Free NBA Picks Today for Saturday, March 12th, 2022

Free NBA Picks Today for Saturday, March 12th, 2022
Sat 12th March 2022

Our free NBA picks are out for Saturday, March 12th, 2022! Make sure you check our NBA picks before the action kicks off.

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

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Miami Heat – 8pm ET

The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the middle of their three game road trip when they travel to Miami to take on the Heat. The Timberwolves had their six game winning streak snapped last time out, as they lost last night to the Magic, 110-118. The Heat are also playing on two nights in a row, and in their game yesterday they beat the Cavaliers, 117-105. 

Jeffery Thomas

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat were both in action on Friday night but with completely different results. For Minnesota, they were in Orlando taking on the Magic and losing by a score of 118-110. Anthony Edwards led the team with 25 points in his return from injury, but it was a squandered 18-point lead by the Wolves that will be the story of the game. Their 3-point shot is what carried them during their six-game winning streak and is what did them in in this game, as their last 10 shots of the game were all threes. They’ll now have to turn right back around on Saturday and try to get back in the win column against the Miami Heat who took down the Cavs at home on Friday night. Bam Adebayo took advantage of no Jarrett Allen for Cleveland and went off for 30 points in the 117-105 Miami victory. It was a double-revenge spot for the Heat, who had lost the previous two meetings against the Cavs earlier this year. The East leading Heat now sit with a record 45-23 on the season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have made major strides this year towards becoming a perennial playoff team but they are not quite at the level of the top teams yet. Their lack of defense will be a major hindrance against this Heat team that has all type of firepower up and down their lineup and Miami also has the defense to overwhelm this Timberwolves team. I don’t see a way Minnesota wins this game unless they are having a crazy shooting night but I’m not banking on it. Give me the Heat in this spot. 

Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Miami Heat -5.5 (-110)

Michael Lantz

The Minnesota Timberwolves were in the midst of a six-game win streak coming into Friday. Getting to seven should’ve been easy, but instead they fell to the lowly Orlando Magic 118-110. It was a surprisingly loss, but maybe they were taking it easy in anticipation of Saturday’s game against the Eastern Conference one-seed, the Miami Heat.

Miami is coming off a 117-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, as they’ve maintained their number one seed in the Eastern Conference and look to return to the NBA Finals after falling short in 2020. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo have been impressive per usual, but one of the reasons the Heat have excelled so much is thanks to their bench and role players, especially Tyler Herro, who has shown shades of his 2020 self and should be in the running for Sixth Man of the Year. Minnesota has a lethal scoring attack which should be rough for the Heat to defend, but after their tough loss against the Magic while at full strength, I don’t see things ending well for them in Miami.

Michael’s NBA Pick: Miami Heat -5.5 (-110)

Noah Dunlap

The question for this matchup has to be how the Minnesota Timberwolves respond to last night’s disaster in Orlando. They came into that one on a six game winning streak, but saw themselves choke away an 18-point lead, to one of the worst teams in the league. Now they continue the Florida swing of this current road trip, as they travel further south to take on the one seed in the East, the Miami Heat. Minnesota is going to end up being a playoff team in the Western Conference, but results like last night are the reason no one really gives them a real shot at making a run, despite guys like Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns being on the roster. 

The Miami Heat have been rolling for much of the year, including last night, as they took down the Cleveland cavaliers with relative ease. They’re the one seed in the Eastern Conference, and with guys like Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler healthy, they’re a team that I could see making the NBA Finals, and potentially winning a title by the end of the year, and that’s without even mentioning the fact that Tyler Herro is probably going to win the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award. This is a loaded roster, and assuming everyone plays, which they should in this one, they’re extremely difficult to beat. Take the Heat at home, against a Minnesota team that has some questions following last night’s performance. 

Noah’s NBA Pick: Miami Heat -5.5 (-110)

Cleveland Cavaliers @ Chicago Bulls – 8pm ET

Two teams from the Central Division will go toe-to-toe on Saturday night, when the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Chicago Bulls. The Cavaliers are playing on back-to-back nights, and last time out they lost to the Heat, 105-117. The Bulls finally put an end to their five game losing streak in their last game, as they beat the Pistons, 114-108.

Jeffery Thomas

It was a tough start to March for the Chicago Bulls who lost their first three games of the month, before taking down the Detroit Pistons 114-108 on Wednesday. It was another clutch 4th quarter for DeMar DeRozan who scored 16 of his 36 in the final frame to bring the victory home for the road Bulls. The win snapped a five-game winning streak and had to be very special for DeRozan to perform like that against his former coach Dwayne Casey who is now the coach of the Pistons. The Cleveland Cavaliers were in action on Friday night, taking on the Miami Heat. They dropped game 117-105 and it was clear their depth issues due to injury was their biggest weakness in the game. They really could have used Caris LeVert, Collin Sexton, Ricky Rubio or Jarrett Allen on Friday as only two players were able to cross 16 points in their lineup. It will also prove tough in this matchup with the Bulls, as they won’t have any of their missing guys back in time for Saturday’s game. 

