Free NBA Picks Today for Thursday, March 18th, 2021

Free NBA Picks Today for Thursday, March 18th, 2021
Thu 18th March 2021

A massive 18-9 night from our free NBA picks last night, returning a $100 bettor a profit of $283.75!! Our bets are absolutely rolling right now, so you don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to enjoy watching some basketball and making a profit while doing it!

Another six games tonight means 18 free NBA picks for our followers and the best in-depth analysis to provide you with all the information and answer all of your questions before placing your bets.

Utah Jazz @ Washington Wizards – 7PM ET

One night after hosting the lowly Kings, and losing to them, the Washington Wizards have to back it up again tonight against the league leading Utah Jazz. Washington had their chances but were unable to escape with the win and now the team they are hosting tonight is 14 games better off in the standings and may have found their rhythm again in Boston. 

After losing three straight road games, Utah used a full team performance and a massive last quarter to escape Boston with a 117-109 win. With just four minutes remaining, Utah led by only one point but used a 19-12 run to close out the game. Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson both reached 20 points while Rudy Gobert had another big game with 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. 

He should be looking to continue his dominance downlow against a thin Washington frontcourt that gave up 18 points, seven boards and two blocks to Sacramento big man Richuan Holmes last night and allowed the Kings to put up 121 points in the loss. 

It was the same old story of another big night from both Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook but the Wizards being unable to secure the win. A game high 29 points from Beal was complemented by a 26 point, 14 rebound and 10 assist triple double from Westbrook, but the pair combined for 10 turnovers and the Wizards shot a miserable 4/25 from deep in the loss. 

This should be a pretty straightforward pick to start the night as we look to Utah to start us off with a bang, but with them laying 8.5 points to Washington, the spread pick gets a bit more complicated. 

NBA Pick – Utah Jazz (-750)
NBA Spread – Washington Wizards +11 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Over 237.5 (-110)

Oklahoma City Thunder @ Atlanta Hawks – 7:30PM ET

The Atlanta Hawks are making a quick stop at home before starting an eight game West Coast road trip, and will want to go into that with momentum. They have won six straight and have a perfect opportunity to make it seven when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight, who are coming off a disappointing 21 point loss in Chicago on Tuesday night.

It was quite a surprising outcome for OKC, given they had six players in double figures which was led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 21 points and Moses Brown’s 20 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks. The issue was that they gave up 123 points, including a massive 42 in the first quarter. On top of that they shot just 35% from deep and committed 17 turnovers for the match. 

They will have to take care of the ball better and make the most of their opportunities against a streaking Atlanta side that has won four of their six straight by double digits, including each of the last three. 

Most recently it was a 119-107 win in Houston, all without dominant big man Clint Capela. Danilo Gallinari stepped up into the starting lineup in his absence and poured in a team high 29 points on 10/14 shooting. John Collins enjoyed the increased opportunity inside as well, putting up a nice line of 20 points, 10 boards and four blocks while Trae Young shot just 3/13 from the field for his 13 points but added 14 assists. 

Atlanta have kept their last three opponents to an average of just over 98 points per game and now face a Thunder side that has scored 102 and 97 in two of their last three games. The Hawks also perform much better defensively when playing at home and OKC are two points worse off offensively when on the road. 

While Clint Capela is just questionable to return in this one, the Hawks have shown their ability to perform without him and we like them to pick up another win here tonight. 

NBA Pick – Atlanta Hawks (-300)
NBA Spread – Oklahoma City Thunder +10.5 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Over 224.5 (-110)

Orlando Magic @ New York Knicks – 7:30PM ET

The New York Knicks return home after a four game road trip to host an Orlando Magic side that has dropped eight straight games and are just 5-13 on the road this season. The Knicks aren’t coming in with much good form either, going just 1-3 over that road trip, however a five point loss in Brooklyn and a three point loss in Philadelphia isn’t as bad as it suggests. 

Tuesday night saw the Knicks get up by as many as nine points heading into the last quarter, but the fatigue kicked in, being on the second night of a back to back, and only managed a 14-26 last quarter, going down 96-99. Julius Randle had team highs across the board with 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists but the team shot just 33.3% from deep and only 63.6% from the line, wasting opportunities to steal the game.

Things should turn around getting back on their home floor though where they are 11-7 overall compared to being 9-14 on the road. The positive for the Knicks is that their offense should improve as well, averaging the third worst overall but performing six points per game better at home. 

Orlando on the other hand have the second worst scoring offense and are 2.8 points per game worse off when on the road, whilst also allowing 2.4 points per game more when travelling. Last time out, on Sunday, the Magic fell 97-102 to Miami, at home, despite Nikola Vucevic leaving everything out on the court yet again. The big man finished with 38 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals while Terrance Ross chipped in 31 off the bench, but the rest of the team, eight players that logged over nine minutes, combined for just 28 points on 8/29 shooting. 

Given how poorly the Magic are playing at the moment, especially on the road, and the fact that New York performs so much better at home, we like the Knicks to win this and they should win quite comfortably. The teams have split the previous two matchups, with the home side winning each time, so we like that trend to continue here. 

