A massive 9-5-1 night across our Premium and free NBA picks, including a 4-0-1 on spread picks! We are kicking off the week with another five winners, handpicked for you!
Can the Lakers back up their 25 point win in Brooklyn when they play the Knicks in the Garden tonight? Can the Warriors hand the Nuggets their second loss in as many nights?
We have all of the answers for you plus the best game by game analysis, so you don’t want to miss this.
Los Angeles Lakers @ New York Knicks – 7:30PM EDT
The shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers will attempt to do the tri-state area sweep when they face the New York Knicks tonight. LA must be full of confidence after a massive win in Brooklyn but will have to be on their A-Game again in New York tonight.
The Knicks come in on the back of two straight wins, relishing being back in The Garden and will look to close out this three game home stand without a loss. Last night, New York escaped a tight contest with the Raptors with a 102-96 win, led by Julius Randle once again. Their All Star finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the game.
Defense was once again the way New York picked up their win, still allowing the fewest points per game in the league. LA comes in at second on that list and just kept the super-charged Nets to just 101 points on Saturday night.
Drummond McLemore
20 Pts 17 Pts
11 Reb 5-10 from 👌🏼
8-15 Fg 6-12 Fg#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/uPRBsRjyuq— David Portillo (@D_Portillo_0) April 11, 2021
Andre Drummond led eight different Lakers in double figures with 20 points and 11 rebounds, his best performance as a Lakers. He should be licking his lips at being able to play the Knicks again too after averaging 18 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks in three games against them this season when playing for the Cavs.
The Lakers shot an incredible 19/34 (55.9%) from deep for the game and it will be interesting to see if that can stick against the Knicks stingy defense. The Knicks have the best three point defense in the league and should be all over this depleted Lakers side.
NBA Pick – New York Knicks (-144)
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Philadelphia 76ers @ Dallas Mavericks – 7:30PM EDT
The Dallas Mavericks will be looking to start this week much like they started last week, by beating the top of the conference. Last week it was Utah but tonight they host the Philadelphia 76ers and the Mavs will want to bounce back after a disappointing showing against the Spurs last night.
Coming up against a San Antonio side that had lost five straight games, Dallas looked to continue their winning ways but just fell short, losing 117-119. The Mavs entered the final period up by one point but allowed the Spurs to score 31 in the last, and 68 in the second half to throw away the game. Kristaps Porzingis was the hot hand with 31 points on 57.1% shooting, adding 15 boards and two blocks.
There is always a worry with this being the second night of a back to back and Dallas taking a conservative approach with KP and others during the regular season. Philadelphia should be looking to pounce on that opportunity, especially coming off an easy game against the Thunder on Saturday night.
Both Tobias Harris and Danny Green sat out the clash for rest and just one player reached 30 minutes in the 117-93 blowout victory in Oklahoma. In just 27 minutes, Joel Embiid finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and four blocks to lead the way. Philly and their second ranked defense forced the Thunder into 22 turnovers for the game, scoring 32 points off them.
When these sides met in Philadelphia earlier in the season, the Sixers got the 111-97 win. Now this game is in Dallas, it definitely changes things but a fully healthy Philly team is almost as good as any in the league. Dallas has shown that they are extremely inconsistent and are just 4-6 on the second night of back to backs, so we have to go against them for this one.
NBA Pick – Philadelphia 76ers (-148)
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Brooklyn Nets @ Minnesota Timberwolves – 8PM EDT
*This game has been postponed and no new time or date has been announced at this stage*
The Minnesota Timberwolves will look to make it two wins in as many nights when they host the Brooklyn Nets this evening. The Timberwolves led throughout their clash with the Bulls last night but have to back it up against a Brooklyn team that is hungry for a win after a lacklustre performance on Saturday.
Coming up against a shorthanded Lakers side, the Nets put in a performance that left a lot to the imagination, going down 101-126. Kevin Durant scored 22 points while Kyrie Irving added 18 but Durant had eight turnovers while Irving didn’t have an assist. It was an overall terrible performance, summed up perfectly by their 19-31 third quarter that blew the game open for the Lakers.
When these sides met just two weeks ago, in Brooklyn, the Nets only won by five points. James Harden dominated the matchup for the Nets but is obviously out of action at the moment, with Durant coming into the side since then. For the Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns was a monster inside and he was again in last night’s win.
