Our free NBA Picks are out for Friday, November 5th, 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!
Memphis Grizzlies @ Washington Wizards – 7pm EDT
The Washington Wizards will be looking to stop their two-game losing streak tonight as they host the Memphis Grizzlies. Washington has dropped games to Atlanta and Toronto and now faces an even tougher test in the Grizzlies, who just knocked off the Nuggets in back to back games.
Tim Newton
I’m going to take the Grizzlies as slight underdogs for this clash. Part of me still doesn’t trust this Washington side that is relying on Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell as their third and fourth best players. Both of them have certainly come alive since being moved on by the Lakers, but this Memphis team is young, exciting and playing at an exceptionally high level at the moment.
The Grizzlies just took two games off the Nuggets, who entered their two-game mini-series with a 4-2 record, and they are also the only team to defeat the Warriors this season, and they did so at the Chase Center. That bodes well for their chances on the road in this clash against a Washington side that has dropped their last two and has looked vulnerable.
In their loss to Atlanta, the Wizards allowed seven different Hawks to score in double figures, while sending them to the line 29 times. In their loss to the Raptors, just two starters scored in double figures, while they only shot 25% from behind the arc. This isn’t a good sign that over their last few games, either the defense or the offense has completely fallen away, and Memphis is the sort of side that can capitalize on either.
Tim’s NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies (+114)
Denis Kirilov
The Washington Wizards are taking on the Memphis Grizzlies at home on Friday night in the NBA. Both teams are 5-3 from the beginning of the season, as they are looking to further improve this percentage. The Grizzlies are 2-2 away from home, while the Wizards are 3-1 in their Capital One Arena. Ja Morant and his teammates are entering into this game on a high after achieving two straight wins at home against the Denver Nuggets. The main difference in these games were the points scored off the bench. Memphis’ second choice players delivered in both matches and compensated for Ja Morant’s missed clutch shots.
The Wizards are on a 2-game losing streak ahead of Friday’s game, as they were beaten by the Atlanta Hawks away from home and by the Toronto Raptors in Washington. Bradley Beal and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were denied on numerous occasions in both matches and their 3PT FG% dropped significantly. With the absence of another clutch 3-point shooter, Davis Bertans, I think it will be arduous for the Wizards to match the performance of Ja Morant and Memphis’ bench. My pick here goes for the Grizzlies.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies (+114)
.@KyleAnderson5 is a flat out hooper.
16 points | 3 reb | 7-11 FG | 27 min pic.twitter.com/4GjMda1u7n
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) November 4, 2021
Michael Lantz
After getting off to a hot 5-1 start, the Washington Wizards have cooled off a bit, dropping their last two against the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors. They’re still getting solid support from their new acquisitions and have continued to play exceptional offense—scoring 100 or more in both games, but they need to get into a more aggressive defensive mindset if they plan to make a run in a tough Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies are coming off back-to-back wins against the Denver Nuggets. It’s easy to talk about how great Ja Morant is, but let’s take this time to give some appreciation to Desmond Bane. The second year player has stepped up as the team’s second leading scorer while Dillon Brooks recovers from a hand injury. Bane not only averages over 17 points a game, but he’s shooting over 41% from three and has only had two games in the negative. His rise after a solid rookie season has Memphis fans thrilled as another exciting young player should make this Memphis team fun to watch for years. As for Friday night, I think they continue the home win streak and win a close one over Washington.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies (+114)
Noah Dunlap
The biggest question coming out of this one is whether or not you believe in the Washington Wizards. Following a white hot 5-1 start, they’ve come back down to earth with consecutive losses to the Atlanta Hawks and the Toronto Raptors. When Bradley Beal is playing good basketball, this team is problematic for nearly everyone in the league, but when he’s off, it signals an issue for Washington, as that forces them to rely on new additions Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma to lead the way. While both of these guys have given good minutes and solid production for the Wizards so far this season, they can’t be go-to guys that you look at to lead your team.
Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies, on the other hand, look like they are finding their rhythm, as they just swept a two-game homestand against the Denver Nuggets. With Ja playing phenomenal basketball, and getting help from Steven Adams, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson, Jr., this Grizz squad looks like one of the most confident, most fun teams to watch in the league. With this one being on the road, though, I lean slightly towards the Wizards snapping their skid and getting back on the winning side of things as they sneak out a close one over Memphis.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Washington Wizards (-134)
New York Knicks @ Milwaukee Bucks – 7:30pm EDT
Two of the East’s top four teams from last year’s regular season face off as the New York Knicks complete their two-game road trip against the Milwaukee Bucks. Both sides are playing below their best at the moment, however Milwaukee is coming off a confidence-installing win over Detroit.