The Bulls and Cavs were two of the league’s biggest surprises in the first half of the season but largely due to injury have both fallen off a bit. The Cavs more so than Chicago, who still has MVP candidate and all star Zach Lavine carrying them on a nightly basis along with Nikola Vucevic who is putting together a very solid season. With this game being in Chicago and the Bulls being the more healthy team, I’ll have to side with the Bulls to take the 2-1 series lead in these regular season matchups with the Cavs. 

Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls (-146)

Michael Lantz

In this Midwest battle, the Cleveland Cavaliers head to Chicago to take on the Bulls, in a matchup between two team that folks are up in arms about. Are these two contenders or pretenders? The Bulls have had a successful year and have a dynamic scoring attack thanks to DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. But when it’s come to paying against top teams, the Bulls have looked a little lost. They’ll try to turn that around Saturday as they face a very good Cleveland Cavaliers team.

The Cavs have been one of the NBA’s great surprises this season. They’re a playoff contender just one season after being one of the league’s worst teams. Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen were all-stars and Evan Mobley is the front-runner for Rookie of the Year.  Since the All-Star break, the Cavs have looked a little off. Part of that has been due to injuries to Garland and recently acquired Caris LeVert, but the team has also struggled with gaining big wins, as they lost to Miami last night after wins against the Pacers and Raptors. In this battle between two teams that have a hard time pulling off big wins, I’ll go with the home team that has just a little more talent. Give me Chicago at home.

Michael’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls -3 (-110)

Noah Dunlap

Cleveland has been one of the more surprising teams in the league all year long, especially early on, but they’ve come back down to earth a bit, and I think some of these struggles are going to continue as we get to the end of the year. Now, with them coming off a loss last night to Miami, and this being the second night of a back-to-back for them, I think this could be another game where we see the Cavs struggle a bit. 

On the other side, Chicago has been off the best teams in the Eastern Conference, as well, for much of the year, though they’ve also fallen just a bit, losing five straight, before coming out on top of the Detroit Pistons a few nights ago. They’re a virtual surefire playoff team, led by DeMar Derozan and Zach LaVine, though I question how real their chances are to make a deep run, as they simply can’t beat the best teams in the conference, the teams they’re going too have to find ways to beat in order to make that run. As for this one, the Bulls should be rested, and with this one being a home game for them, against a team that just played Miami last night, I think you have to give Chicago the edge. 

Noah’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls -3 (-110)

Milwaukee Bucks @ Golden State Warriors – 8.30pm ET

The Milwaukee Bucks are on the road for their Saturday night game, when they travel to Chase Center to take on the Golden State Warriors. The Bucks have won their last six games in a row, and this includes victories over the Hornets, Heat, Bulls, Suns, Thunder and Hawks. The Warriors are back on track again after losing five games in a row, they have since won their last two, against the Clippers and Nuggets. 

Jeffery Thomas

Milwaukee has had a few days off but will resume action on Saturday when they travel to the Bay to take on the Golden State Warriors. This game will be the start of a four-game road stint against Western Conference teams as they’ll look to extend their 6-game win streak. Last time out was a 124-115 win over the Atlanta Hawks where Giannis had another phenomenal performance, going off for 43 points and 12 rebounds. This recent surge has the defending NBA champs now sitting at the 2 seed in the East, just two games back of the Heat entering Friday’s action. Their opponents for this game, the Warriors, had Friday off after taking down the Nuggets in Denver on Thursday. The Dubs trailed by 9 at the halftime break and then it was Steph Curry who took over, dropping 24 of his 34 points in the second half. 

Golden State ended the game on a 13-0 run to claim their 45th victory on the season by a score of 113-102. The Warriors would love to be getting Draymond Green back for this huge matchup on Saturday but he is expected back on Monday. The win over Denver will serve as a huge confidence boost and Steph Curry has fully broken out of his slump from earlier this season. Klay Thompson is not back in game shape yet nor has his shooting touch but Jordan Poole has stepped up during Klay’s struggles and is averaging almost 22 a game in the last six. In what is going to be an electric atmosphere and a shootout, I think the Warriors will ride their crowd to a statement victory over Milwaukee and snap their winning streak. 

Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors (+102)

Michael Lantz

In this potential NBA Finals matchup, the Milwaukee Bucks head to the Bay Area to take on the Golden State Warriors. The Bucks are now the second-seed in the East, after winning six straight games. Giannis Antetokounmpo is once again putting up MVP numbers and he’s getting solid help from the likes of Chris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and Bobby Portis. The four of them will all need to be on their A-game on Saturday as they face a Warriors team that’s starting to get healthy at the right time.

After being in a bit of a rut, the Warriors grabbed two big wins this week, defeating two playoff teams, the L.A. Clippers and the Denver Nuggets. With Klay Thompson continuing to get back to his old ways, and the return of Draymond Green and James Wiseman around the corner, things are starting to go the Warriors way. Still, they’ll have a tough task on Saturday when they face the Milwaukee Bucks, and will have to handle Giannis without Draymond Green. While I like the way the Warriors have looked in the last week, I’ll take the Bucks to ride Giannis’ play, as they face a team lacking interior presence.

Michael’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks (-120)

Noah Dunlap

Depending on how these two teams play down the stretch, and throughout the playoffs, this has the potential to be an NBA Finals preview that we get on Saturday night. The Golden State Warriors clearly have the talent to get there, as they’ve been one of the two best teams in the league for much of the year, before a stretch that has seen them struggle quite a bit as of late. Part of that is due to Draymond Green’s absence, but with him set to return, potentially in this one, I think Golden State is ready to make a real run as we head towards the end of the regular season. 

On the other side, the Milwaukee Bucks have gotten things going once again, having won six straight, and climbing to the two seed in the East. This comes after they struggled (relative to them) for much of the year, as they’ve spent much of this season floating between the four and six seeds. With Giannis playing like an MVP caliber player as expected, and with Khris Middleton finally finding his rhythm once again, this is absolutely a Bucks team that has the ability to repeat as champions. As for this particular matchup though, I’m going to take the Warriors, as I think them being at home in the Bay Area gives them the slight nudge they need to get by in this one. 

Noah’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors (+102)

Toronto Raptors @ Denver Nuggets – 9pm ET

The road trip continues on for the Toronto Raptors, who will be up against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night. The Raptors are playing two nights in a row, and in their game yesterday they beat the Suns, 117-112. The Nuggets had their four game winning streak snapped last time out, courtesy of the Warriors, 102-113.

Jeffery Thomas

There is no doubt the Nuggets will come into this game angry after blowing the game on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors. The Nuggets were in complete control for the entire first half and parts of the third quarter before Nikola Jokic picked up his fourth foul and had to benched. Once he went out of the game, it was all Warriors from that point on until he came back in the fourth and was able to get the lead back with around 3 minutes left. From that point on though, the Nuggets couldn’t get anything going on offense and turned the ball over on consecutive possessions, ending the game on the wrong side of a 13-0 run. The loss ended a four-game winning streak and they’ll look to start up another one on Saturday when they host the Toronto Raptors. Those Raptors will be on the back-to-back after beating the Suns 117-112 on Friday night in Phoenix. Gary Trent Jr.’s 42 point effort led the way for Toronto who is now all of a sudden on a two-game winning streak. Their 36-30 record has them at 7th in the East, which means they are still in the play-in tournament. The 6 seeded Cavaliers are who they are chasing to get out of the play-in and they are 2.5 games back. 

It is not easy to travel to Denver and take on the Nuggets in the altitude and with how they lost the last time out I’ll expect a focused group. Denver’s fast pace of play will wear on the tired legs of the Raptors and they will just get buckets at will en route to what I see being a pretty comfortable victory. Give me the home court advantage and the Nuggets.

Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Denver Nuggets (-230)

Michael Lantz

In a battle between two sleeping giants in their respective conferences. the Toronto Raptors head down to Denver to take on the Nuggets. After a bit of a messy start, Toronto climbed their way up to the seventh seed in the East, and were looking like the team that won the NBA Championship in 2019. But, then they fell back into a rough patch of games where they lost to the likes of the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons. Luckily they put those embarrassing losses aside, and beat the NBA’s best team, the Phoenix Suns last night 117-112. While they’ll likely be exhausted after that game, they’ll also be confident as they face a Denver Nuggets team that’s holding onto sixth place in the Western Conference.

The Denver Nugget have been so impressive as the season has progressed. Even with injuries they’ve found ways to win, mainly sur to Nikola Jokic’s performance, but also the constant stepping-up of role players. Unfortunately, their four-game win streak was broken on Thursday as they lost a potential playoff matchup to the Golden State Warriors. They’ll look to rebound at home against the Raptors on Saturday, and I think they will. The Nuggets will use their home court advantage and their strong veteran play to pull this one out.

