Our free NBA Picks are out for Thursday, October 28th, 2021! Make sure you check our NBA Picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free NBA Picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!
Atlanta Hawks @ Washington Wizards – 7pm EDT
Both the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards come into this matchup with a 3-1 record and on the back of impressive victories last night, but only one can prevail. Will Bradley Beal find his groove to help push the Wizards over the top or can Trae Young and the Hawks play spoiler?
Denis Kirilov
The Hawks are facing a flying Wizards team in Capital One Arena in Washington. Both teams have a record of 3-1 and they are looking to improve it after this fixture. The good thing for them is that one team will be at 80% win-rate after the game. The Wizards defeated a strong-looking Celtics squad in their TD Garden last night. The 6th man of the year from 2020, Montrezl Harrell, led the team towards the victory yesterday with his 25 points and 11 rebounds. Dinwiddie, Beal, Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope, and Holiday all come up together in order to get the important win.
Trae Young, the Hawks’ superstar, started off the season with just 19 points against the Dallas Mavericks and people became concerned with his current form. However, he proved his critics wrong with a couple two 30+ point matches ahead of this game. John Collins, Cam Reddish and Bogdan Bogdanovic are all able to come up huge in certain games to help off Trae Young. In addition to this, they have good 3-point shooters like De’Andre Hunter and Danilo Galinari. I think that the Wizards will have a hard time covering Trae and in attempting to do so they might open some free spaces in their defence. This makes me choose the Atlanta Hawks as the final winner of tomorrow’s game by at least 2 points.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Atlanta Hawks -2.0 (-110)
.@TheTraeYoung becomes the fastest player in franchise history to reach the 5,000-point milestone ❄️ pic.twitter.com/phCyB1eWdP
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 28, 2021
Michael Lantz
On Wednesday night, the Atlanta Hawks kept the wins coming with a gritty victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. They also were thrilled to have veteran forward Danilo Gallinari back in the lineup to provide even more depth on an already impressive roster.
The Wizards got an impressive win of their own. After being humbled by the Nets on monday, the Wizards continued to prove they’re a threat with a big win over the Boston Celtics at the TD garden. They continued to receive outstanding support from their offseason acquisitions Spencer Dinwiddie and Montrezl Harrell, who’ve helped take the weight off Bradley Beal’s shoulders and have defenses changing their gameplans from years past.
The only blemish from the Boston game is that Washington lost center Daniel Gafford to injury. They already are without Thomas Bryant, so they’ll have a lack of size going forward for the time being. That doesn’t bode well for them when facing a Hawks team that has Clint Capela and John Collins down low. Between that size and the ever-impressive play from Trae Young, I expect the Hawks to walk away with this one on the road.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Atlanta Hawks (-120)
Noah Dunlap
Atlanta has picked up right where they left off last season, as they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. This year, they’ve started the year 3-1, with the only loss being a tight one to the improving Cleveland Cavaliers. Trae Young continues to improve, while John Collins and Clint Capella have proven to be a nice combo to have in the paint to clean up any misses they find.
As for Washington, they have surprised many people this year, as they’ve started 3-1 as well, with their lone loss coming against the Brooklyn Nets. While Bradley Beal continues to prove his stardom (some may call him a superstar) in the league, it’s his assistants this year that have them off to such a hot start. With newly acquired pieces like Montrezl Harrell, Spencer Dinwiddie, and even Kyle Kuzma, who is quietly averaging 14 points and 13 boards a game, this Wizards team looks like one that can compete late into the year. The issue is that with Daniel Gafford going out in last night’s game, the paint area could end up being a wasteland that Collins and Capella from Atlanta look to exploit. The line is currently sitting at Hawks -2, and I like Atlanta to be able to cover.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Atlanta Hawks -2 (-110)
New York Knicks @ Chicago Bulls – 8pm EDT
Will the 3-1 New York Knicks be able to hand the Chicago Bulls their first loss of the season? Chicago is the only Eastern Conference team that is yet to lose a game, showing that their big spending over the last 12 months has definitely been worth it. But the Knicks are no easy beat, considering they were the East’s fourth seed last season and are coming off an impressive win over the Sixers on Tuesday night.
