Free NBA Picks Today for Sunday, January 23rd, 2022

Free NBA Picks Today for Sunday, January 23rd, 2022
Sun 23rd January 2022

Our free NBA picks are out for Sunday, January 23rd, 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!

Los Angeles Lakers @ Miami Heat – 6pm ET

The road trip continues on for the Los Angeles Lakers, and on Sunday night they travel to Miami to take on the Heat. The Lakers have won two of their last three, with wins over the Jazz and Magic. The Heat have also won two of their last three, and their wins came over the Raptors and Trail Blazers.

Denis Kirilov

The Miami Heat take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night in their FTX Arena. The Heat were forced to play quite short-handed through a big part of the season, but they managed to keep their heads above water. The team sits in 3rd place with 29 wins and 17 losses and they even had the chance to give players like Max Strus and Gabe Vincent more playing time that might end up being crucial at some point in the season. Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson led the team when they were without Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.  

The Los Angeles Lakers continue struggling in the NBA this season. Despite the high expectations, the reality is quite different as LeBron James and his teammates will need to level up their game in order to have even the slightest chance against the top teams. They, however, took a nice 101-95 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday, but this high-level performance was followed by a disappointing 7-point loss to the Indiana Pacers at home. I think that they won’t be able to withstand Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo who are eager to reach new heights after their return from injuries. My pick here is in favour of the Heat, hoping that they will be able to cover their spread.  

Denis’ NBA Pick: Miami Heat -4 (-110)

Michael Lantz

After a couple of disappointing losses, the Los Angeles Lakers took care of business against the Orlando Magic on Friday night. LeBron James was magnificent per usual and a struggling Russell Westbrook silenced his critics with a solid game across the board. On Sunday they’ll face their 2020 NBA Finals opponent the Miami Heat.

Miami just can’t bring a fully healthy team to the floor. They were thrilled to just get Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler back—only to lose guard Kyle Lowry. Lowry’s presence was missed on Friday as the Heat lost to a lethal Atlanta Hawks offense 110-118. They’ll have their hands full again against LeBron, Russ, and maybe even Anthony Davis. Still, the Lakers have been incredibly streaky, and playing in Miami will be no easy task. This one could be a toss-up, but I’ll pick the Heat, who’ve been incredibly resilient this year.

Michael’s NBA Pick: Miami Heat (-172)

Chicago Bulls @ Orlando Magic – 6pm ET

The Chicago Bulls are in the middle of their three game road trip, and tonight they will face off against the Orlando Magic. The Bulls have lost five of their last six, and this takes their season record to 28-16. The Magic are currently on a four game losing streak, after losing to the Mavericks, Trail Blazers, 76ers and Lakers.

Denis Kirilov

The Chicago Bulls have been fantastic in the first half of the season, securing their top spot in the Eastern Conference. However, after six losses in eight games, they dropped to second place as they are now holding a 28-16 record. They took a harsh hit as Zach LaVine suffered a knee injury against the Golden State Warriors on January 14th. He will remain sidelined for a couple more matches as Lonzo Ball is also out with a knee injury as well. The Bulls will surely look to make some progress as the competition in the East continues to grow and they might find themselves outside the top 4, if they go on like this. DeMar DeRozan came really close to the victory against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, but his efforts came up short in the end. 

The Orlando Magic is a very convenient opponent for the Bulls in their current situation. The Magic have been struggling from the very beginning of the campaign as they are dead last in the East with just 8 wins out of 47 matches. The team is on a 4-game losing streak ahead of their meeting with the Bulls and nothing out there suggests they will be able to compete with DeMar DeRozan and his teammates. The Magic have one of the worst offensive lines in the NBA which should further make the task for Chicago a lot easier. My pick here goes in favour of the Bulls as I expect them to cover their spread without a lot of trouble. 

Denis’ NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls -3.5 (-110)
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Michael Lantz

The Bulls suffered another major injury blow on Friday as they lost defensive wizard Alex Caruso to a wrist injury, right after he returned after missing multiple weeks. He’s added to a list of injured players that includes Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, and more. This team will continue to try and forge ahead despite so much unfortunate luck. Fortunately, their next opponent is the 8-39 Orlando Magic.