D’Angelo Russell 4 games since returning from injury (missed 2 months)
26 mpg
24 ppg
48% FG
41% 3P
88% FTThe Timberwolves are 2-2 and own the highest offensive rating in the league when KAT and Dlo are on the court together pic.twitter.com/4Q6eQTKsKD
— Jordan Miranda (@TJmiranda) April 12, 2021
The big man put up 27 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks in the 121-117 win, while D’Angelo Russell had 27 points in 25 minutes off the bench. The Timberwolves shot a perfect 25/25 from the line in the win whilst also shooting 44.4% from deep. Given that the Nets have the seventh worst three point defense when playing on the road, Minnesota should be looking to shoot the lights out again tonight.
The Nets are currently 9.5 point favorites for this clash but given both teams’ recent play, we think this should be much closer than that. Brooklyn are 10-6 following a loss, so we expect them to come out hard after a disappointing showing on Saturday, but this one may be closer than you think.
NBA Pick – Brooklyn Nets (-400)
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Sacramento Kings @ New Orleans Pelicans – 9PM EDT
The New Orleans Pelicans return home after a brief trip to Cleveland to host the Sacramento Kings tonight and we are unsure why the odds are so close. Yes the Pelicans are just 3-7 on the second night of back to backs this season but they have won two straight games, including over the Sixers, and are at home against a Sacramento side that has lost six straight games.
Just one of their losses over this six game losing streak has been by less than 10 points with their most recent outing being a 112-128 loss in Utah. De’Aaron Fox had another spectacular game with 30 points and eight assists whilst Richuan Holmes had 25 points and 10 boards in the blowout. Sacramento didn’t particularly play bad in that clash, but it was the same old story of terrible defense that undid their hard work.
This battle should see a lot of points scored as Sacramento’s defense ranks last in the league whilst the Pelicans’ is ranked third last. The determining factor in this one is that the Pelicans defense definitely improves when playing at home and they should be looking to add more misery to the Kings here.
In last night’s 116-109 win in Cleveland, Zion Williamson exploded for 38 points and nine rebounds while Brandon Ingram, in his second game back from injury, played the perfect second fiddle role with 27 points and eight assists. The positive for New Orleans is that they still won despite shooting just 7/24 (29.2%) from deep, dominating inside with 14 more rebounds and shooting 51.2% from the field.
Sacramento surely has to turn things around and win eventually, but we don’t see that happening tonight. New Orleans, despite missing some players and being on a travelling back to back, are still the better team and should be able to take care of business.
NBA Pick – New Orleans Pelicans (-162)
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Denver Nuggets @ Golden State Warriors – 10PM EDT
The Denver Nuggets came crashing back down to earth last night, having their eight game winning streak snapped in dramatic fashion. They now have a chance to get straight back on the winners list, having to get on the road and get back on the floor against the Golden State Warriors tonight.
Despite leading by as many as 14 in the third quarter, the Nuggets just broke down on the offensive end, imploding to lose 87-105. The 87 points is Denver’s lowest total of the season and they allowed the Celtics to go on a 31-3 run to turn the game around. In the final 14 minutes of the game, Denver shot just 3/23 from the field, scoring eight points and committing six turnovers.
That is obviously very doom and gloom, but prior to halfway through the third quarter, the Nuggets were well and truly on their way to a ninth straight win and that sort of form can’t be forgotten. Golden State definitely won’t be going in blinded by last night’s performance as they are looking to piece together a second half run up the standings in an attempt to get back into the playoffs.
Steph. Gonna. STEPH.
Make that a career-best six straight 30+point games 👏 pic.twitter.com/Q4N2SyUJ7s
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 11, 2021
Saturday night saw the Warriors cruise to a 125-109 victory over the Rockets, leading for essentially the entire game. A 33-18 second quarter blew the game open and allowed Golden State to take it easy throughout, but that didn’t stop Steph Curry getting his shots up. The former MVP finished with 38 points, eight rebounds and five assists, shooting 8/15 from deep for the game.
These sides have met only once so far this season and it resulted in a 10 point home win for the Nuggets. They have to get on the road for this one against a Golden State side that performs much better at home, and Denver is likely to still be without Jamal Murray, who has missed the last four games.
The Nuggets are an impressive 13-5 after a loss, the fourth best percentage in the league under such situations, but Golden State will come into this one with a chip on their shoulder and will play with desperation to win this.
NBA Pick – Golden State Warriors (+128)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
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