NBA Pick – New York Knicks (-200)
NBA Spread – New York Knicks -4.5 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Under 209.5 (-110)

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Phoenix Suns – 10PM ET

The Phoenix Suns will host the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight in the first of a two game set between the two sides, in what will be their second and then last meetings of the season. Phoenix took the first matchup, in Minnesota, 118-99 and will be looking for a similar result on their home floor. 

Tonight’s game is the middle of a five game home stand for Phoenix and while they didn’t start it as they would have liked, a 10 point loss to the Pacers, they bounced back in emphatic fashion, beating Memphis 122-99. Devin Booker top scored for the game with 27 points while Chris Paul added 18 points, seven assists and four steals. 

Deandre Ayton had a good all around game for Phoenix, putting up 15 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals, but he will need to be on top of his game coming up against Karl-Anthony Towns for these two games. 

The big man had an equal game high 29 points, adding seven assists, six boards and two blocks, but it wasn’t enough as the Timberwolves allowed LA to score 137 points in a 16 point loss. Anthony Edwards continued his hot shooting with 29 points of his own while Ricky Rubio had a 19 point, 12 assist double double, but giving up that many points is never going to win games.

Phoenix has the third best net rating in the league, thanks to an eighth best offensive rating and even better sixth best defensive rating. Minnesota on the other hand are bottom five for all three categories and is shakey, at best, on the defensive end when travelling, giving up a league worst 120 points per game as the road team. 

NBA Pick – Phoenix Suns (-550)
NBA Spread – Phoenix Suns -10.5 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Over 228 (-110)

New Orleans Pelicans @ Portland Trail Blazers – 10PM ET

We have a rematch of Tuesday night’s action between the Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans, and what a thriller the first leg was! Despite trailing by 14 at half time, and 17 with less than six to go, the Blazers used a 25-7 run to finish the game and come out on top 125-124. 

Damian Lillard was the star of the show, scoring 20 of Portland’s 43 fourth quarter points on his way to 50 for the game, adding 10 assists and six rebounds as well. Gary Trent Jr added 22 points off the bench while CJ McCollum had 10 points in 26 minutes in his return to action.

Both teams shot incredibly, going over 52% from the field and over 41% from deep, but the difference could very well have been in the free throws. New Orleans shot 16/20 (80%) from the line, which is very impressive, but Portland shot a ridiculous 31/31, including Lillard’s two with 1.2 seconds left to give the Blazers the lead for the first time since the first three minutes of the game.

For New Orleans, Brandon Ingram top scored with 30, Zion Williamson had 28 points and eight assists while Lonzo Ball had a big double double with 11 points and 17 assists, with just two turnovers as well, but giving up 43 fourth quarter points and an 18 point lead with so little left will leave a bad taste in the Pelicans’ mouths. 

We saw Portland play a two game set with the same side just before this matchup with the Pels, beating Minnesota in a close one before failing to back it up and splitting the pair. However, they are now 2-0 against the Pelicans, yet the combined margin of those two wins is just three points. We are expecting another close one here, but with New Orleans being just 9-13 after a loss and Portland being 10-4 as a home favorite, we are siding with the Blazers again.

NBA Pick – Portland Trail Blazers (-115)
NBA Spread – Portland Trail Blazers -1 (-110)
Total Points Pick – Under 241.5 (-110)

Charlotte Hornets @ Los Angeles Lakers – 10:30PM ET

The Charlotte Hornets are on the quick back up after a disappointing showing in Denver tonight, travelling to LA to take on the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time this season. The positive for Charlotte is the blowout allowed some of their high-minute starters to get some extra rest heading into this one, but against a Lakers side that is 3-0 since the break and coming off back to back wins by a combined 47 points, things aren’t looking great.

On Tuesday night, LA used a 66-51 second half to run away with the game, led by a 25 point, 12 rebound and 12 assist triple double from LeBron James, his second straight, as well as 25 points, six assists and four rebounds from Montrezl Harrell. 

The Lakers shot an incredible 57.5% from the field and 50% from deep in the win and now come up against a Charlotte defense that allows eight points per game more on the road and just gave up 95 points to Denver last night, before the Nuggets took their foot off the gas in the last.

The Hornets still fell 104-129, having their four game winning streak snapped thanks to some terrible defense. Terry Rozier had a successful night with an efficient 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, but Charlotte had more turnovers, less threes and were outrebounded by 14!

Charlotte is now 8-11 on the road this season and just an even 4-4 on the second night of back to backs while the Lakers are a perfect 7-0 when playing with a rest advantage, something they will have tonight. Look for LeBron to have another big night and Harrell to dominate a thin Hornets frontcourt. 

NBA Pick – Los Angeles Lakers (-315)
NBA Spread – Charlotte Hornets +8 (-110)
Total Points Pick – O225 (-110)

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of Bet365

Tim is a keen follower of all American sports, in particular the NBA and NFL. He has followed both sports for over a decade and would happily sit down and watch every game, regardless of who is playing! No matter the sport, whether it be NFL and NBA or even MLB, NHL, UFC and all sports, Tim covers it from every angle, staying in the loop to bring you the most up-to-date information and the best picks and predictions on the market.