Free NBA Picks Today for Saturday, December 16th, 2023

Our free NBA picks are out for Saturday, December 16th 2023! Make sure you check our NBA picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free NBA picks for the best games on today’s schedule!

Philadelphia 76ers @ Charlotte Hornets – 7PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Philadelphia 76ers are off to an incredible start to the regular season, and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Saturday night. They are one of the best teams in the league throughout the early part of the year, and they looked better without James Harden despite all the dramas surrounding them prior to the season starting. Philadelphia comes into this game with 17 victories through their first 24 games of the regular season and they will look for their 18th win of the year here on Saturday night on the road in Charlotte. They come into this game with plenty of momentum as they are currently on a four game-winning streak and they have blown out three of the four teams throughout their four game-winning streak, and they will look for a third consecutive blowout win here on Saturday night against a struggling Hornets team. 

The Charlotte Hornets came into the season with plenty of expectations, but they have been unable to get things going in the right direction throughout the early part of the season. They will look for an upset victory here at home on Saturday night against the Philadelphia 76ers as they look to build up as much momentum as possible heading into the second half of December. Charlotte has been one of the worst teams in the league throughout the early part of the season, as their superstars have not been living up to their potential, and it is costing them several games throughout the early part of the year. They come into this game with 16 losses through their first 23 games of the regular season and there seems to be no ending site for Charlotte as they look to get things going and back on track before the end of the month. However, I don’t see that happening in this game as I look for Philadelphia to pick up the win and cover the spread.

Brooklyn Nets @ Golden State Warriors – 8:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a decent season for the Brooklyn Nets throughout the early part of the year and they will look for a massive upset victory on the road in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors here on Saturday night. Brooklyn had such high expectations entering last season as they had one of the best big threes in the league, consisting of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden. However, a year later, none of those three players are on the team, and all three of them play for different franchises all over the league. Brooklyn once again finds themselves as a middle of the team in the eastern conference and they will look to get some momentum built up throughout December with a victory here in this game on Saturday night. Brooklyn comes into this game with 13 victories through their first 24 games of the season and they will look for their 14th win of the year here and this one on Saturday night in San Francisco.

The Golden State Warriors have built a dynasty over the last decade but it has been a couple years since their last NBA championship. They were off to a fantastic start in the regular season before Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson both dealt with injury issues throughout the early part of the year. Now they are looking to bounce back and get back to .500 and finish the month of December on a strong note and head into 2024 with plenty of potential. They have been a very tough team to beat at home over the last several seasons, and they will look to further prove that narrative to be true with another quality performance here on Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets. Golden State comes into this game with 14 losses through their first 24 games of the regular season but I do expect them to pick up a comfortable victory here in this game on Saturday night at home. As I look for them to pick up the win and cover the spread in the process against the Brooklyn Nets.

Dallas Mavericks @ Portland Trail Blazers – 9PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Dallas Mavericks are off to a solid start to the regular season and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Saturday night. They will head to the Pacific Northwest to face off with Portland here in this one, as they look to add another quality victory to their record throughout the early part of the year. They will also look to further establish themselves as a legitimate contender in the Western Conference as they look to finish off the month of December on a strong note, and put themselves near the top of the pack heading into the last four months of the regular season. Dallas comes into this game with 15 victories through their first 24 games of the regular season and they will look to maintain that momentum and pick up their 16th victory of the year here in this one. Dallas had a lengthy winning streak, broke their previous game with a loss against Minnesota and they look to get right back into the win column here on Saturday night against Portland.

They are still struggling in the post Damian Lillard era as Portland truly lacks a game changer, and a guy who is able to consistently close out games like Damian Lillard did. This is something that will likely haunt Portland throughout this year, and the next several seasons, as they are still on the hunt for their future superstar, who will take over this team from Damian Lillard. They come into this game as one of the worst teams in the league this season and although they’ve had a couple players step up and establish themselves as solid guys, they have yet to have anyone step up and become a bona fide leader for this team throughout the early part of the season. I don’t see that changing throughout this game on Saturday night at home against the Dallas Mavericks as I look for the misery of the Portland Trail Blazers to continue here in this one as well. I look for the Dallas Mavericks to not only pick up the victory in this game on Saturday night, but I also look for Dallas to cover the spread in the process.

Utah Jazz @ Sacramento Kings – 10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Utah Jazz entered into a rebuilding era last season when they traded away both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell over the offseason. As you would expect things did not go too well for them last season, but they did come into this year with some expectations. However, they have not lived up to those expectations throughout the early part of the regular season and now they come into this game looking to get things back on track as they get ready to head into the back half of December. They come into this game with a losing record, and they have struggled throughout the early part of the year to close out games which is something that Donovan Mitchell has been incredible at throughout his tenure in Cleveland. They come into this game looking for their 10th victory of the season as they currently have 16 losses through their first 25 games of the year. However, they do come into this game with a little bit of momentum as they have picked up two consecutive victories as well. They will look for a third consecutive victory here on Saturday night in Sacramento.

The Sacramento Kings are coming off of a season where they broke a 20+ year playoff drought and they will look to make their second consecutive playoff appearance this season as well. They are off to a decent start to the regular season as they have picked up 14 victories through their first 23 games of the regular season and they will look for win number 15 here on Saturday night at home. They’ve been a very tough team to beat at home over the last year and a half and they will look to maintain that narrative throughout this game on Saturday night against the Utah Jazz. This will be the second meeting of the season between these two teams. The last time they met, it was the Sacramento Kings that came away with a double digit victory on the road in Salt Lake City. Sacramento comes into this game with a little bit of momentum after picking up a victory over Oklahoma City in their last game. I expect them to pick up a second consecutive victory here on Saturday night and cover the spread in the process.

New York Knicks @ Los Angeles Clippers – 10:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

The New York Knicks are off to a solid start to the regular season in this game on Saturday night will be the second game of a back-to-back on a West Coast road trip for the Knicks. They kicked off the road trip with an incredible performance against the Phoenix Suns and they will look to replicate that performance throughout this game on Saturday night on the road in Los Angeles against the Clippers as well. New York will be looking to further establish themselves as a legitimate contender to win the NBA championship this season. A victory in this game on the road in Los Angeles could be a huge piece in that narrative for the New York Knicks this year. The New York Knicks come into this game with 14 victories through their first 24 games of the regular season and they will look for their 15th win of the year here on Saturday night against Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Clippers come into this game with an identical record as they come into this game with 14 victories, through their first 24 games of the regular season. They will also look for their 15th victory of the year here at home against the New York Knicks as they look to keep the momentum rolling throughout the rest of December. This is a Los Angeles Clippers team that could be one of the best teams in the league this season as long as they remain healthy and find some consistency throughout the year. As they arguably have three of the best players in the league on their roster, and they’ve all three of them can continue building chemistry with each other they will be a very dangerous team, but the time the playoffs come around. However, the New York Knicks come into this game with plenty of momentum, and I look for the New York Knicks to pick up a second consecutive victory on the road for the second consecutive night against a top team in the Western Conference.

If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our NBA hub page for all your basketball needs!

*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.