Tim Newton
I’m not really confident on either side here. New York has dropped consecutive games to two struggling sides, the Raptors and Pacers, while Milwaukee have lost three of their last four, only beating the lowly Pistons over that stretch. While Milwaukee have excuses, the Knicks don’t have anyone to blame but themselves.
The Bucks have been playing without Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez lately. Those are three key starters and role players for this side, leaving Giannis Antetokounmpo as the only starter active from their Championship side, with PJ Tucker leaving in the offseason. Giannis has been great, of course, but the lack of complimentary scoring from the rest of the role players has been the cause of their downfall.
On the other hand, New York has a full strength squad but they may be getting found out by the rest of the league. Kemba Walker looks well and truly past it, Evan Fournier is an inconsistent scorer at best, while Mitch Robinson can’t score unless he is spoon-fed. That leaves the heavy lifting to Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Derrick Rose, off the bench. That may be good enough to win enough games to qualify for the playoffs, but this stretch has shown that they will have rough patches.
When looking at this game, with Milwaukee’s injuries and New York’s inconsistencies, I am going to side with the under for this clash. Neither offense is operating at their optimal level at the moment, and both sides do tend to lean heavily on their defense.
Tim’s NBA Pick: Under 217 (-110)
Denis Kirilov
The New York Knicks have lost grip of their momentum after two straight defeats against tough opponents. Firstly, the Raptors surprised them at Madison Square Garden. OG Anunoby surprised everybody and scored 36 points in the game that celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the NBA. In their last match, they were crushed by Myles Turner 3-point shots as he managed to finish with 70% from long range on 7 from 10 shooting. The Knicks failed to capitalize on their opportunities in both games as the responsibility fell on RJ Barret’s shoulders. He delivered in the game against the Raptors, but the loss to the Pacers was mainly his fault.
The Bucks, on the other hand, still have a long way to go to reach their top condition, but nobody pressures them to display it. Their fans and management would rather watch them struggle in the Regular Season just so that they can be the same dominant team in the Playoffs. Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton will be once again sideline for Milwaukee, and Giannis will need to find one of his monstrous performances in order to defeat the Knicks. Mainly due to the fact that the best 3-point shooters are still missing for the Bucks, I will go with the “Under” option for this game.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Under 217 (-110)
Michael Lantz
After starting the season a league best 5-1, the ghost of seasons past has crept upon the Knicks in recent games. They’ve had back-to-back losses to two teams they should’ve beaten (the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers). They shot well against the Raptors, but slacked on defense—an aspect that the team usually excels at. Against the Pacers, they were just flat, as Indiana got off to a hot 36-22 and rarely looked back. The Knicks look to bounce back against a short-handed Milwaukee Bucks team.
Milwaukee has also fallen on some tough times, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez have all been out with COVID (for Middleton) and injuries. Although there is some potential light up ahead. Holiday has reported that he should be ready for Friday’s game against the knicks. Holiday’s superb defense would be welcomed back as would his ability to take some of the offensive weight off of Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s still unclear if Holiday is 100% to return, but even if he is I can’t see a Knicks team that’s had so much energy over the last year losing three in a row; if they do I expect it to be close. I’ll pick them to cover.
Michael’s NBA Pick: New York Knicks +4 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
The most cursed franchise in basketball looks as if they’re slowing down from their tremendous start they opened the year with. The New York Knicks, after starting 5-1, have dropped two in a row to mediocre teams at best (Raptors and Pacers), and now people are beginning to question whether the start was a fluke or not. I actually don’t think it was, as this is a solid roster, led by Julius Randle, and getting help from Derrick Rose and RJ Barrett, and I think this is nothing more than a small blip in an otherwise bright season for the Knicks, so I do like their chances of ending the streak tonight against the defending champions.
Add in the fact that Milwaukee is still playing without quite a few pieces (Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton), and I’m not sure where the production comes from, outside of Giannis, to give them a chance in this one. There’s some speculation that Holiday could return in time for this, but even if he ends up playing, how effective will he be after coming off of an injury that caused him to miss a few weeks? For that reason, give me the Knicks to come out and not only cover the spread, but take this one outright, if for no more reason than them simply being a more healthy basketball team.
Noah’s NBA Pick: New York Knicks (+146)
Los Angeles Clippers @ Minnesota Timberwolves – 8pm EDT
After facing each other on Wednesday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers will square off once again. The Clippers prevailed in the first game, 126-115, winning their second straight while handing Minnesota their third straight loss.
