Our free NBA picks are out for Saturday, April 9th, 2022! Make sure you check our expert NBA picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free NBA picks for the four games on today’s schedule!
Indiana Pacers @ Philadelphia 76ers – 1pm ET
The Indiana Pacers will take on the Philadelphia 76ers in this one. It’s been a rough year for the Pacers as they will finish towards the bottom of the league. While the Philadelphia 76ers will look to go on a title run in the playoffs.
Jeffery Thomas
The Indiana Pacers will travel to Philadelphia for a matinee game Saturday afternoon against the 76ers. Indiana is just playing the season out at this point and getting a good draft spot in the process. The Pacers have lost 8 straight now and with two games left in the season, have a bottom 3 record in the Eastern Conference. The Philadelphia 76ers could move up into the top 3 of the East with a win and will be hoping for that after losing their last game to the Raptors on Thursday night. It was Philly’s last road game of the year and they just couldn’t overcome Pascal Siakam’s 37-point triple double. The loss snapped a modest three-game winning streak for the Sixers.
The Pacers are not trying to win games right now and even if they were I would not like their chances in this game. The Sixers have everything to play for in this game and just took down the Pacers in Indy four days ago. It was only a nine-point victory but at home I’ll imagine a much better effort and they should be able to cover.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Philadelphia 76ers -14.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Apart from the fact that one of these teams is one of the top teams in the league, and the other has had a tremendously disappointing season, it’s also important to point out that one of these teams has nothing to play for (except trying to lose to improve draft position), while the other has the potential to climb another spot in the Eastern Conference standings for the postseason.
The Philadelphia 76ers are going to finish no worse than fourth in the East, but have the chance to move up to third depending on what happens the rest of the way. While it doesn’t seem like a huge difference, it could be big from a momentum standpoint. Now, seeing that they’re taking on an Indiana team that has quit on the season, seeing as they’ve lost eight straight, and haven’t really been able to play defense to save their lives this year, this game gets ugly in a hurry. Joel Embiid has a massive day at home, and Philly rolls by 15+ at home.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Philadelphia 76ers -14.5 (-110)
New Orleans Pelicans @ Memphis Grizzlies – 6pm ET
This game could end up being a potential preview of a Western Conference playoff series. As the New Orleans Pelicans will meet the Memphis Grizzlies in this one as both teams are unlikely to play their starters.
Jeffery Thomas
The New Orleans Pelicans are riding high on confidence following a couple double-digit wins in their last two games. They’ve defeated the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trailblazers in succession, scoring an average of 125 in the process. CJ McCollum scored 23 points in their last game against his former team and helped the Pels move closer to clinching a home game in the play-in tournament. The Memphis Grizzlies were dealt a rare blowout loss at the hands of the Denver Nuggets on Thursday in a historic night for Nikola Jokic. Jokic became the first player in NBA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season. Memphis remains one win shy of matching the franchise record of 56 wins and have the NBA’s second best road record this season (26-15 away from home).
The Pelicans may be catching the Grizzlies at a good time after a loss but back at home I’m believing in the bounce-back for Memphis. They’ve shown all year that they are a team that can beat anybody on their night and there’s no reason to see this Pelicans team as one that can’t be beat. Give me the home Grizzlies to pick up some momentum heading into the playoffs.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies (-245)
Noah Dunlap
The question with this matchup is whether or not the Memphis Grizzlies have just packed things in for the remainder of the regular season, now that they’ve sealed the two-seed in the West. The Grizz have dropped two straight, including a blowout at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, which makes me wonder how worried they are right now, or whether they’re content to let things roll into the postseason. The two things to keep in mind is that Memphis is set to get Ja Morant back in this one, though it’ll likely be on a restricted minutes basis, and they have the chance to set the franchise record for wins in a season. If it weren’t for those two factors, I would take them to come out flat, but I actually like them to come out with a little bit of energy against a New Orleans team that also has quite a bit to play for.