Denis Kirilov
The New York Knicks are finally back amongst the top teams in the Eastern Conference. They’ve struggled a lot in the 21st century and a new hope is right on the horizon. They are 3-1 so far this season as they managed to beat direct opponents for a Playoffs spot like the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers. Julius Randle and Derrick Rose will do everything they can in order to get the team as close to the NBA Finals as possible. However, before dreaming about that, the Knicks will have to play several vital matches like the one against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. New York has won the last two against Chicago, but this doesn’t mean anything at the moment.
The Bulls, on the other hand, are also looking sharp with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine leading their roster. They can also rely on an explosive Alex Caruso and on their huge center in the face of Nikola Vucevic. Lonzo Ball has also been acquired from the Pelicans during the offseason and this further completes their team. The team from Illinois hasn’t dropped a game since the start of the season and it will surely take a lot for someone to beat them. Both the Knicks and the Bulls will play hard in this matchup and I expect this game to be a bit more tense than usual with a focus on the defense and lots of missed field goals. Hence, I am picking the under.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Under 215 (-110)
Michael Lantz
No, it’s not the mid-90s—it’s 2021 and the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks are two of the most thrilling teams in the Eadtern Conference. The Knicks are continuing their renaissance in 2021, starting 3-1 with big wins over rivals the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. Now they have another obstacle: the undefeated Chicago Bulls.
I was wrong about Chicago early on. I had them as a playoff team, but I figured it would take a while to click with so many new additions to the team. So far Zach Lavine and DeMar DeRozen have played great together, and have both shown an incredible ability to create their own shots. Lonzo Ball has impressed with his ability to control an offense and is also playing outstanding defense. Things are already coming together for a Bulls team that went all in in the offseason, but can they handle a Knicks team that’s playing beyond with massive confidence? I think the Bulls will use a vibrant United Center and tough defense from their guards to get the victory over the Knickerbockers.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls (-130)
Noah Dunlap
Well this is new. For arguably the first time since the Jordan-Ewing days, both of these teams appear poised to be contenders in the Eastern Conference this season. The Knicks are doing it primarily through Julius Randle, who looks as if he wants his name to end up in the MVP race, while also using pieces like Derrick Rose, Kemba Walker, and Evan Fournier to clear up any remaining issues.
On Chicago’s end, they’re using new pieces DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, and Lonzo Ball to run the offense, and having already had a guy like Zach Lavine in the Windy City for years, you already knew what to expect from him. With these teams coming into this one near the top of the East standings, it’s easy to see why this is one of the most anticipated games of the early season we’ve seen so far. In the end, I think Julius Randle ends up being the difference, as this Bulls roster doesn’t really have someone to handle Randle down low. Look for Julius to have a massive night, and the Knicks sneak away with a tight one on the road. With the odds virtually the same for many of the prominent picks in this one, go off the charts just a bit, and take Randle to have a double-double in this one, as there’s pretty decent value in that pick.
Noah’s NBA Pick: To Have A Double-Double – Julius Randle (-120)
Utah Jazz @ Houston Rockets – 8pm EDT
The Utah Jazz put their undefeated start to the season on the line when they get on the road to take on the young Houston Rockets. While they are just 1-3, Houston has shown some exciting signs of things to come, but that is a long way away and Utah is here to compete right now.
Denis Kirilov
The Houston Rockets are taking on the Utah Jazz in their home arena, Toyota Center. The Rockets started off the current campaign at home with a 33-point win against the Oklahoma City Thunder with Christian Wood, Kevin Porter Jr and Eric Gordon each putting up at least 20 points for the victory. Then, they lost twice by 10 points, against the Celtics at home and against the Mavs in Dallas. The team is showing some potential, but it surely won’t be enough to make the Playoffs this year. The depth in the roster is not on the highest level which will take its toll on the consistency of the team.
