Our free NBA picks are out for Sunday, March 6th, 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!
Brooklyn Nets @ Boston Celtics – 1pm ET
An Atlantic Division rivalry to kick off your Sunday viewing in the NBA, when the Brooklyn Nets take on the Boston Celtics. The struggle has continued on at the Nets, and they have now lost their last three games in a row to the Raptors (twice) and Heat. The Celtics have won 13 of their last 15 games, and this takes their season record to 38-27.
Jeffery Thomas
Brooklyn needs a win in this matchup on Sunday to avoid falling below .500 and it will be not an easy task. Boston is winners of 13 of their last 15 games and will get to host this matinee game. They will still be without Jaylen Brown however, who went down a couple games ago in their win against Atlanta. That didn’t stop them from beating the red-hot Grizzlies in the next game by a score of 120-107 on the back of Jayson Tatum’s 37 points. The Nets will have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the floor together for the first time since January 12 and they will need big performances from their two stars down the stretch to gain some confidence and work their way out of the play-in tournament. KD’s first game back was a 31 point game against the Heat, but Brooklyn couldn’t get the win, falling 113-107.
They now get a tough Boston team on the road, in a game Kyrie Irving should be super motivated for, given how his tenure with the Celtics went. The Nets will be the more desperate team in this matchup and I think that will make all the difference. The Celtics were able to survive with no Jaylen Brown in the last game, but that will not be the norm. Jayson Tatum can only do so much, and with Kyrie and KD back together, I’m expecting big performances from those two to carry the Nets to a much needed victory.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Brooklyn Nets
Michael Lantz
With Under 20 games left in the season, the Brooklyn Nets are starting to feel the pressure. They’re currently the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and while Kevin Durant is back from injury, they’ll only have Kyrie Irving back for road games and Ben Simmons won’t make his debut until the end of the month. Still, for this one, Durant and Irving will be able to play together for the first time since January. They’re opponent is one of the hottest teams in the NBA, who shut down any critics after a big win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. After a bumpy start to the season, the Celtics are finally coming together, playing exceptional on both sides of the ball.
🔹 23rd player all-time
🔹 3rd active player @KDTrey5 has joined the 25K club! pic.twitter.com/xMD7aonznt— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 6, 2022
This is thanks to the likes of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who’ve continued to play at a high level. The only things is, Brown has been battling a bit of an ankle injury. While he’s only listed as questionable, he’s battled injuries intermittently throughout the season. Still, the Celtics have gone 8-2 in their last ten, and have constantly had players step up. While the Brooklyn Nets have been incredibly unpredictable and have looked far from contender status lately, I liked what I saw when Kyrie Irving led them to victory against the Bucks last Saturday. With Durant and Irving playing in this one, and the Nets desperately needing a big win, I’ll pick them to pull the minor upset.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Brooklyn Nets
Noah Dunlap
Even with Kevin Durant back in the lineup for the Brooklyn Nets, things didn’t get better, as they dropped their third straight, and have now lost 16 of their last 19. They’re quickly falling deeper into the idea of them not making the playoffs, which would simply be devastating for a team that had/has the talent they do. I think they do end up sneaking in, because of the fact that as Durant gets integrated back into the lineup, I think they’ll play better, but right now that doesn’t help them, especially against one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now.
Boston struggled for much of the early parts of the season, but have since turned it on in a big way. They’ve won 13 of their last 15, and even without Jaylen Brown for the past few, that hasn’t stopped them or slowed them down at all. Their shooting has improved greatly, and with the fact that they’re putting more emphasis on the defensive side of the ball, things are starting to look like they may be a team to watch out for in the East. With the Nets still struggling, I think the easy play here is to take Boston at home.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Boston Celtics -3
Phoenix Suns @ Milwaukee Bucks – 3.30pm ET
Another key matchup on Sunday afternoon in the NBA, when we see the best team in the league take on the defending champions. The Phoenix Suns are back on track after dropping two games in a row, as they have won their last two, over the Trail Blazers and Knicks. The Bucks are currently on a three game winning streak, and this includes wins over the Hornets, Heat and Bulls.
Jeffery Thomas
Part 2 of the NBA finals rematch and we are in Milwaukee for this one. Also, the circumstances are much different on the Phoenix side, the team that won the first matchup. In that game they had Chris Paul and Devin Booker, neither of which will be playing on Sunday. Chris Paul’s absence will be paramount, as he dished out 19 assists in the 131-107 win over Milwaukee. The Suns have had guys step up though, none more than Cam Johnson, who went off on Friday against the Knicks for 38 points on nine 3-pointers, including a game-winning three at the buzzer. Milwaukee was also in action on Friday night, beating the Bulls 118-112 in Chicago.
