in the NBA at the moment. Minnesota has already managed to surpass their win-total from the previous season and keeping in mind that the campaign is just half way through, we could only imagine what kind of a progress that would be in the end. Their performance so far has been incredible as players like Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell found a way to elevate their game.
The Phoenix Suns have been undoubtedly the best team this season. They successfully slipped away from the Golden State Warriors, following a tough period for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The Suns used that to their advantage as they are now leading the NBA with 38 wins and 9 losses, compared to 13 losses from the Warriors. Devin Booker has been flying high recently, while Chris Paul is still performing miracles to grab his maiden Championship Ring. In the absence of some of their most important players including Deandre Ayton, Cameron Payne, and Jae Crowder, I would say that the Timberwolves would put up a decent fight against the Suns and will be able to cover their spread.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Minnesota Timberwolves +9.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
Despite the Minnesota Timberwolves being a young team on the rise, they might not be quite ready to compete with the best teams in the conference. Last night they lost 115-124 to the Golden State Warriors after the Dubs exploded in the third quarter, outscoring the T-Wolves 20-38. Their offense was still strong, with Karl Anthony-Towns and Anthony Edwards scoring 31 and 27 points respectively. Minnesota will hope for the same performances on the offensive end one night later, but it won’t get any easier—tonight they face the Western Conference one-seed Phoenix Suns.
The Suns have won eight straight games, including back-to-back victories over the Utah Jazz. The Suns’ guard combo of Chris Paul and Devin Booker will almost certainly both be all-stars as they’ve led this squad to the best record in basketball. The Suns also get plenty of help from their depth as players like Cam Johnson, Bismarck Biyombo, and Mikal Bridges have all provided recent scoring help. The Suns should be able to win this game at home with their strong play on both sides of the ball, but with the spread being at 9.5, I think this exciting Timberwolves team will at least cover.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Minnesota Timberwolves +9.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
The Minnesota Timberwolves come into this one playing on back-to-back nights, as last night they fell to the Golden State Warriors in a tight ballgame. This loss ended a two game winning streak, and gave them only their fourth loss in their last 12 outings. Their young core of D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards has proven to work well with veteran Karl-Anthony Towns, but the problem is that they struggle elsewhere within the roster. Despite that, I do think they have the real possibility of being a playoff team by season’s end, which would be a huge step up for this franchise.
Now they travel to Phoenix to take on the team that I think is probably the best in the league. The Suns come in at 38-9, on an eight game winning streak, and have looked virtually unstoppable for much of the season, led by the monstrous trio of Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton, and Devin Booker. With a supporting cast of guys like Cameron Johnson and Jae Crowder, this is a Phoenix team that has to be the favorites to repeat as Western Conference champions, which is why I’m taking them to take care of business against an up-and-coming Minnesota team in this one. Give me the Suns and the spread at home in this exciting Friday night matchup.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Phoenix Suns -9.5 (-110)
New York Knicks @ Milwaukee Bucks – 10pm ET
The final game on Friday night’s slate will see the New York Knicks travel to Fiserv Forum to take on the Milwaukee Bucks. The Knicks have lost five of their last six games, and their only win came against the Clippers, 110-102. The Bucks had their three game winning streak snapped last time out, thanks to the Cavaliers.
Denis Kirilov
The New York Knicks have been struggling recently, losing 5 out of their last 6 games to some of their direct rivals including the Heat, the Cavaliers, the Pelicans, and the Hornets. The team has been playing moderately well on the road as they take 8th place in these statistics. However, they were finding it difficult to be on top of their game in Madison Square Garden which took its toll on the team. They are currently 11th in the East with 23 wins and 26 losses, but are still keeping a close distance to the Playoffs spots. RJ Barrett and Julius Randle’s efforts to lift the team came up short for now, but they will surely need the help of their teammates in order to make it happen until the end of the season.
The Milwaukee Bucks have been playing really well at home and despite their struggles on the road, the team still keeps a close distance to the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The defending champions have been conceding a lot of turnovers per game which is surely something they will need to work on, if they want to win back-to-back titles. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton might be fantastic players on offence, but their ball-handling will need to drastically improve. The Bucks have won their last three matches at home against some of the best teams in the NBA including the Chicago Bulls and the Memphis Grizzlies. I think that the reigning champions will be able to take the win over the Knicks, but they won’t cover the spread eventually as I expect to see a really close game on Friday.
Denis’ NBA Pick: New York Knicks +9 (-108)
Michael Lantz
The New York Knicks continued to let the 202-22 season slip away from them on Wednesday as they fell to the Miami Heat 96-110. They were outscored by the Heat 16-30 in the first quarter and then 21-33 in the third and were never able to catch back up to the top-seeded Heat. Things won’t get any easier for the Knicks on Friday as they face off against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Greek Freak enters this year’s #NBAAllStar Game as the game’s all-time leader in scoring average at 28.8 points per game. pic.twitter.com/Z0TEYVlcnn
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 28, 2022
After three straight wins, the Milwaukee Bucks were starting to look like the defending champs, as they secured wins over teams like the Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies. Then, on Thursday, they were given a beatdown by Eastern Conference rivals the Cleveland Cavaliers losing 99-115. The Cavs have proven they’re a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference, but it was a brutal loss for an almost full-strength Milwaukee Bucks team looking to prove they’re worthy of a championship repeat. With this game being back at the Fiserv Forum, I think the Bucks will tighten up their play from the last game against Cleveland and take it out on a Knicks team that has refused to stay consistent and emulate last season’s success when they locked up a four seed.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks -9 (-112)
Noah Dunlap
Don’t think about this one too hard. The New York Knicks have collapsed after a good start to the year, as they’re now 23-26, including losing five of their last six, and they’re almost solely reliant on Julius Randle to lead the way for them. However, there’s a limit to what he can do, especially as he’s getting limited help from virtually anyone else on the roster.
Now they travel to Milwaukee to take on the defending champs, and while the Bucks have struggled at times this year, with Giannis in the lineup, they’re a problem for anyone they face. Giannis has once again played incredible ball, as he’s in the MVP hunt, but right now he’s also not getting all that much in terms of a supporting cast, apart from somewhat inconsistent play from Khris Middleton, which is the reason for some of the struggles. However, in this one, in a matchup of bigs, I like Antetokuonmpo to lead the Bucks to a win at home, as he outplays Randle and a fading Knicks team.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks -9 (-112)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