The Utah Jazz are once again put amongst the title contenders as they are starting off the seasons with three clean wins. They dominated OKC in the opening game and had decent last quarters against the Kings and the Nuggets, which secured them the final victory. One of the best shooting guards in the NBA, Donovan Mitchell, is still trying to find his rhythm as he is at 38.7% FG from these three games. However, there are other players like Rudy Gobert, Jordan Clarkson, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Mike Conley who can compensate for Mitchell’s bad performance. From them, only the Croatian forward is questionable for the upcoming match due to illness. That being said, I think that the match will be one-sided from the very beginning and that’s why I am relying on the Jazz to cover their spread.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Utah Jazz -8.5 (-114)
3 games, 57 rebounds—another franchise record 😳#ByTheNumbers | @Qualtrics pic.twitter.com/O9sPhPbAVC
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) October 27, 2021
Michael Lantz
Utah is off to a hot 3-0 start, as they look to compete for the Western Conference one-seed for the second straight year. In Tuesday night’s contest against the Denver Nuggets, seven players had double-digit scoring totals as the Jazz won 122-110 against the Denver Nuggets. Utah continues to play as one of the league’s most complete teams and on Thursday night they travel to Houston to take on a Rockets team that’s centered around young talent.
The Rockets have started out the season 1-3, with all their losses being by double digits. On Tuesday night, the Rockets started off well against the Dallas Mavericks and were within three going into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately they were outscored 25-18 in the fourth, but early on there have been plenty of bright spots. Can they continue to shine against a Jazz team that has hopes of topping the conference? Looking at the odds tomorrow I think the best bet for the money is Utah to cover.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Utah Jazz -8.5 (-114)
Noah Dunlap
Houston has shown flashes of what they can expect to come in the years ahead. However, that doesn’t do any good for this year, or this game. The youth on this roster is very real, as we’ve seen from guys like Christian Wood and Jalen Green, but they have nothing for what they’re about to run into tonight.
Utah has consistently been one of the best regular-season franchises we’ve seen over the past four or five years, and that doesn’t appear to be changing this season. They’ve started the year 3-0 behind the expected dominant play of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, as well as getting meaningful minutes from Mike Conley and Joe Ingles. The common sense play in this one would be to take Utah to cover, but I could see this game being one where they come out slow and look past an easily overmatched opponent. For that reason, give me Houston to sneak away and lose by 4-7, which certainly isn’t enough for a Jazz cover.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Houston Rockets +8.5 (-104)
San Antonio Spurs @ Dallas Mavericks – 8:30pm EDT
The Dallas Mavericks complete their in-state series as the host the San Antonio Spurs! They were able to get the better of the Rockets the other night and will be hoping for a similar result here, but San Antonio is young and energetic, and still has the best coach to ever do it on the sidelines.
Denis Kirilov
The San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks are facing each other in American Airlines Center. The Spurs made a great opener of the season defeating the Magic 123-97. However, in their next three games they had to play against some of the best teams in the league, losing all of them to the Nuggets, Bucks, and Lakers. They fought until the end which only proves the state of mind that Gregg Popovich’s team already has.
On the contrary, the Dallas Mavericks are coming into this game after 2 straight wins against mediocre teams like the Raptors and the Rockets. Unlike the Spurs, they lost their opening match to the Atlanta Hawks, 87-113. Luka Doncic hasn’t secured a triple-double yet, but I think this won’t take long to happen. The team will most likely be without Kristaps Porzingis who is suffering from a back injury. However, I think that the difference between the two rosters is obvious and I will go with Dallas to win and cover.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Dallas Mavericks -6.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
The Dallas Mavericks look to improve upon their 2-1 record with a second straight “Texas Derby”, this time against the San Antonio Spurs. The Mavericks have played well since being blown out by the Hawks in Atlanta. This, of course, is thanks to Luka Doncic who has almost gathered a triple-double in both contests. But that also continues to be the Mavs biggest problem: too much Luka. Sure, guys like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson are solid role players, but the man who was supposed to be Luka’s number two, Kristaps Porzingis, continues to be inconsistent.
