SportsTips is wanting to keep the Christmas weekend rolling with our new NBA picks for your Sunday.
10 games of action means we have picked 10 winners for you and we have more than a couple of teams being handed their first losses!
See who our NBA picks are below:
Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Clippers – 3:30PM ET
Two sides that were on opposite sides of their Christmas Day fixtures, Dallas stays in Los Angeles to take on the Clippers.
The Mavericks suffered a 23 point defeat at the hands of the Lakers to sit at 0-2 on the season. Luka Doncic had 27 points in the matchup but his lack of help was the story. Dallas looked awful on offense when he wasn’t on the floor and that doesn’t look like changing.
The Clippers on the other hand had a 13-point victory in Denver to move to 2-0, but at what cost? Kawhi Leonard left the game late after an accidental elbow from a teammate and had to get eight stitches to fix up a cut. He is currently listed as questionable for the contest.
Even if Leonard doesn’t play, the Clippers’ supporting cast is still a lot better than the Mavericks’ and Paul George, who is averaging 28 points per game, will be able to lift them over the line at home.
NBA Pick – Los Angeles Clippers (-198).
Brooklyn Nets @ Charlotte Hornets – 7PM ET
This should be an easy one for Brooklyn who is scoring like an absolute monster at the moment. Kyrie Irving is averaging 31.5 points per game on 62.2% shooting while Kevin Durant is averaging 25.5 points on 50% shooting from the field. Both are doing it under 30 minutes per night.
The Nets have defeated Golden State and Boston in consecutive games and now face an 0-2 Charlotte team that has lost to Cleveland and Oklahoma City, the two sides who entered the season with the worst odds for the title. Terry Rozier cooled off after his 42-point performance and Charlotte needs any support it can get.
Brooklyn will win this, it is just a matter of by how much, and the Hornets may be looking for their first win for a while.
NBA Pick – Brooklyn Nets (-375).
Orlando Magic @ Washington Wizards – 7PM ET
The second night of a back to back between these two sides will see Washington come out hungry after being handed their second straight defeat.
Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook laid it all on the line yet again with Beal having another 30 point game while Westbrook had his second straight triple double. Unfortunately it was the same story of the two-man show not being enough for the Wizards.
Orlando has surprised most by starting the season 2-0 on the back of some even team performances. Terrance Ross continues to be a flame thrower of the bench, averaging 22 points through the first two games while Nikola Vucevic had a monster game with 22 points and 16 boards.
With Scott Brooks stating that Westbrook is unlikely to play in back-to-backs and him playing in the first of these two contests, he will likely sit. This means that it will be left all to Beal to pick up the slack and Orlando looks like too good of a team to let that happen.
NBA Pick – Orlando Magic (-102).
Back at it tomorrow vs. the Wizards (again)! pic.twitter.com/jI4F6zAZV7
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) December 27, 2020
San Antonio Spurs @ New Orleans Pelicans – 7PM ET
We have gone against the Spurs twice and that is how many times they have burnt us. San Antonio has started the season 2-0 with wins against Memphis and now Toronto.
The matchup with the Raptors took the full 48 minutes but DeMar DeRozan once again led the team to victory. Another 27 points, five rebounds and eight assists tallied up by the former All Star against his old side while Dejounte Murray had a triple double with 11, 10 & 10.
New Orleans on the other hand come into this one on the back of a 13-point loss at the hands of the Miami Heat. Zion Williamson comes in off a monster 32 point, 14 rebound double-double while Brandon Ingram continued his scoring streak with 28 points.
There wasn’t much outside of those two and Gregg Popovich has a way with coming up to stifle big names amongst NBA circles. San Antonio have started the season perfectly, and we are hoping we can get on the right side of one of their contests with this one. Take the Spurs to back it up and get a win on the road.
NBA Pick – San Antonio Spurs (+176).
Philadelphia 76ers @ Cleveland Cavaliers – 7:30PM ET
Not many would have expected Cleveland to start the season 2-0, but here we are! It took two overtime periods to overcome Detroit last night but the Cavaliers are yet to lose and it is mainly due to their guard combo of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland.
Sexton had 32 points on 65% shooting while Garland had 21 points and 12 assists in the win. Andre Drummond was massive with 23 points, 16 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks against his old side.
They now face a much tougher test in the 2-0 Philadelphia 76ers. Philly got a 20-point win over the Knicks, where Joel Embiid had 27 points and 10 boards. Ben Simmons will be a tough matchup for the Cavs’ guard combo and will look to slow down the pair with his length while helping Philly move to 3-0 on the season.