Orlando has been pretty abysmal this year. They have the league’s worst record and are undoubtedly headed for another top-three pick in the draft. Still, there have been a couple of small bright spots. Youngsters Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and Wendell Carter Jr. have all been playing solid ball lately, so Orlando has to be feeling pretty good about their future. With so many Bulls players injured, this might be their best chance to pull off a win. Still, I expect DeMar DeRozan to take care of this suspect Orlando defense and make sure the Bulls’ suffering doesn’t get any worse with a loss to a team that hasn’t even won ten games.

Michael’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls -3.5 (-110)

Memphis Grizzlies @ Dallas Mavericks – 7.30pm ET

The Memphis Grizzlies are in the third game of their four game road trip, and on Sunday night they take on the Dallas Mavericks. The Grizzlies have won two of their last four, and this takes their season record to 32-16. The Mavericks had their four game winning streak snapped last time out, thanks to the Suns, 101-109.

Denis Kirilov

The Memphis Grizzlies and the Dallas Mavericks will face each other for a fourth time this season. In every single match, the guests took a convincing victory as Dallas leads 2-1 so far. The Mavericks stopped the 11-game winning streak of the Grizzlies who are eager to get revenge. Ja Morant has been an exception this season proving that he can be a leader in the NBA in the upcoming seasons. Moreover, Desmond Bane has improved a lot throughout the last year as this was the essence for Memphis’ strong first half of the campaign.  

Luka Doncic continues to be the most valuable asset for the Mavericks as he led them to a 10-1 run recently. The Slovenian definitely worked on his physique and endurance in order to be competitive enough in the most important parts of the games. Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson have also been playing really well lately, thus helping the Mavs jump to 5th place in the West with a 26-20 record. However, they remain a lot behind the Grizzlies who are 3rd with 32 wins and 16 losses. I think that in the absence of key players like Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks, the Mavs will punish the Grizzlies once again.  

Denis’ NBA Pick: Dallas Mavericks (-156)

Michael Lantz

This should be a fun one, as two of the NBA’s hottest teams over the last month go at it on Sunday night. After winning 11 straight games, the Grizzlies dropped their January 14th game against, who else, the Dallas Mavericks. They’ll look for some payback on Sunday night, but it won’t be easy as they’re missing key players Desmond Bane, Kyle Anderson, and for the foreseeable future Dillon Brooks. Still, with Ja Morant at the helm, anything is possible for this jubilant young team.

On the other hand, the Dallas Mavericks are healthy and were in the midst of a four-game winning streak last week. But, when they faced their first big test in the Phoenix Suns, they couldn’t quite pull off the victory, losing 101-109. They’ll hope to bounce back against another top opponent in the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, but they might also be without a key player. Luka Doncic has neck soreness, and while he’s not on the current injury report, he still described himself as “hopeful to play” over the weekend. With the Grizzlies ailing, the Mavericks would love to have Doncic in the game as a major advantage. Imagining he still plays, I’ll go with the Mavericks to take out this Grizzlies team at American Airlines Arena.

Michael’s NBA Pick: Dallas Mavericks (-156)

Brooklyn Nets @ Minnesota Timberwolves – 8pm ET

The Brooklyn Nets wrap up their four game road trip on Sunday night when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are playing just the one game at home before hitting the road again. The Nets have won three of their last four, with their only loss coming at the hands of the Cavaliers, 107-114. The Timberwolves have won two of their last five games, and this takes their season record to 22-23.

Denis Kirilov

Although the Brooklyn Nets had to go through a lot of up and down periods, the team managed to reach the top spot in the East with 29 wins and 16 losses. The Nets were forced to play without Kyrie Irving for the biggest part of the season, while Kevin Durant and James Harden took some rest here and there as well. The supporting cast has also been struggling to help their star players as only Patty Mills and Nic Claxton have made a good impression so far. The Brooklyn Nets won their last two meetings in the NBA against the Washington Wizards and the San Antonio Spurs on the road. They played these two matches without Kevin Durant who will miss the upcoming fixture against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a knee injury. 

The Timberwolves, on the other hand, have been playing surprisingly well this season. Their attacking trio, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and D’Angelo Russell have been the driving force for the team so far, but players like Jarred Vanderbilt and Patrick Beverley have also come up clutch for some victories during the campaign. Despite sitting in 8th place in the West, the Timberwolves can surely be delighted with their performance so far. They have a real chance to make the Playoffs and on top of that, with a bit of luck, they can finish in the top 6 in the Conference. In my opinion, they are a very dangerous opponent that can surprise anyone from the big names in the current NBA and that’s why I will trust them to defeat the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. 

