A new week has started and there are eight games tonight for our NBA picks to help get rid of your Monday blues. There are three early games headlined by Giannis and the Bucks heading to Orlando to take on an injury plagued Magic side.
The night finishes with two west coast games including the Indiana Pacers starting a five game road trip in Sacramento, with both sides trying to get back on the winner’s list.
We break down all eight contests and give you the winners below.
New York Knicks @ Charlotte Hornets – 7PM ET
After a surprisingly hot start, the New York Knicks have cooled off and head down to Charlotte to take on the Hornets who are riding a three game winning streak.
The Hornets’ most recent win was against the struggling Hawks where three players scored at least 20 points, led by Terry Rozier’s 23 points and four steals. The story of the night however was LaMelo Ball who became the youngest player in league history to record a triple double with 22 points, 12 boards and 11 assists and is now runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year.
Relive @MELOD1P‘s historic night in Buzz City!
2️⃣2️⃣-1️⃣2️⃣-1️⃣1️⃣#AllFly pic.twitter.com/PhdPPZYLxH
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) January 11, 2021
New York on the other hand have suffered back to back losses to Oklahoma and Denver. The offense has disappeared over the two games, only managing 89 points in both contests whilst also giving up over 100. Julius Randle went toe to toe with Nikola Jokic and came out of the game with 29 points, 10 boards and 5 assists but he had no help on offense.
Given that New York is struggling on the offensive end and is travelling for the second night of a back to back, Charlotte should be able to notch up their fourth straight.
NBA Pick – Charlotte Hornets (-200)
NBA Spread – Charlotte Hornets -5 (-105)
Game Totals Pick – Under 212.5 (-105)
Memphis Grizzlies @ Cleveland Cavaliers – 7PM ET
The second and final matchup between these two sides after a matchup last Thursday saw the Cavaliers come out on top by four points. Andre Drummond dominated that game with 22 points and 15 rebounds while Larry Nance Jr had a good all around game with 18 points, four assists and three steals. Memphis struggled to score with Dillon Brooks and Kyle Anderson combining for just 21 points on 8/25 shooting.
Memphis bounced back on Friday with a five point victory over a depleted Brooklyn Nets side. They allowed Caris LeVert to put up 43 points but their scoring bounced back, led by Brooks’ 24 points and Brandon Clarke’s 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Jonas Valanciunas was taking out at half time due to health and safety protocols but after two nights off, the big man is good to go for this one.
Cleveland followed up their win with a disappointing 10 point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, who were without Giannis Antetokounmpo. Drummond had another monster game with 26 points and 24 rebounds but had six turnovers. Damyean Dotson had his best game of the season with 21 points and 8 assists but the Cavaliers failed to score 100 for the seventh straight game, going 2-5 in that stretch.
Andre Drummond is obviously the big X-factor after his performance against Memphis last week and Cleveland could be getting Collin Sexton back from injury as well. However, we don’t expect Memphis’ young wings to shoot that badly again, with Memphis scoring under 100 points in just three out of nine games. Back Memphis in to get their revenge on the Cavs.
NBA Pick – Memphis Grizzlies (-136)
NBA Spread – Memphis Grizzlies -2.5 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Under 206.5 (-105)
Milwaukee Bucks @ Orlando Magic – 7PM ET
The Orlando Magic, who were the last undefeated team in the league, have been hit hard by the injury bug and struggled over their last six, going just 2-4. They now host the Milwaukee Bucks who have had an inconsistent start, but managed to get a 10-point home win over the Cavs with Giannis sitting out.
Khris Middleton stepped up in his absence with 27 points, five rebounds and six assists while Bobby Portis enjoyed the increased opportunity he got in the starting role with 17 points, 11 boards and four steals. What did it for Milwaukee was keeping the Cavs to just 90 points, the lowest total they have given up so far this season.
They now come up against an Orlando side that has been held to under 100 in each of their last two, since losing Markelle Fultz to a torn ACL. The Magic had a two game Texas road trip, losing to Houston by 42 and Dallas by 14. Nikola Vucevic had 30 and 15 against the Mavs while Aaron Gordon returned from a one game absence to contribute 16 points and 5 assists, but the other three starters combined for just 21 points and will find it tough against the Bucks.
Given Orlando’s injury troubles, with Giannis expected back for this one, Milwaukee should get the win on the road.
NBA Pick – Milwaukee Bucks (-510)
NBA Spread – Milwaukee Bucks -10 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Under 226 (-105)
Khris is well on his way to another All-Star selection!! pic.twitter.com/JNV9zPTjjF
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 10, 2021
Phoenix Suns @ Washington Wizards – 7PM ET
After suffering a shock loss to start their road trip, Phoenix bounced back against Indiana with a high scoring eight point win. They now travel to Washington to take on a short handed Wizards side, missing Russell Westbrook and Thomas Bryant for this one.
Bryant went down after just a minute of game time against Miami on Saturday and it was confirmed that he tore his ACL yesterday. That is another tough blow for Washington who has started the season 2-8 and needs to start turning things around sooner rather than later.
Despite missing Bradley Beal and Westbrook against Miami, Washington put up 124 points and lost by just four with Garrison Mathews being the lead man off the bench with 22 points while rookie Deni Avdija enjoyed the increased responsibility with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Phoenix on the other hand comes into this one with a full rotation and off their best offensive game of the season. Mikal Bridges became the first Suns player to score 30 points in a game this season with 34 on 12/18 shooting while Devin Booker and Chris Paul combined for 40 points and 17 assists.