Giannis had another amazing performance with 34 points and 16 rebounds, something we’ve become accustomed to. Jrue Holiday also pitched in 26 points of his own and Khris Middleton had 22. Now both teams will have Saturday off to get ready for what should be an interesting battle in Milwaukee. Milwaukee lost the first meeting by 24 and should be happy to see no Booker or Paul. This is an ideal revenge spot for them to get back at a short handed Phoenix team, and I don’t think we’ll see them taking any possessions off. It will be an electric home atmosphere for the Bucks and with the help of their fans it should be a straightforward win for the champs.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks
Michael Lantz
In a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals, the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns will face off for the second time this season after the Suns ran over Milwaukee in early February. Now, the Bucks will look to even the season series, and with Chris Paul sidelined for the Suns, they’ve got a great shot. The Bucks currently sit in third in the Eastern Conference, but they’ve won three games in a row against very good opponents (the Hornets, Heat, and Bulls). Now they’ll look to put a cherry on top of this recent run with a win against the best team in basketball.
Mamu, the unofficial photographer of the Holiday family. 🤳 pic.twitter.com/lkLsYUgKjD
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 6, 2022
Even though the Suns have looked less dominant in Paul’s absence, they still have gone 3-2, even if one of those wins was a one-point win against the lowly New York Knicks. But it should also be mentioned that the team has been without Devin Booker, who is currently in COVID protocols. With Booker and Paul out, this one should be a no-brainer. Even though the Suns have impressive depth, they’ll have a hard time against the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday. Just to add insult to injury, this game is also in Milwaukee, where the Bucks are 22-12. I’ll pick the Bucks to cover, in this one.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks -7
Noah Dunlap
This is arguably the best matchup of the day, as we get the defending champions taking on the team that has been the best in the league all year long. The Milwaukee Bucks have been a bit stagnant for much of the year, and simply too inconsistent. Giannis is leading the way, as expected, but they haven’t gotten enough from the rest of the roster, which has caused them to have multiple stretches where they’ve struggled. They are on a two game winning streak, though, which should have their confidence through the roof heading into this one against Phoenix.
The Suns have been the best team in basketball all year long, as they come in with a 51-12 record, though they are currently without Chris Paul or Devin Booker. They took care of this Bucks team in their first meeting this season, though both of those guys were playing in that one, and could be missed in the game tonight. They’ve gotten help in Paul and Booker’s absences, as guys like Cam Johnson have stepped up in a major way, but taking on the Bucks when you aren’t 100% is no easy task, especially in Milwaukee, which is why I’m taking Bucks in a close one.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks
Memphis Grizzlies @ Houston Rockets – 7pm ET
Two teams from the Southwest Division, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets will go toe-to-toe on Sunday night. The Grizzlies are playing two nights in a row, and yesterday they won against the Magic. The Rockets continue to freefall, they are currently on a 12 game losing streak, and this takes their overall season record to 15-48.
Jeffery Thomas
The Memphis Grizzlies were able to cruise to a victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday, winning by 28 points and getting to rest their starters for most of the 4th quarter. That is important with them being on the back-to-back even though the Rockets don’t pose much threat as an opponent. The Grizzlies are already 2-0 against Houston this year, winning by an average of over 20 points and that was back before they hit their stride.
Now that the Grizzlies are playing the best basketball of their season it should be another blowout victory for them especially given the fact Houston has won just one game since the start of February. Ja Morant and company couldn’t have asked for a better opponent on the second leg of a back-to-back and they will come out early and jump all over the Rockets. I see this as a spot to bet the trifecta, which is the Grizzlies first quarter spread, halftime spread, and full-game spread because they should be up big from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies -11
Michael Lantz
While the Houston Rockets are 15-48 and in last in the Western Conference, they’ve still been quite fun to watch. Usually a team in dead last is a trainwreck, but the Rockets have shown some silver linings on offense this season. Young players like Jalen Green, Jae’Sean Tate, and Kevin Porter Jr. have given fans some hope for the future, and the likes of Christian Wood and Eric Gordon have helped these youngsters grow. Still, Houston’s biggest issue is that they’re awful at defense. This doesn’t bode well for them on Sunday, as they face an electric Memphis Grizzlies team.