Tim Newton
The Clippers looked great on Wednesday night. LA led after the first and then used a 45-34 third quarter to blow the game open, using a balanced attack to get the job done. Five different players scored in double figures for LA, with three of those scoring over 20, led by Paul George’s 32 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
That isn’t to say that Minnesota didn’t put up a good fight, as they had seven in double figures, but only one went on to score 20+, with Anthony Edwards putting up 28. The issue is you can’t be letting any side score 45 points in a quarter, which is what the Timberwolves did on Wednesday.
When looking at their last three games, in which they lost all of them, Minnesota has given up the 22nd most points per game in the league. That isn’t a good sign against a struggling LA offense, letting them find easier looks than they have had all season long. However, will the Clippers shoot 21/36 (58.3%) from behind the arc again, like they did on Wednesday? I think they will regress back to the mean, they are shooting just 35.7% on the season, and that will allow Minnesota to be more competitive tonight.
Tim’s NBA Pick: Minnesota Timberwolves +2.5 (-110)
Denis Kirilov
If it hadn’t been for Paul George, the Los Angeles Clippers would have been at the bottom of the table. He pulls a rabbit out of his hat in almost each single match from the start of the season. He has already recorded two 40+ point games and has numerous 25+ and 30+ point performances. He is the one to watch when it comes to the Clippers’ roster. The team mainly falls behind due to players like Eric Bledsoe and Reggie Jackson who are still struggling to find their rhythm on the court.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will have another shot at putting an end to their losing streak against the Clippers. The Timberwolves have been terrible in their last two matches where they also lost to the Orlando Magic after losing the 4th quarter, 19-43. Malik Beasley has gone on 5 consecutive games with less than 50% FG made. He was 5-12 against the Clippers, 4-16 against the Magic, 6-14 against the Nuggets, 2-6 in a win against the Bucks, and 1-8 against the Pelicans. I think this is the main reason I will choose the LA Clippers to cover their spread in tomorrow’s fixture.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Los Angeles Clippers -2.5 (-110)
dust it off and bounce back. pic.twitter.com/PWzCqzS7Je
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) November 4, 2021
Michael Lantz
After a promising start, the Minnesota Timberwolves are back to their recent ways of abysmal play. After losing a close one to the Denver Nuggets, 91-93, the team got absolutely dominated by a terrible Orlando Magic team, and then were put to rest by the L.A. Clippers 115-125—the team they’ll rematch on Friday night. Although they may have a legitimate excuse for those losses: all-star player D’Angelo Russell left halftime of the Magic game with an ankle sprain. In that game, Orlando took advantage and used a big fourth quarter to win. Russell also sat out the Clippers game and will miss the rematch as well.
For the Timberwolves to fully thrive it’s important to have the team’s big three playing (the others being Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony-Towns). The Clippers will attempt to go back-to-back against the Russell-less squad, and they’ll hope for another big performance from guard Reggie Jackson. After Jackson had a phenomenal postseason, he had been playing well, but not at the same level. Luckily on Wednesday night, Jackson exploded for 29 points and 8 assists and went off from behind the arc, going 7-9. If Paul George can continue to get some quality assistance from the support guys, the Clippers should be able to continue just fine in Kawhi Leaonard’s absence. I’ll pick them to win again
Michael’s NBA Pick: Los Angeles Clippers (-136)
Noah Dunlap
Currently, it seems like the LA Clippers are a one-man show, and that one man is Paul George. Even with PG-13 playing great ball, the Clips are lacking some of the role players, or even guys on the bench that many other teams use to find success, and they’ve struggled to find their footing so far this season. However, even stumbling into this one at 3-4, they did knock off this same Minnesota team in their last outing by a final score of 126-115.
With nothing much having changed from that outing to tonight’s meeting, I’m not sure what you could expect to change, other than potentially expecting LAC not to shoot lights out from 3-point range. However, while I understand that last time out, the Clips won by double-digits against this same Timberwolves team, I’m not convinced a similar result ensues in this one. In fact, I don’t know that I feel comfortable taking either team to win or even to look at being on the spread in this one. Instead, look for PG-13 to continue to play really good basketball, scoring with ease against a Minnesota team that has struggled so far this season.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Player Points – Paul George Over 28.5 (-106)
Indiana Pacers @ Portland Trail Blazers – 10pm EDT
Have the Indiana Pacers turned a corner? They have won two straight games, beating two well-drilled sides, and now get on the road to face a Portland Trail Blazers side that has dropped three straight.
Tim Newton
While Portland has dropped three straight, and is clearly coming in with worse form than the Pacers, they do return home for this clash. That is a massive positive for a side that is 3-1 at home and 0-4 on the road. Compare that to the Pacers, who are 3-2 at home and also 0-4 on the road. That is a massive positive for Damian Lillard and his squad.