After falling to Detroit late last week, Phoenix will be wary of being upset by a big underdog and come into this one ready to go. Bridges should hound Beal all night keeping him quiet and allowing Phoenix to get on top.
NBA Pick – Phoenix Suns (-236)
NBA Spread – Washington Wizards +5.5 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Under 231.5 (-105)
Philadelphia 76ers @ Atlanta Hawks – 7:30PM ET
The big question heading into this one is who from Philadelphia will actually be available to play in Atlanta. After only having seven healthy and available players on Saturday against Denver, Joel Embiid and Mike Scott have been upgraded to probable for this one, but all other players that missed are expected to miss again here.
Despite missing all of those players, this is still a wide open contest given how badly Atlanta are playing lately. The Hawks have lost four straight games, all to Eastern Conference teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season, and Trae Young has managed just 22 points on 7/28 shooting and 0/8 from three over his last two games.
The Hawks have also now lost Bogdan Bogdanovic to a fractured knee cap and are playing a young, inexperienced Sixers team, led by Tyrese Maxey who had 39 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in the loss.
If the Sixers get Embiid back like expected, don’t count the shorthanded Sixers side out against the struggling Hawks, but Atlanta has to win this, don’t they?
NBA Pick – Atlanta Hawks (-240)
NBA Spread – Philadelphia 76ers +6 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Over 220.5 (-115)
Kristaps Porzingis has been upgraded to questionable for the first time this season. He is listed among the Mavs’ likely starters in the team’s game notes for Monday’s game against the Pelicans.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 11, 2021
New Orleans Pelicans @ Dallas Mavericks – 8:30PM ET
*Update: This game was postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a new date has not been confirmed at this time*
The Mavericks sputtered out of the gates to just a 2-4 start, but have won three straight now and host a Pelicans side on a three game skid.
New Orleans jumped to a 16 point lead after the first quarter against Charlotte Friday, but turnovers hindered their offense and ended up losing by eight points, including losing the last quarter by 13. Zion Williamson led the way for the Pels with 26 points and eight rebounds but Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe combined for just 13 points and nine assists.
The Pels were kept in the game by Josh Hart and JJ Reddick who combined for 36 points on 11/16 shooting and 8/12 from three, but ultimately they threw the game away.
Dallas is facing a COVID-19 situation with three players still stuck in Denver after their game there on Thursday, including starters Josh Richardson and Dorian Finney-Smith, while Maxi Kleber has just entered isolation after playing against the Magic on Saturday.
Luka Doncic had a 20 point, 11 rebound and 10 assist triple double in the win but Tim Hardaway Jr was the star of the show, getting his second straight start, and scoring 36 points on 8/13 shooting from deep. Trey Burke returned from a one game absence to score 29 points while shooting 7/8 from three point range.
The big news heading into this one is Steven Adams is unlikely to play for New Orleans with a migraine while Kristaps Porzingis has been elevated to probably to play his first game of the season, and his first since game three of the Mavericks’ opening round playoff series against the Clippers.
The ‘unicorn’ will be a massive lift for the Dallas side and they should get the win at home, despite missing some key players.
Toronto Raptors @ Portland Trail Blazers – 10PM ET
The Toronto Raptors suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Warriors last night and now travel north to take on the high scoring Portland Trail Blazers.
Toronto came off their second win of the season full of confidence but started off sluggish, getting down by 15 heading into the last quarter. Behind 25 points from Pascal Siakam and 21 from Fred VanVleet the Raptors were able to make a massive comeback and led in the final minute, but Golden State got back ahead Siakam missed a shot on the buzzer that would have won the game.
37 PTS, 6 3PM, 2 STL for @CJMcCollum in the @trailblazers W! #RipCity pic.twitter.com/j5La1MgfQ4
— NBA (@NBA) January 10, 2021
Portland on the other hand come into the game with some nice form, winning their last two by an average of 22 points. CJ McCollum was the hot hand against Sacramento on Saturday with 37 points while shooting 59% from the field and 55% from deep. Enes Kanter had a big double double off the bench and Portland will be looking to put some points up against the Raptors.
Toronto managed to keep Steph Curry to just 11 points on 2/16 shooting but Portland have two high scoring guards in McCollum and Lillard, both of whom can go off on any given night. This will be a tough contest, but on the second night of a back-to-back, Toronto will be fatigued and against a fresh high scoring Portland offense, they could be left behind.
NBA Pick – Portland Trail Blazers (-196)
NBA Spread – Toronto Raptors +4.5 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Over 230.5 (-115)
Indiana Pacers @ Sacramento Kings – 10PM ET
The Sacramento Kings have lost two straight home games by a combined 47 points and now host the hot starting Indiana Pacers who are coming off just their third loss of the season.
Domantas Sabonis had a monster game with 28 points and 22 rebounds while Myles Turner had 15 points, 10 boards and 4 blocks but the Pacers gave up a season high 125 points to the Suns and couldn’t keep up. This is the first of a five game west coast road trip for the Pacers and they will want to start it in the right way.
Sacramento will be hoping to ruin those plans, but their play lately hasn’t given any indication they’ll be able to. After giving up 144 points to Toronto, the Kings gave up 125 to the Blazers, while only scoring 99 themselves.
While six players scored in double figures, Marvin Bagley was the lead man with just 15 points, with De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield combining for only 18 points and every starter had at least 1 turnover.
Indiana is the better side and will be wanting to bounce back after a loss and should do this one easily.
NBA Pick – Indiana Pacers (-221)
NBA Spread – Indiana Pacers -5.5 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Over 227.5 (-115)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of PointsBet.