Michael’s NBA Pick: Denver Nuggets (-230)

Noah Dunlap

The Toronto Raptors are trying to get a run going, a they knocked of the Phoenix Suns in their last game, and now they take on the Denver Nuggets, from the Mile High City. The Raptors started the year hot, then cooled down quite a bit, with injuries playing a role, but with the win over Phoenix, and Fred VanVleet back in the lineup, the confidence has to be high for the team from north of the border. 

Denver, on the other hand, has been a one man wrecking crew for much of the year. Nikola Jokic has had to be the one shoulder virtually all of the load for this Nuggets team to this point, as Jamaal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are yet to t return to the lineup. Despite those injuries, this has been a team that was on a great run, winning four in a row, before falling in their last game, a defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. They’re a team that odd really good right now, and when they get those guys b back, they’re going to be downright dangerous. Give me Jokic to have another big night in this one, as I think the Nuggets manage a tight win at home. 

Noah’s NBA Pick: Denver Nuggets -5.5 (-108)

Sacramento Kings @ Utah Jazz – 9pm ET

The Sacramento Kings are on the road for just one game when they travel to Utah and face off against the Jazz. The Kings are currently on a three game losing streak, and this takes their overall season record to 24-44. The Jazz will be on the second night of their back-to-back after playing the Spurs yesterday, in a game they lost, 102-104.

Jeffery Thomas

The Utah Jazz continued their trend of alternating wins and losses with a loss to the Spurs on Friday following a win against Portland the game before. Utah just ran into an inspired Spurs team at home that was gunning for a record 1336th victory for their head coach Gregg Popovich. Donovan Mitchell had 24 points in the loss, which was the 25th on the year for the 4th seeded Jazz. They will be on the back-to-back to face the 12th seed Kings on Saturday but in Utah for this game. The Kings are in the middle of a three-game losing streak and have been off since their 106-100 loss to the Nuggets on Wednesday. They will be the more rested team by far but a trip to Utah is always a tough task. 

Just watching the Jazz recently it’s clear they aren’t nearly as good as they were last season but they do tend to show flashes at times. Those flashes usually come at home against bad teams (see their 123-85 win over Portland Wednesday) and that’s the exact situation they find themselves in on Saturday. The Kings will serve as a Conference booster for a Utah team that is in desperate need of one and I expect Donovan Mitchell and company to carve up this terrible defense for a huge performance. That huge performance will carry the Jazz to a blowout victory.

Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Utah Jazz -10 (-112)

Michael Lantz

The Utah Jazz continue to frustrate, right as they seem to be getting good, they lose games against teams they should be able to beat. This includes a 104-102 loss to the San Antonio Spurs last night, which now only has them .5 games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks for the fourth seed and only 1.5 games ahead of the Denver Nuggets. If they want to make a serious playoff run, they can’t afford to lose to the Spurs, and they really can’t afford to lose to their Saturday opponent the Sacramento Kings. While the Kings have some impressive talent, they’ve had a bizarre season, with coach firings, player trades that make no sense, and the inability to play as a unit.

Luckily, they recently acquired All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who claims to love playing in Sacramento. Last game they lost 106-100 to a very good Denver Nuggets team, while playing without Sabonis. Now, Domantas is back, and the Kings look to ride their momentum against an unreliable Jazz team. Even though I think the Jazz win, I’ll take a risk and at least pick the Kings to cover as they currently sit at +10.

Michael’s NBA Pick: Sacramento Kings +10 (-110)

Noah Dunlap

Despite having high draft picks in what seems like every NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings just can’t put a winning product on the court, as they come into this one on a three game losing streak, and at 24-44, are one of the worst teams in basketball yet again. They have some young talent, but the inconsistency these guys show have proven to be a huge problem all year long. 

Now they take on a Utah Jazz team that she knows how to upset bettors. The Jazz have one of the most balanced rosters in the league, behind Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, but they refuse to take care of games that they should win with ease, which they showed again in a loss to San Antonio last night. The Spurs aren’t as bad as their record is, but that’s a loss that a team trying to move up in the standings on the West simply can’t have. Now, even with the loss last night, and this being the second night of a back-to-back for Utah, I’m still going to take them in this one, as I simply have no faith in this Sacramento roster, especially not on a consistent basis. The Jazz pull out the win at home with real comfort. 

Noah’s NBA Pick: Utah Jazz -10 (-112)

If you are looking for 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 FanDuel.

SportsTips covers all the latest betting, odds, picks & predictions news when it comes to major American sports like NFL, NBA, MLB & NHL. If you want to stay up to date with the latest information, SportsTips has you covered!