Despite their poor starts to the season, both Portland (9th) and Indiana (7th) rank in the top 10 for points per game. The issue is the defense, with Portland ranking 18th and Indiana ranking just 26th for points per game. However, I am leaning heavily on Portland with my pick due to one glaring difference in Indiana’s stats. At home, they give up just 104.2 points
per game, which would see them rank in the top half of the league. But when playing on the road, the Pacers give up 120.2 points per game, second worst in the league.
That is a pretty damning stat and given the Blazers average 19 more points per game inside the Moda Center, compared to when travelling, it is hard to see them losing this one tonight.
Tim’s NBA Pick: Portland Trail Blazers (-205)
Denis Kirilov
The Indiana Pacers will be looking to take advantage of Portland’s mini-shock which they suffered in their last 3 away games. They consecutively lost to the Hornets, the 76ers, and the Cavaliers. These losses came along with great disappointment as everyone supporting the Blazers would have predicted at least one win. Damian Lillard is hugely underperforming as he is genuinely struggling on the court finding, it hard to even reach the 50% mark on his shooting percentage. However, I think that he will improve with time passing, as it’s still pretty early in the season to make any final judgements.
On the other hand, we are seeing an exciting Indiana Pacers’ team who started focusing on their defence after conceding 123 points twice in their opening games. They went on to outplay the Miami Heat at home and wrapped up their good performance with wins in their last games against the Spurs and the Knicks. However, they lost the four games in-between the fixtures between the Heat and the Spurs, but the most points they conceded were a total of 118 against the Bucks where Giannis and Middleton had to pull off a Playoffs performance in order to defeat them. I think that their defence will be crucial for their growth during the current campaign and it will once again prove itself against the Portland Trail Blazers. That’s why I will go with the under.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Under 223.5 (-112)
Michael Lantz
In a matchup of two teams that love to score, the Indiana Pacers travel to the “Rose City” to take on the Portland Trail Blazers. The Pacers are coming off consecutive wins for the first time this year as they handled both the Spurs and Knicks. This was thanks in large part to Myles Turner finding his way on offense, scoring 19 against the Spurs and following that up with 25 against the Knicks—where he shot 7-10 from three. Those were the performances many expected to see after Turner dropped 40 points in the Pacers second game of the year (a game they lost only by one in OT), but in the following five games, the most he shot in a game was seven times. The team went 1-4 in that span, but they hope he can continue to contribute offensively with a team that already has Domantas Sobanis, Caris LeVert and rookie scoring machine Chris Duarte.
For the Blazers, this season just continues to be a disappointment. They’re off to a 3-5 start and things won’t get easier in a competitive Western Conference. Damian Lillard has looked a bit better in the past two games if you go by numbers, but he still shot about a 36% average between those games. Dame is never known for his phenomenal shooting percentage, but he needs to be a bit better than that. The Pacers defense has been fairly suspect, so right now might be a nice time to start, especially in front of the home crowd. Both these teams have bottom ten defensive ratings and plenty of offensive weapons and even though 223.5 is high, I’m gonna go for an Over in this one.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Over 223.5 (-108)
Noah Dunlap
I’m looking for points in this one. Don’t focus on who wins, focus on the number of points scored. Neither of these teams play very good defense, as they’re both bottom ten in the league in terms of defensive ratings, and they both enter this game in the top-10 in the league in terms of points per game. With two teams who have had disappointing seasons, with bad defenses, and really good offenses, that does nothing but scream points.
And while I understand that Indiana has played a bit better as of late, the problem is their numbers compared to being at home vs. being on the road. The home Pacers are a team that appears to be a pretty decent basketball team. However, the road Pacers are abysmal, and are giving up just north of 120 points per game. That means they forget their defense in Indianapolis when they board any planes, and with this one being played in Portland, against a really good offense, I see the Blazers putting up 115 or more, while giving up 110 or so of their own. Even with a total that is sitting high (223), 115-110 would still get us the over, so feel confident taking that as your play in this one.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Over 223.5 (-108)
Charlotte Hornets @ Sacramento Kings – 10pm EDT
We round out the night with the 4-4 Sacramento Kings hosting the 5-4 Charlotte Hornets. This sets itself up to be an exciting matchup between two up-and-coming guards, De’Aaron Fox and LaMelo Ball, however the latter does have a game-time decision tag attached to his name after Wednesday night’s loss to the Warriors.
