Free NBA Picks Today for Sunday, December 17th, 2023

Our free NBA picks are out for Sunday, December 17th 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!

Orlando Magic @ Boston Celtics – 3pm ET

Tony Battalio

The Orlando Magic are off to a fantastic start to the regular season, and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Sunday afternoon in Boston. This will be a measuring stick game for the Orlando Magic throughout this game test on Sunday as they look to become the first team to beat Boston at home this season. Years of a rebuilding process have finally paid off for the Orlando Magic, and they will look to further establish themselves as a top team in the Eastern Conference this season with another victory here in this one against the Boston Celtics. Orlando comes into this game with 16 victories through their first 24 games of the regular season and they will look to grab their 17th victory of the season here on Sunday afternoon on the road in Boston. This will be their second consecutive game in Boston and they are coming off of a 17 point loss in their previous game and they will look to bounce back from that here on Sunday afternoon.

The Boston Celtics have been incredible throughout the early part of the regular season, and they will look to maintain that momentum throughout this game on Sunday as well. Boston is undefeated at home and they will look to keep that streak intact with a second consecutive blowout victory over the Orlando Magic here on Sunday afternoon. They have been a legitimate contender over the last several seasons, and this year is the year that they will be hoping to finally break through the glass ceiling and bring home an NBA championship for the first time in over 15 years. They come into this game with 19 victories through their first 24 games of the regular season and they will look to break into the 20 Winmark with a quality performance here in this one. That is exactly what I expect from the Boston Celtics here on Sunday afternoon, as I look for them to pick up the win and cover the spread.

New Orleans Pelicans @ San Antonio Spurs – 3:30pm ET

Tony Battalio

The New Orleans Pelicans are one of those teams that have the potential to be one of the best teams in the league if they could remain healthy and consistent throughout the year. However, that is something they’ve struggled with throughout the early part of the season and that is why they find themselves sitting in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference coming into this game on Sunday afternoon in San Antonio. They will look to grab a victory here in this game on Sunday afternoon as they look to get things going in the right direction throughout the second half of December and into 2024 as well. New Orleans comes into this game with 15 victories through their first 26 games of the regular season and they will look for victory number 16 here on Sunday afternoon. They come into this game with plenty of momentum after three consecutive blowout victories, and they will look for a fourth of consecutive blowout here in this one on Sunday as well. 

The San Antonio Spurs have been one of the worst teams in the league this year, but it is to be expected as they are one of the youngest teams in the league as well. They are already well out of contention for a potential playoff spot unless they pull off a miraculous win streak, and that would have to start here in this game on Sunday afternoon at home against New Orleans. They are still stuck in the middle of a rebuilding process that has seemingly been going on since the retirement of Tim Duncan and it is unknown how long this rebuilding process will continue to go on after this season. They come into this game as losers of 20 out of their first 24 games of the regular season and they will look to grab their fifth victory of the year here on Sunday afternoon at home. However, I don’t look for things to get much better for San Antonio at the moment as I look for New Orleans to pick up the win and cover the spread on the road.

Houston Rockets @ Milwaukee Bucks – 7pm ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a respectable start to the regular season for the Houston Rockets and they will look to keep the momentum rolling throughout this game on Sunday night in Milwaukee. This is an early season measuring stick game for this Houston team and they will look to pass this test with flying colors against one of the best teams in the league. It has been a long and lengthy rebuilding process for the Houston Rockets, but it is finally starting to pay off or at least showing signs of paying off throughout the early part of the regular season. Houston comes into this game with 13 victories through their first 22 games of the regular season and they will look for their 14th victory of the season here on Sunday night on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks. They come into this game with plenty of momentum as they are riding a five game win streak, and they have won seven out of their last ten as well. However, they have struggled to pick up victories away from home as they have lost eight out of their first nine road games this season. 

The Milwaukee Bucks made a shocking trade for Damian Lillard over the offseason and immediately turned them into the most dominant team in the NBA. Leading up to this moment, everybody has said all season long that once Milwaukee found their groove, it would be over for the other 29 teams in the league and the bad news is, Milwaukee is starting to find that groove. They come into this game with plenty of momentum, and they will look for their 18th victory of the season here on Sunday night at home against the Houston Rockets. Milwaukee currently finds themselves second in the Eastern Conference, and they have been nearly unstoppable at home this season winning 12 out of their first 14 home games as well. I expect them to pick up another quality victory here in this game on Sunday night at home against the Houston Rockets. As I look for this to be a back-and-forth game that Milwaukee pulls out. I look for them to cover the spread in the end as well.

Washington Wizards @ Phoenix Suns – 8pm ET

Tony Battalio

It has been an absolutely dreadful start to the season for Washington after coming into the regular season with so many expectations of being a competitive team. However, that has clearly not been the case as they have been one of the worst teams in the NBA throughout the early part of the regular season. As of right now the major offseason addition of Jordan Poole has not paid off for Washington, and at the moment they are certainly questioning the decision to go and make that trade for him. They come into this game having recently ended a lengthy losing streak, and it seems unlikely that there is an end in sight for Washington throughout the early part of the year as well. As they look to build up as much momentum as possible, and pick up their second consecutive victory on the road in the desert against the Phoenix Suns here on Sunday night. However, that seems unlikely as they have been dreadful away from home this season losing 12 out of their first 14 games on the road.

The Phoenix Suns are one of those teams that have the potential to be one of the best teams in the league if they could remain healthy and consistent. However, both of those things have been a problem for Phoenix throughout the early part of the year as all three members of their big three have missed some amount of time thanks to injuries. They will look to pick up a quality victory here on Sunday night at home against Washington as they look to get things rolling in the right direction throughout the second half of December and into the new year as well. The inconsistency put on display by the Phoenix Suns, has left them down towards the bottom of the standings in the Western Conference through the first 25 games of the regular season. They come into this game one game above .500 with 13 victories in that span and they will look to get things going in the right direction with a win. That is exactly what I expect out of the Phoenix Suns here in this one, as I look for them to grab the win and cover the spread in the process. 

Golden State Warriors @ Portland Trail Blazers – 9pm ET

Tony Battalio

Golden State had a fantastic start to the regular season before injuries started to hamper their performance throughout the early part of the year. Now they are looking to get things on track once again and they will look to do so once more with a victory here on Sunday night on the road in the Pacific Northwest against the Portland Trail Blazers. This is a team Golden State has had a lot of success against over the last several years and they will look to keep that momentum rolling throughout this game on Sunday night as they look to get one game closer to getting back to .500 throughout the end of 2023. Golden State comes into this game three games below the .500 mark through their first 25 games of the season and they will look for their 12 victory of the season here on Sunday night on the road against Portland. They do have a little bit of momentum coming into this game after picking up a victory in their last game, and they will look for a second consecutive win here in this one.

Portland is off to an awful start this season, as they are still struggling to replace their superstar Damian Lillard after trading them away over the offseason. They have had plenty of opportunities to close out games this season, but they are lacking someone who excels at that like Lillard did, and that has cost them several games throughout the early part of the year. They will look to get things going in the right direction with a solid victory here on Sunday night at home against the Golden State Warriors, as they look for a huge momentum boost heading into the second half of December. Portland comes into this game as losers of 18 out of their first 24 games of the regular season and they will look for their seventh victory of the season here on Sunday night. However, I don’t see that happening as I look for Golden State to pick up the victory on the road here on Sunday night against Portland.

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