Our free NBA picks are out for Tuesday, December 7th, 2021! Make sure you check our NBA picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free NBA picks for the three games on today’s schedule!
Brooklyn Nets @ Dallas Mavericks – 7.30pm ET
The Brooklyn Nets kick off a four game road trip in Dallas when they take on the Mavericks. The Nets are at the top of their Atlantic Division, three and a half games ahead of the Celtics, they have won two of their last three games, with their last loss coming against the Bulls, 107-111. The Mavericks are sitting at an even 11-11 record, and have lost two of their last three games, losing to teams like the Pelicans and Grizzlies.
Denis Kirilov
The Brooklyn Nets and the Dallas Mavericks will face each other in the opening game on Tuesday in the NBA. The Mavericks have been struggling a lot recently as they found the way to victory in 2 out of their last 9 games. They defeated the Clippers at Staples Center after overtime and the Pelicans once again on the road. Dallas is on a 4-game losing streak at home, being defeated by the Wizards, the Cavaliers, the Pelicans, and the Grizzlies. Luka Doncic’s absence was the main reason for the decline in their overall performance. He has been recovering from a sprained knee and left ankle soreness.
The Brooklyn Nets have once again proved that they crumble under pressure. They lost a narrow game against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday as they were leading by double-digits in the third quarter. Kevin Durant might have posted yet another double-double, but his 28 points and 10 rebounds weren’t enough for the final victory. James Harden is once again unable to find his rhythm as there is a lot of inconsistency in his performance. Although the Mavs have proved that they can fight until the end even without their Slovenia superstar, I think that the Nets will be a really high bar for the Mavs’ qualities as of now. I will also suggest going with the Nets’ spread as they should be able to cover it, if they have just one strong quarter.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Brooklyn Nets -3 (-110)
Michael Lantz
After a close loss against the Chicago Bulls, the Brooklyn Nets are looking for a bounce back win against the Dallas Mavericks. Brooklyn may have the best record in the Eastern Conference, but their wins haven’t been terribly impressive. They could face two very different Dallas Mavericks teams on Tuesday: Stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis missed their last game against Memphis and could miss this one as well.
Lab work 🧪@BioSteelSports | #MFFL pic.twitter.com/kON8v5nnQv
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 6, 2021
Dallas have had both Doncic and Porzingis miss time this year but they’ve fought through the adversity, currently sitting at 11-11 on the year. But, with six teams sitting within 2.5 games of them, their margin of error will continue to shrink as the season continues. If both these teams are at full-strength it should be a great showdown, but even if the Mavs two stars are playing, I don’t expect them to be one hundred percent. I’ll go with the Nets.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Brooklyn Nets (-144)
Noah Dunlap
The Dallas Mavericks have been in free-fall over their past nine, as they’re 2-7 in that stretch, partially due to the fact that Luka Doncic has been dealing with a collection of issues over that span. With Luka playing well, the Mavs have the potential to be one of the better teams in the Western Conference, but without him on the floor, they’re going to struggle, as they then end up having to rely on Kristaps Porzingis (when healthy) and Tim Hardaway Jr. Both are guys that are decent players, but can’t be the leaders of a team that’s going to make a deep playoff run.
Brooklyn, despite being one of the best teams in the East, has also had their fair share of issues, as they have the tendency to lose the willingness to fight if things end up going downhill. Kevin Durant is clearly the best player on the team, but even as great as he’s been, eventually he will need help along the way. One would assume that help could come from a guy with the talent that James Harden has, but currently he’s been struggling as of late, which hasn’t helped the Nets. Even despite the struggles, and being on the road, the Nets get the win in this one, as the Mavericks are facing much worse issues, with Doncic being banged up.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Brooklyn Nets -3 (-110)
New York Knicks @ San Antonio Spurs – 8.30pm ET
The New York Knicks start a three game road trip in San Antonio when they take on the Spurs. The Knicks are hopeful they can break their current three game losing streak against the Spurs on Tuesday night. The Spurs play on back-to-back days, and last time out they lost to the Suns 104-108, which brings their season record to 8-13.
Denis Kirilov
The New York Knicks will travel to San Antonio on Tuesday in an attempt to break their losing streak. They have been outclassed in the last week by the Nets, the Bulls, and the Nuggets. The first two tight games drained the Knicks’ energy and they didn’t have any gas left in the tank to stop Nikola Jokic from dropping more than 30 points against them. The Knicks will have to take advantage of the situation right now as they don’t have any injured players on their list. The team is definitely a one to watch, since they proved they can beat anyone in the NBA.
The San Antonio Spurs are flying high at the moment with 4 straight wins lately. They were a totally different team than what we used to think of them until now. The Spurs kept the Celtics, the Wizards, and the Blazers below 100 points as Portland and Boston scored just 83 points and 88 points respectively. The team even caused an upset against the Warriors with three of their main players, Derrick White, Dejounte Murray, and Lonnie Walker, going for more than 20 points against them. However, such games often have a negative impact on the winning team as they tend to underestimate the upcoming opponent. I would suggest picking the Knicks in this game with an unpredictable outcome.