Sunday Funday in H-Town 🤘
⏰ 6:00 PM Tip-Off
📺 @ATTSportsNetSW
📻 @SportsTalk790 / En Español KLAT 1010AM
🚀 @ATT pic.twitter.com/K2kEiOUrcG— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) March 6, 2022
The Memphis Grizzlies will play their third game in four days on Sunday. On Thursday they suffered a disappointing loss to a hot Boston Celtics team, as they were unable to cool down this Eastern Conference juggernaut despite them being without Jaylen Brown. Luckily, the Grizzlies, bounced back, taking out their angst on the Orlando Magic last night, 124-96. That easy win shouldn’t put too much strain on them come Sunday as they play the second game of a back-to-back. While Houston can always put up a lot of points, I expect the Grizzlies to run away with this one, and overtake the Warriors as the Western Conference two seed.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies -11
Noah Dunlap
After a tough loss to Boston on Thursday night, the Memphis Grizzlies got back on track with an absolute route of the lowly Orlando Magic last night. They got big nights from both Ja Morant and Desmond Bane in that one, and are continuing to keep pace in the Western Conference, as they find themselves right on the heels of the Golden State Warriors for the two-seed in the Western Conference. Now they travel to Houston for the second night of a back-to-back, which is the only part of this that worries me, as a Memphis native. If the Grizz come out and look flat and fatigued, they could get knocked off, but if they play remotely decent basketball, I think they’ll be fine.
Houston, on the other side, comes in having shown some faint flashes of future brilliance with an extremely young core of guys, featuring Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., and Christian Wood, but right now those guys have just proven to be too young and inexperienced, as they sit at 15-48 on the year, and are one of the worst teams in the NBA. They’ll play hard in this one, but I just don’t know that they have anything for Ja Morant and a Grizzlies team that has been on fire since the start of the new year. Give me the Grizz with ease.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Memphis Grizzlies -11
Utah Jazz @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 7pm ET
The Utah Jazz hit the road to wrap up the week with a game against Oklahoma City Thunder at their Paycom Center. The Jazz had their three game losing streak snapped last time out, thanks to the Pelicans, 90-124. The Thunder have been trading losses and wins for the last five games, and this takes their overall record to 20-43.
Jeffery Thomas
The Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder were both last in action on Friday night and suffered similar results. The Jazz were in New Orleans and suffered a 124-90 loss to the surging Pelicans. Donovan Mitchell never got things going, shooting 5-18 and only scoring 14 points. That trickled down to the rest of the team as well, especially Bojan Bogdanovic who shot 1-11, and it was just not their night. Oklahoma City that same night was at home but also suffered a loss by over 30 points. The Minnesota Timberwolves got the better of OKC 138-101 with no Anthony Edwards and gave the Thunder their 43rd loss on the year.
The injuries OKC is dealing with is just too much right now, and it’s leading to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander literally being their only option on offense, as he’s nearly accounting for a third of their scoring since his return from injury. He gets a stiff test against the Utah defense on Sunday though. After a day off to sit and sulk about the blowout loss to the Pelicans I expect the Jazz to take it all out on this short handed Thunder squad. They can key in on SGA defensively to slow them down and then take advantage of the Thunder’s lack of size on defense by continuously feeding Rudy Gobert down low. It’s going to be classic bully ball for Utah and they will impose their will enough to cover this large spread.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Utah Jazz -13.5
Michael Lantz
While the Oklahoma City Thunder have been mostly bad this season, they have shown some signs of promise for the future. Not only do they have a handful of draft picks in upcoming drafts, but they have a great young core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and Lu Dort. Still, when the Thunder lose, they lose bad. They’ve lost by 37, 21, and 20 points in their last three defeats. Still, recent wins against the Nuggets and Pacers prove you can never look past this young squad.
final pic.twitter.com/qMmS5tYdrI
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 5, 2022
Their opponent on Sunday is one of the NBA’s hottest teams—the Utah Jazz. After a rough start to 2022 (that was plagued by injuries), the Jazz are now playing like the team many expected them to be. They’re 8-2 over their last ten, and since the All-Star break they have picked up some big wins against the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns. But, there was some cause for concern on Friday as they were absolutely embarrassed by the New Orleans Pelicans, losing 124-90. While the Hornets have been on the rise, a team like the Jazz, who are dominant on both sides of the ball, should not be losing by that much. I’ll look for them to put that one behind them quick, as they should be able to handle this inconsistent Oklahoma Thunder team with ease.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Utah Jazz -13.5
Noah Dunlap
There doesn’t need to be much to summarize about this matchup. The Utah Jazz are one of the best, most balanced teams in the league, led by Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, and had a three game winning streak going before playing dead against the New Orleans Pelicans, in a game that they simply got destroyed in. That had become customary during the nearly month long stretch that Gobert and Mitchell both missed, but now that they’re back, I wouldn’t expect that to be a thing that we see very often.
