Our free NBA picks are out for Thursday, March 17th, 2022! Make sure you check our NBA picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free NBA picks for the one game on today’s schedule!
Detroit Pistons @ Orlando Magic – 7pm ET
The one and only game on Thursday night in the NBA will see the Detroit Pistons take on the Orlando Magic. The Pistons will be looking to put an end to their four game losing streak tonight, as they have losses to the Bulls, Celtics, Clippers and Heat. After winning two games in a row, the Magic have then gone on to drop their last two, and this takes their overall season record to 18-52.
Jeffery Thomas
Thursday’s spotlight game is going to show a lot of young talent in the NBA as we get the Detroit Pistons vs Orlando Magic. These are the bottom two teams in the Eastern Conference so no playoff implications, but there’s definitely plenty of reason to be excited for this matchup. One reason is the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham, who was last years #1 overall pick and as of late he’s showing exactly why. Cade has put up at least 20 points in eight of his last nine games and the one game he didn’t was a 19-point effort. The game is starting to slow down for him at this level and we’re getting a glimpse of his potential which is sky high and he could very well be this year’s Rookie of the Year. On the other side we have the Orlando Magic, who have a few exciting young pieces. Last year’s #8 overall pick Franz Wagner is putting together a solid rookie campaign averaging 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds a game. There’s also second-year guard Cole Anthony, who we all saw in the dunk contest. He is pacing the Magic in scoring (17.3) and assists (5.7) and is their emotional leader.
Then you throw in Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter, and rookie Jalen Suggs and you can see why Magic fans have some excitement about the future. Give both teams a few years of experience and I believe they’ll be really competitive. This will be the fourth and final meeting of these two teams this year, with Detroit leading the season series 2-1 so far. Each Pistons win was within seven points and the Magic win was the most recent matchup, a 119-103 result. Both teams have been playing the role of scrappy underdog recently, covering against heavy favorites so I don’t see much separation between the two sides. Neither team is potent offensively so the under may be a good look, but for a side I like the home Magic here. On their home court is where they’ve played their best basketball, despite how the last game against Brooklyn went (108-150). In what should be a very entertaining battle for die-hard NBA fans I’ll take the Magic to even up the season series.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Orlando Magic (-174)
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 16, 2022
Michael Lantz
Sure, you could be mean and label Thursday’s lone NBA game as a battle of the bottom-dwellers, but I chose to see this as a matchup of two teams that have tons of future talent. The Orlando Magic may be 18-52 and coming off a 42-point loss to Brooklyn, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be excited about their slew of recent draft picks. From the 2021 draft, Frank Wagner and Jalen Suggs have both emerged as top rookies of the league. Additionally the team is also seeing continued success from 2020 pick Cole Anthony as well. While they might be a couple years from contending, this Magic team is in no way a drag to watch in the meantime. Same can be said for the Detroit Pistons. This 18-51 team has strung together some solid performances lately, including a three-game win streak two weeks ago.
This has been thanks in large part to the play of Cade Cunningham, who is looking worthy of the first overall pick. The team also has seen success from veteran Jeremi Grant and youngster Saddiq Bey. Unfortunately, for Thursday night’s game, Grant will be out with an injury and Cunningham is questionable after missing their last game with a slight injury as well. Meanwhile Suggs will be missing this game on the Magic’s end. With at least one key player confirmed out for both sides this one should be close. Ultimately, I’ll play it safe and go with the home team, the Magic. Despite getting blown out by the Nets on Tuesday, they took the 76ers to overtime and with the Pistons’ Cunningham being questionable, I think the Magic are the pick.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Orlando Magic (-174)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