Denis’ NBA Pick: New York Knicks (-134)
Michael Lantz
This young San Antonio Spurs team continues to impress, despite sitting at an 8-14 record. They won three straight before hanging with the NBA’s two best teams, the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns. While they might not be ready to compete for a playoff spot yet, they aren’t showing any fear, no matter who their opponent is.
On Tuesday they play the New York Knicks, a team that has definitely failed to meet expectations. The Knicks have lost a lot of their defensive identity from last season, which has shown in their record as they sit at 11-12, and have lost three games in a row. Now they face an upstart Spurs team that has been surprisingly efficient on offense this year. The Knicks are too good to keep this losing streak going, but San Antonio have been playing great basketball lately in both their wins and losses. I’ll pick them for the upset.
Michael’s NBA Pick: San Antonio Spurs (+116)
Noah Dunlap
How do you bet on the Knicks right now? They’ve played poorly for much of the year, especially outside of the first three weeks of the year, and I’m not sure what we’ve seen from them to expect that it changes in this one. Julius Randle has played well, but he’s seemingly basically been the only consistent spark for this New York roster, and that doesn’t lend confidence to thinking they can give the Spurs a second straight loss after San Antonio had gone on a four-game winning streak.
San Antonio comes into this one having just seen their four-game winning-streak snapped at the hands of the Phoenix Suns, but I think they look to start a new streak with this one. They’ve played outstanding defense during the win streak, and against a Knicks team that has struggled to score the ball as of late, I don’t see that stopping. Add in the fact that San Antonio has been surprisingly efficient on the offensive end of the floor over the past two weeks or so, and I like the Spurs to get the win at home.
Noah’s NBA Pick: San Antonio Spurs (+116)
Boston Celtics @ Los Angeles Lakers – 10pm ET
The Boston Celtics road trip continues on when they face off against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, before taking on the Clippers on Wednesday night. The Celtics put in a dominant performance against the Trail Blazers last time out, winning 145-117, which brings their season record to 13-11. The Lakers have had a couple of days rest, and hopefully that is enough to recover from their narrow 115-119 loss to the Clippers.
Denis Kirilov
The Boston Celtics will face yet another team from the Western Conference. They won their last meeting with an opponent from the other Conference, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers by the massive 28 points. It seems that the team is back on the right track to reaching the Playoffs in the spring. Jayson Tatum and Dennis Schroder continue with their fabulous performances as both of them pass the 30-point mark against Portland.
The Los Angeles Lakers is, without a doubt, the disappointment of the regular season in the NBA so far. They have been struggling against the weakest teams in the League, and at the same time, biting nails until the end in matches where they were leading by around 20 points. This has been a precise example that a team shouldn’t be built mainly based on the amount of experience in the NBA. The Lakers lack quickness in terms of a “catch-and-shoot” player. Russell Westbrook can do that, but his efficiency doesn’t really fit a title contender. In my opinion, the Celtics are slight favorites to win this game, and considering the odds, I am more than happy to take them, hoping that Tatum will continue dropping huge numbers.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Boston Celtics (+120)
Michael Lantz
One of the NBA’s great rivalries gets its second matchup of the season as the Boston Celtics face the Los Angeles Lakers in the “City of Angels”. For the Lakers, offense is in no way a problem. The team continues to tally totals well over 100 points per game. But, this once great defense has fallen to one of the league’s worst—and teams are exposing them.
All in a day’s work🏀 pic.twitter.com/FIXzYBRAz1
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 6, 2021
On November 19th, Boston did just this, beating the Lakers 130-108 in Boston—without Jaylen Brown. Jayson Tatum notched a double-double in that matchup and he’ll look for a repeat performance in Los Angeles. After a rough start, with a fair share of injuries, the Celtics are climbing their way back up the Eastern Conference standings. They are coming off an explosive 145-117 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite Boston’s recent resurgence, I just can’t see LeBron James and Co. giving two away to their rival team during the season. I’ll pick the Lakers to win.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Los Angeles Lakers (-142)
Noah Dunlap
As we enter the two month mark of the season, we’re still waiting for the Los Angeles Lakers to figure out how to play decent basketball, if they’re ever going to. The additions that they made in the offseason continue to disappoint, as they prove over and over again that these are all guys that are past their primes, and that they quite simply don’t seem to be able to play together. LeBron continues to play pretty good basketball, but he’s certainly getting older, and beginning to reach a point that he can’t carry the load all by himself.
Boston has also been disappointing virtually all year long, as they’re a team with an absurd amount of talent on the roster, but they can’t seem to shoot well enough to win games. And to make matters worse, the defense from Boston has been shaky all year long. If you’re looking for a positive as a Celtics fan, it’s that Jayson Tatum has finally begun to play better ball, which when you add that with Jaylen Brown, who’s arguably been the most consistent player on that roster all year long, and suddenly they have the making of a team that could make a run in an open Eastern Conference. With the Lakers showing no signs of getting things together anytime soon, the safest play seems to be to take Boston, especially seeing as they’re an underdog on the road in this one.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Boston Celtics +2.5 (-110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