Denis’ NBA Pick: Minnesota Timberwolves (-130)
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Michael Lantz

The Brooklyn Nets may have lost Kevin Durant for 4-6 weeks, but when it comes to road games, they’re happy to have Kyrie Irving back, filling the scoring void. Along with Irving, the team has James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Patty Mills to keep this high octane offense scoring. This was apparent in their last two wins against the Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs where the team scored well into the 100s in both games. Now they’ll have to keep up with a young Minnesota Timberwolves team that can also put up the points.

After a few weeks where they suffered injuries and COVID issues, the Timberwolves are back, flirting with a playoff spot. After big wins against the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks last week, the Timberwolves, unfortunately, dropped a game to another young team that loves to score in the Atlanta Hawks. 

As Minnesota’s young core looks to mature, they’ll hope to grab a big win against a team that’s very veteran-heavy in Brooklyn. A couple of key factors in this one will be, of course, Karl Anthony-Towns, who should be able to dominate inside and around against this Nets team that’s had a hard time grabbing rebounds and being aggressive down low this year. Another key factor, if he plays, will be Patrick Beverley, who’ll sure to disrupt the likes of Irving and Harden defensively in this one. Still, through the controversy that surrounded him, people seemed to forget how good Kyrie Irving is. Each game he’s played in he’s gotten better and I expect him to continue that progress against Minnesota, whether Beverley is defending him or not. Minnesota might be the favorite pick here, but with Brooklyn at +110 and Irving growing more comfortable by the game, I’m going to go with the Nets. 

Michael’s NBA Pick: Brooklyn Nets (+110)

Utah Jazz @ Golden State Warriors – 8.30pm ET

The final game on Sunday night’s slate will see the Utah Jazz face off against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. The Jazz are looking to get back on track after winning just two of their last eight games, and this takes their season record to 30-16. The Warriors have gone win-loss-win-loss-win in their last five games, and last time out they narrowly beat the Rockets, 105-103. 

Denis Kirilov

The Golden State Warriors take on the Utah Jazz in one of the most entertaining games on Sunday in the NBA. One of the leading teams in the Western Conference will face each other for a second time this year. The first game ended up in favour of the Warriors who took a 123-116 win in a match where Steph Curry dropped 28 points, while Andrew Wiggins dropped 25 points. Donovan Mitchell was the disappointing factor for the Jazz as he ended up having 20 points on a 4-19 shooting which came in crucial in the end.  

Both the Warriors and the Jazz have been struggling recently more than one would expect. Golden State has lost 6 games in their last 10 appearances, while Utah is on a 2-6 run ahead of this match. The decline in their performance could have been well anticipated as both of them have been over performing so far and it is quite unlikely to keep that high level of play until the end of the season. In my opinion, we will see a very interesting game full of defensive plays, despite both teams’ high-scoring abilities. That’s why I will go with the option for “under points”, expecting to see around 200 points in total.  

Denis’ NBA Pick: Under 220.5 (-110)

Michael Lantz

This should’ve had all the making of a potential Western Conference Finals matchup, but unfortunately, both the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors will be without key players. The Jazz won’t have leading scorer Donovan Mitchell, who has been in concussion protocol since after his game last Monday against the Los Angeles Lakers. For the Warriors, they’ve been without Draymond Green, who is out with a calf/ back injury. Both these teams have looked a bit out of character without these key players. The Jazz had already gone 1-4 when big man Rudy Gobert was sidelined, and now they’ve gone 1-1 since Mitchell has been out. These two games were against two of the league’s worst teams, as they lost to the Houston Rockets and then barely slipped by the Detroit Pistons. The Jazz will have to kick things into a new gear if they have any shot against the Warriors on Sunday.

But, without Green, the Warriors have been no saints themselves. On Thursday they were embarrassed by an Indiana Pacers team that was resting all of their starters and then barely beat the Houston Rockets, thanks to Steph Curry’s last-second heroics. These two Western Conference giants are going through rough patches right now, but both will want to use a win here as motivation going forward. Both teams are extremely talented on both sides of the ball, but Golden State seems to be better at stepping up in these kinds of games. Yes, Green is a huge loss, but they still have Curry and Klay Thompson, whereas the Jazz are without their best scorer in Mitchell. While Gobert should be able to feast with no Green, I’m not sure the Jazz have enough to keep up with a Warriors team that still has plenty of shooters, depth, and defense. 

Michael’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors -4 (-110)

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

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