On the other hand, San Antonio has the exact opposite problem. They have a ton of great role players and a couple young guys with big “number two” potential (Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson). What they are lacking is a star, and it’s shown. They’ve played well against top competition, they just don’t have somebody who can push them over the edge and fully take over at the end of the game. You’d think Greg Popovich would be one of the few coaches who could contain Luka Doncic, but “Luka Magic” rarely lets up as #77 has averaged 28 points/9 assists/8 rebounds against the Spurs in 10 career games. I’m fairly confident in the Mavericks ability to win this one
Michael’s NBA Pick: Mavericks -6.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
In another Lone-Star State showdown, we get the San Antonio Spurs travelling north to take on the Dallas Mavericks. San Antonio, while sitting on a 1-3 record, has shown amazing fight in three consecutive losses to a few of the NBA’s elites, as their three losses have come against Denver, Milwaukee, and the Lakers. While the Spurs have looked good and played competitive in every game so far, eventually you expect them to get run down against an extremely difficult opening slate.
With Luka averaging 24/11/9 so far this year, despite not having put up a triple-double yet, this Mavericks squad has jumped out to a 2-1 record (against mediocre competition), but should be excited for the opportunity to get win number three against a worn out, tired SA team. I think Dallas has the potential to blow this one open, surpassing even the 6.5 spread that they are currently favored by, which is why I would lean taking an alternate winning margin, and going Mavericks by 11+.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Winning Margin – Dallas by 11+ (+160)
Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors – 10pm EDT
The 4-0 Golden State Warriors will face off against a Memphis Grizzlies side that, while showing impressive signs so far this season, has now dropped their last two games. While they were against tough opponents, the Lakers and Blazers, Golden State has played even better than those sides through the early stages of the season.
Denis Kirilov
After being shut down for a 2nd consecutive game, the Grizzlies travel to San Francisco to face the 4-0 Golden State Warriors. Even without Klay Thompson, the Warriors are giving all the NBA fans a little taste of what the team might look like when he comes back. Steph Curry has proved to us that he can be a “one-man show”, but at the same time he desperately needs the help of his teammates when he gets double-teamed from the other team.
The Grizzlies’ situation resembles a bit the one at Golden State. They have Ja Morant and it all depends on whether he will have a good day or not. Last night against the Blazers, he only had 17 points and his team lost by 20. Memphis is also capable of making a lot of 3-pointers, but this wasn’t the case against Portland. Although I’d normally go with the Warriors, I will choose a different path now. I saw their uncertainty in the game against Oklahoma City and this made me change my decision and pick over 233 points for this fixture. I am expecting at least 30 points by both Curry and Morant and why not see a 50-point game by one of them.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Over 233 (-110)
“I think Steph Curry’s your frontrunner for MVP.”@LegsESPN details Steph’s path to the hardware on NBA Today. pic.twitter.com/GzRsvxotRS
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 27, 2021
Michael Lantz
After the Memphis Grizzlies started off their 2021-22 campaign on a hot streak, they’ve seemed to cool down a bit in the last couple of games. For a young team, this is completely normal. They still took the Lakers to the brink on Sunday night, but then followed that up by getting blown out by the Blazers. They’ll have less than 24 hours to get over that loss before facing a red-hot Golden State Warriors team—the same team they eliminated from the postseason last spring.
Golden State is showing signs of their Finals teams from a couple years ago. Steph Curry is an MVP candidate and they’re getting great production from supporting players. Plus, it’s only a matter of time before Klay Thompson returns to the line-up; which will just cause even more chaos for competing teams. After a rough game in Portland, Memphis will have to face another juggernaut offense that’s looking for redemption against the team that crushed their playoff hopes. I expect “The Dubs” to take control of this one.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors -5.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
This Memphis Grizzlies team started the year hot, and had people in Memphis excited for what was to come. However, they’ve hit a rough patch, and have now dropped two straight, and I think they’re headed for three. This is due, in large part, to the fact that the Grizz defense is woeful. The offense, behind Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., have shown the ability to put up points against virtually anyone (last night against Portland notwithstanding) and I think they will continue that trend in this one.
The problem is that when your defense is atrocious, taking on a Steph Curry-led Golden State team on the road is not an easy cure. Especially when they’re on a lengthy West Coast road trip. Steph is playing like an MVP candidate, and with the supporting cast helping out in a major way, even with Klay Thompson still out, this Warriors team is giving fans a bit of a glimpse back to the Warriors dynasty run from 4-5 years ago. Look for that to continue, and for Golden State to get a somewhat tight win, but still a big enough win to easily handle the 5.5 points they are laying.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Golden State -5.5 (-110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