Tim Newton
While LaMelo Ball has the red flag next to his name for this game, he is listed as probable for the clash. That means he is more than likely good to go, and if he does play then Charlotte should be winning this game. They have played much better basketball of late, led by Ball, Miles Bridges and Gordan Hayward, which is a much better trio than anything Sacramento has to offer.
Sacramento is 2-2 over their last four games, but both wins came against a New Orleans side that is seriously struggling at the moment. They did keep it close with Utah and Dallas, both on the road, but their inability to seal the deal is a common theme that even dates back to the last few seasons.
On the other hand, Charlotte is just 1-3 over their last four, but I am happy to forgive at least two of those losses. Playing the Warriors and Heat is no easy task at the moment, considering both have only lost one game for the season. The other loss to the Cavs is inexcusable, but there will be some teams, like the Hornets, that get found out by Cleveland’s size.
Sacramento doesn’t have that size and doesn’t have the talent of Golden State or Miami, meaning Charlotte should be able to bounce back and put up a nice win here.
Tim’s NBA Pick: Charlotte Hornets (+114)
Denis Kirilov
Two of the teams who are looking great in the beginning of the season, the Hornets and the Kings, will face each other in Sacramento. The Charlotte Hornets have proven many experts wrong with their 5-2 opening, defeating teams like the Pacers, the Nets, and the Blazers. They lost the last two games which worsened their record so far, but they are still at 55.56% win-rate. However, such performance should be enough for the Playoffs in the spring which is their main goal for this campaign.
On the other hand, the Sacramento Kings are yet to be defeated by more than 15 points this season. Their biggest loss came against the Golden State Warriors who managed to beat them by 12 points as this winning margin was slowly, but surely built solely in the last quarter of the game. The Kings have been fantastic so far as Harrison Barnes, De’Aaron Fox, Richaun Holmes, and Buddy Hield are hoping for their breakthrough. This match will be the turning point for both teams’ upcoming games as one of them might take a sharp U-turn and go downhill after a defeat. I would trust the Hornets in this fixture, as they have an on-fire Miles Bridges and on top of that, the Kings are slightly hesitant from the 3-point line against better opponents.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Charlotte Hornets (+114)
𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐬𝐞𝐭. 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡.
@hbarnes earns the Cache Money Play of the Month presented by @CacheCreekCR pic.twitter.com/0M7UO6jsWz— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) November 4, 2021
Michael Lantz
The Sacramento Kings have been viewed as a dark horse team in the Western Conference; over the past week they’ve certainly looked like it. They’ve won three of four with their only loss being a close one against the conference’s best team the Utah Jazz. This has been in large part to the resurgence of Harrison Barnes who is averaging over 23 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. In addition to (and maybe more importantly than) those numbers Barnes has shot just under 50% from the field and 47% from three—while averaging a career high in three point attempts with seven per game. The Kings have also been impressed with rookie Davion Mitchell, who has picked up the pace on both sides of the ball over the last week or so.
Sac-town looks to keep it going against an upstart Charlotte Hornets team that’s still figuring it out after a hot start. They seem to have the right players in place as Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball have evolved into all-star talent, but they still are finding an identity on defense. Luckily for this team with so many scoring options, Sacramento isn’t much better on D, as both teams rank in the bottom five of defensive ratings. Both teams have some fresh young legs that can get up and down the court and even though Sacramento might be a bit outsized, I’ll trust their hot offensive streak to continue at home and take them over Charlotte. Additionally, I’ll keep my Harrison Barnes praise going and pick him to score over 18.5.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Sacramento Kings (-134)
Michael’s Bonus NBA Pick: Player Points – Harrison Barnes Over 18.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
If you like young, elite guard play, then this is a matchup for you. LaMelo Ball, while only in year two, looks like one of the best point guards in the NBA, and De’Aaron Fox, while a few years older, isn’t far behind. It is worth noting that Ball is currently listed as questionable, but all indications seem to be that he plans on giving it a go for this one.
As for the rest of the rosters, Charlotte holds the edge, and they’ve seen really good production from many key role players like Miles Bridges and Gordon Hayward, but the defensive effort still hasn’t been there, which does raise some concerns, especially against a Sacramento team that loves to run up and down the floor looking for quick buckets and maximizing potential number of possessions.
However, the young Kings squad has struggled to close out games against even decent competition which has me nervous as the Hornets come to town. Keeping all of that in mind, I’m taking Charlotte to at least cover the +1.5, and probably win outright, but I would also throw in a player prop with Harrison Barnes of Sacramento to go over 18.5 points. Barnes is averaging a touch over 23 a game, and facing one of the bottom defenses in the league, I don’t see why that would change tonight.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Same Game Parlay – Charlotte +2/ Harrison Barnes Over 18.5 Points (+265)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