While the Pelicans are locked into their 9-10 matchup in the play-in, the one thing to be decided is who is going to host that matchup. They need just one win to clinch the host spot ahead of San Antonio, with just two games left. They struggled to start the year, but have gotten better later in the season, as their move to acquire CJ McCollum from Portland looks as if it is working out pretty well right now. This is the kind of game that I could see coming down to home-court advantage, and with it being in Memphis, I’m going to take the Grizz in a close one.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies (-245)
Golden State Warriors @ San Antonio Spurs – 8:30pm ET
This is yet another game that could end up being a preview of the playoffs as the Golden State Warriors take on the San Antonio Spurs ahead of the Spurs playoff play-in game next Tuesday.
Jeffery Thomas
Thursday’s 128-112 win over the Los Angeles Lakers was win #3 in a row and the final regular season home game for the Golden State Warriors. Klay Thompson scored 33 points in the win and it may have been his best game since returning from injury. Jordan Poole had a career-high 11 assists and showed that he will be a huge factor for Golden State in the postseason. A possible opponent for them in the playoffs is e San Antonio Spurswho will have to go through the play-in tournament first to get to the big dance. The Spurs were also in action on Thursday, losing 127-121 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Dejounte Murray, who is San Antonio’s leading scorer was once again out, missing his fourth game with an illness.
The Warriors are not back to full strength yet, but they finally have everybody playing their role and are in a groove. Meanwhile, the Spurs are content with their place in the play-in and may still be without Murray for this one. Nothing points to the Spurs keeping this one close and even on the road I’m going Golden State to cover.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors -7 (-114)
Noah Dunlap
The Golden State Warriors are trying to keep a hold of their spot as the three-seed out West, as they’re in the position of needing to hold off the Dallas Mavericks with two to play. They still don’t have Steph Curry back in the lineup, but the good news is that they’ve finally seemed to have some sort of rhythm with him out, as after a horrendous stretch for roughly three weeks, they’ve now run off three straight and are playing much better heading into the postseason.
This is an odd one to try to predict though, as they now take on a San Antonio team that is trying to climb their way back into hosting the 9-10 play-in game. They’re already locked into the game, but they’re in a position of needing to win their last two, and needing New Orleans to lose their last two to get there. They also find themselves in the odd situation of having been without their star, Dejounte Murray, for the last four games, as he’s been dealing with an illness, and it looks as if he’s out for this matchup as well. With the uncertainty surrounding Murray’s availability, I’m taking the Warriors on the road, though I think it stays close.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors (-310)
Sacramento Kings @ Los Angeles Clippers – 9:30pm ET
In the grand scheme of things this one is basically meaningless as the Sacramento Kings will face off with the Los Angeles Clippers. It’s been yet another rough year for the Kings while the Clippers are set for the playoff play-in round.
Jeffery Thomas
The Sacramento Kings will travel to Los Angeles to face their in-state rivals in the Clippers on Saturday night. The Kings have been idle since Tuesday when they lost their final home game of the year 123-109 to the New Orleans Pelicans. Now they’ll focus on their Friday night game against a Clippers team that has now won three games in a row following their win over the Suns on Wednesday. It wasn’t a clean victory though, as they led by 39 in the 3rd quarter and barely survived the offensive onslaught and rally by the Suns. Paul Germirhe became the 16th active player to reach the 15th points milestone in this game.
This game will be another very winnable one for the Clippers and that’s what I’m expecting them to do. The Kings surprisingly are 2-1 against LAC this season but now there are totally different circumstances and I just don’t think there’s much motivation for the Kings to go out and win their last two games. The Clippers should have no problems here at home.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Los Angeles Clippers -11.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
The Sacramento Kings have nothing to play for, and that to me, proves to be the difference in this one. They’ve long since been knocked out of playoff contention, as they’ve been one of the worst teams in the league all year long, and with nothing left to play for, I can’t see a way that they manage to get up off the mat for this one, against a Los Angeles Clippers team that is trying to ride a bit of momentum into their play-in game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Clippers are riding a three game winning streak at the right time, as while they’re already locked into the 7-8 play-in game, they should still be able to use this winning streak as good momentum heading into next week. Having Paul George back has proven to be big news for LA, as they’re playing much better now, and while I do think they get out of the play-in, without Kawhi Leonard back as well, I’m not confident in their ability to get much deeper than that in terms of the playoffs. I do think they cruise in this one though, as with the Kings having nothing to play for, I’m just not sure they bother to give all that much effort. Clippers by double-digits, and feel confident in taking them with the 12.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Los Angeles Clippers -11.5 (-110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