With both teams playing last night, Cleveland’s double overtime matchup where four starters played 40+ minutes will have a big impact on their ability to back it up in this one.
NBA Pick – Philadelphia 76ers (-260).
Milwaukee Bucks @ New York Knicks – 7:30PM ET
The Milwaukee Bucks put in a Christmas Day performance that we expected from them with a 39-point pounding of the Golden State Warriors. The three-pronged approach of Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday continues to work wonders for the Bucks on both ends of the floor, with Middleton being the star offensively on Friday with 31 points.
New York on the other hand have had two competitive games against two playoff teams from last season, but never really looked like winning either of them. Julius Randle continues to do a bit of everything for the team, this time scoring himself with …
Milwaukee should have a similar performance to their one against the Warriors against this Knicks team.
NBA Pick – Milwaukee Bucks (-700).
Khris was really scoring from anywhere yesterday. That shot is pure. (via @Bucks) pic.twitter.com/2GEeCstwiI
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) December 26, 2020
Boston Celtics @ Indiana Pacers – 8PM ET
Sitting at 2-0 on the season with two double point victories, Indiana are looking good out east. Their most recent a 19 point victory over the Chicago Bulls where the third quarter did all of the talking, outscoring Chicago by 18! Domantas Sabonis led the way once again with a big triple double, scoring 22 points while adding 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
They now face their toughest test in the Boston Celtics who will be looking to get back on the winners’ list. Jaylen Brown is breaking out in the early stages of the season, averaging 30 points on 49% from the field while Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart are picking up the slack on both ends to fill the void left by Kemba Walker.
These matchups are normally classics and despite their 2-0 start to the season, Indiana have faced two teams that didn’t play playoffs last year while Boston has faced two of the best teams in the game and will come out on top in this one.
NBA Pick – Boston Celtics (-138).
Golden State Warriors @ Chicago Bulls – 8PM ET
Two disappointing 0-2 sides do battle when Golden State heads to Chicago. Both sides have been blown out of the water, however Golden State has played two of the best teams in the competition in Brooklyn and Milwaukee.
Chicago on the other hand has faced Atlanta and Indiana, relying too much on their inefficient starters and now have to back up against Steph Curry and the Warriors.
The Warriors haven’t been playing well themselves with Kelly Oubre Jr and Andrew Wiggins not providing consistent support for Curry.
This comes down to Golden State being the better team on paper and also getting an extra day’s rest coming into this. Take the Warriors to notch win number one for the season.
NBA Pick – Golden State Warriors (-146).
De’Aaron Fox (24 PTS, 7 AST, 2 BLK) and the @SacramentoKings win at home! #KiaTipOff20
Marvin Bagley III: 13 PTS, 11 REB
Devin Booker: 26 PTS
Chris Paul: 22 PTS, 12 AST pic.twitter.com/DCLKKKWOcD— NBA (@NBA) December 27, 2020
Phoenix Suns @ Sacramento Kings – 9PM ET
Phoenix and Sacramento went head to head last night, and they are going again! The Kings came out victorious by three points, but always seemed to have control.
De’Aaron Fox had 24 points and seven assists in the contest and had Sacramento on the front foot from the jump. All five starters scored in double figures for the Kings who are now 2-0 for the season with big scalps of Denver and Phoenix.
The Suns came in off a big win over Dallas and were favored in this one but were once again hindered by Deandre Ayton’s foul trouble throughout the night. Devin Booker once again led the scoring for Phoenix with 26 while Chris Paul had 22 and 12 for his first big game as a Sun.
It is hard to predict these games where teams play on back to back nights, but Phoenix would want to be leaving Sacramento with a win and they should be getting it. If Ayton stays out of foul trouble then it is a completely different game and they should learn from their mistakes.
NBA Pick – Phoenix Suns (-162).
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Los Angeles Lakers – 10PM ET
The 2-0 Minnesota Timberwolves waltz into Los Angeles on the back of a big team win over the Utah Jazz.
Former Laker, D’Angelo Russell was the lead man against the jazz scoring 25 points while Karl-Anthony Towns had another double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, setting up a big contest against Anthony Davis.
Davis was the star of the show in the Lakers’ 23-point win over the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day with an efficient 28 points and eight rebounds. LeBron James chipped in with 22 points and 10 rebounds while the new additions of Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell combined for 40 points.
While the Timberwolves come in undefeated and with a big win over Utah under their belt, the Lakers at home with an extra day’s rest are too much and too enticing.
NBA Pick – Los Angeles Lakers (-520).
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of PointsBet.