Now they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, and while OKC has shown some improvement over the beginning of the year, they’re still sitting at 20-43, and are one of the worst teams in the NBA. There’s a limited amount of talent on this team, and they’re simply in need of more pieces, and while they do have quite a few draft picks coming up, that doesn’t do much for them to close out the rest of this season. Even with this one in Oklahoma City, I think Utah simply overpowers the Thunder here, walking away with an easy win.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Utah Jazz -13.5
New Orleans Pelicans @ Denver Nuggets – 8pm ET
Can the New Orleans Pelicans continue their hot run against another team that has also been on a tear as of late, in the Denver Nuggets? The Pelicans are currently riding a four game winning streak, which matches the longest winning streak they’ve had all season. Meanwhile the Nuggets are flying high, winning nine of their last 11 games.
Jeffery Thomas
The Pelicans are feeling great about things right now. Their trade for CJ McCollum has worked out perfectly and it has them playing like a legitimate playoff team. If they can ever get Zion Williamson back from injury, then the league will really have to worry about them. But for now, they will roll out to Denver with the same Zion-less squad that took it to the Utah Jazz 124-90 on Friday night. Brandon Ingram followed up his 33 points from the game before, with a 29 point performance against Utah and he’s just in a groove right now. They are holding on to the last spot in the play-in tournament currently, 2 games ahead of the Trailblazers.
Denver is sitting right above the play-in just 2 games ahead of the Timberwolves, so they know every game is important to stay where they are at. Their 6-game winning streak was snapped in the first game of March when they lost to the Thunder, but they bounced back with a 116-101 victory over Houston on Friday. There was no Nikola Jokic for the Nuggets that game, and DeMarcus Cousins took over in his absence, turning back the clock for 31 points. Getting 3 points in this spot for a team as hot as the New Orleans Pelicans is a gift. The Nuggets are a solid team and have put together a good season so far, but they are not a team that New Orleans won’t be able to handle. Denver is 2-0 the Pels but this is a totally different team now and one of those victories took overtime. I think this will be a close one either way so I like getting 3 points with an underdog who is in great form.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: New Orleans Pelicans +3
Michael Lantz
It’s starting to look like the CJ McCollum trade is gonna do wonders for the New Orleans Pelicans. The team has been on a hot run lately, beating all four of their opponents post All-Star break by double digits. Not only has the McCollum addition been a massive boost for a team that’s looking to make a playoff run, but news is out that Zion Williamson should make his long-awaited season debut in the next week. Still, before Williamson’s return, the team will look to continue to rise up the Western Conference standings, as the nine-seed is in their immediate sights.
That’s 4. Take note. @HancockWhitney | #WBD pic.twitter.com/EajHO3CkKM
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 5, 2022
Their opponent on Sunday won’t be an easy one. The Denver Nuggets are the six seed in the Western Conference, but they’ve done it without their second and third best players (Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.). Nikola Jokic has been putting together another MVP season and has gotten help from what seems to be a new face every night. Whether it’s Will Barton, Aaron Gordon, or Jeff Green, the Nuggets haven’t used injuries as an excuse to not play great basketball. They feel like a sleeping giant in the West—when they’re fully healthy next season, they should be a force atop the Western Conference. In the meantime they’ll do what they can to stay alive in the Western Conference playoff race. The Pelicans won’t be an easy task, as they’ve come out the post-All-Star break on complete fire. Still, I like them to take the home court advantage here and beat out the Pels in a close one.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Denver Nuggets
Noah Dunlap
Both of these teams are red hot as of late, as the Denver Nuggets have rolled right along, winning nine of their last 11, while the New Orleans Pelicans have run off four straight. The Pels have seen the trade to acquire CJ McCollum work wonders, and they hope to have to at success continue against another one of the hottest teams in the league.
Now they take on the Denver Nuggets, who have slowly begun to get help outside of the MVP-level play of Nikola Jokic. They started the year slow, as Jokic was having to be a one man wrecking crew, but lately they’ve seen some new faces step up in a major way. If these new faces continue to play well, and they continue to get this level of play from Jokic, they could be a sleeper in the Western Conference come playoff time. I think that continues in this one, as I’m going to take Denver in a pretty tight one, with the fact that this one is taking place in the Mile High City being a bit of a difference maker.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Denver Nuggets -3
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
