Our free NBA picks are out for Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022! Make sure you check our NBA picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free NBA picks for the four games on today’s schedule!
Golden State Warriors @ Orlando Magic – 7pm ET
We kick things off in the NBA for Tuesday with a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Orlando Magic. The Warriors will be hoping a change of scenery will provide a better result, as they have lost their last two games at home, against the Celtics and Spurs. The Magic snapped their three game losing streak last time out, with a win over the Thunder, 90-85.
Jeffery Thomas
Life without Stephen Curry for the Golden State Warriors is not off to a great start, which should have been expected. The night he was hurt they lost by 22 to the Boston Celtics and followed that up by losing at home to the Spurs on a last-second put back layup by Keldon Johnson. Jordan Poole had a great game, scoring 28 points in the Curry-replacement role, but the story of the night was turnovers. The Warriors committed 15 turnovers, in which San Antonio scored 22 points off of them and knocked the third-place Warriors down to 1.5 games behind the second-place Memphis Grizzlies. They will now try to rebound on Tuesday against an Orlando team that they beat by 31 back on December 6.
That game was of course back with Curry, but it shouldn’t be too much to ask for them to have a similar result against the last place team in the Eastern Conference. The Magic are the team in this matchup that is coming off a win however, after taking down the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night. Wendell Carter Jr. had a monster game with a career-high 30 points and 16 rebounds to help end Orlando’s three-game losing streak. The Warriors will need to find some type of cohesion without Steph if they want to finish the regular season strong and keep a top 3 seed in the West. A game against a bad Orlando team could be just what they need and I think we’ll see a very good performance here from Golden State en route to a pretty easy win. Steve Kerr is too good of a coach and the talent discrepancy between these two teams is still large enough to where I’m comfortable picking the Dubs to cover this spread.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors -8.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
Right as the Golden State Warriors were getting healthy, they once again got hit by the injury bug. This one is particularly bad as Steph Curry is sidelined with a foot injury and will likely miss the rest of the regular season — but should be back for the playoffs. So, in the meantime, the Warriors will depend heavily on Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins. In their first full game without Curry, they barely fell to an up-and-coming San Antonio Spurs squad 108-110. Now on Tuesday, they’ll look to grab a win as they play a lowly Orlando Magic squad.
👀 on the 🍕
dubs 🤝 @PapaJohnsORL pic.twitter.com/uuSiD0iZdM
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 21, 2022
Still, despite Orlando’s 19-53 record, they have some talent that’s showing promise. Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony have shown plenty of potential and Wendell Carter Jr. has continued to improve as well. While the Magic may be headed for another high lottery pick, they’ve definitely provided some entertainment along the way. Still, entertainment might not be enough for this team, even when they’re going up against a Golden State team that’s missing Curry. The Warriors have plenty of depth and a tough defense, which should be enough to slide past the Magic.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors -8.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
How do we know what to expect from this Golden State Warriors team anymore? They spent most of the year looking like one of the two best teams in the NBA, but then hit a rough spot, which was understandable, as everyone goes through rough patches, especially since it came as they were trying to acclimate Klay Thompson back into the lineup. However, this recent stretch where they’ve found themselves struggling is somewhat concerning, because while I understand that Steph is out indefinitely, there’s still enough talent on this team to knock off a team like Charlotte, yet they found a way to lose. As we get towards the end of the regular season, those are the kinds of losses that you don’t want to see as a Warriors fan.
Now they get to travel down to Orlando to take on one of the worst teams in the league. The Magic have effectively been awful all year long, and that isn’t suddenly going to change over the last ten games or so. The good news for Orlando fans is that they’ve at least started playing much more competitively over the second half of the year, which should give them hope heading into next year. Even with Steph out for this one, there’s no excuse for Golden State to come up short in this one, so give me the Dubs to get the win, probably with ease.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors -8.5 (-110)
Atlanta Hawks @ New York Knicks – 7.30pm ET
The Atlanta Hawks hit the road on Tuesday and travel to Madison Square Garden for a game against the New York Knicks. The Hawks have won four of their last six games, and this takes their record to 35-36. The Knicks had their modest two game winning streak snapped last time out, as they went down to the Jazz, 93-108.
Jeffery Thomas
A playoff rematch from last season is on tap when the Knicks host Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday night on TNT. These two teams had a historical series last year where Trae ended up becoming a villain in New York for his showboating and taunting antics during his big performances. The fans would boo him every time he touched the ball and had pretty heinous chants directed at him, which only seemed to fuel his play on the court and his taunting. The Hawks made quick work of the Knicks in that series, winning in 5 games, but New York got their revenge this year winning each of the first three meetings.
Now with the season series wrapping up they’ll look to make it a clean sweep of their rival in what has been an otherwise disappointing season. Neither team has been able to recreate their magic from last season and aren’t looking like they’ll be big factors in this year’s postseason. But the Knicks have continued to find ways to beat this Atlanta team all year and getting them as underdogs here is a bit surprising, especially given neither team is playing much better than the other. I’m going to take the spread here with the home Knicks.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: New York Knicks +2 (-110)
Michael Lantz
In last season’s playoffs, the Hawks and Knicks first round series was must watch basketball. The Hawks might’ve won in five games, but Trae Young embraced a villain role with his impressive scoring and taunting of the Madison Square Garden faithful. This season, the Knicks are terrible and the Hawks are barely holding on to a playoff spot. Still, even if this game lacks in intensity compared to last season, you better believe Knicks fans will still have it out for Young, and with no playoffs in sight for the Knicks this season, they’ll treat this regular season game as a filler for the postseason.
Once a Knick, always a Knick.
Congrats on a great career, @JCrossover! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/OoYKApXMA2
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 21, 2022
The Hawks are hanging onto a play-in spot, as they sit in 10th in the Eastern Conference — but that’s been a decline in results after they made the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Still, they have so much talent that they can never be overlooked. This was evident on Friday when they beat one of basketball’s best teams, the Memphis Grizzlies, 120-105. While this one won’t hold the excitement of last postseason, I still think it’ll be a close call. The Knicks will have a little something to play for, as they won’t want Young making a mockery of them on their home court. Aside from a double-digit loss against the Jazz on Sunday, the Knicks have actually looked a bit better lately — I’ll pick them to pull off a close win against the Hawks.
Michael’s NBA Pick: New York Knicks (+110)
Noah Dunlap
Trae Young at Madison Square Garden. That should be the answer. Regardless of how the Atlanta Hawks or New York Knicks are playing, if you put Young at MSG, he’s virtually always going to give you an incredible performance, as for whatever reason he thrives off of the New York crowd. On top of Young playing great at The Garden, the Hawks have been playing pretty well as of late, though they are still simply trying to hang onto their playoff spot currently.
On the other side, the New York Knicks have had yet another disappointing year (shocking, I know) after starting the year really well. About a month into the year, they were rolling and looked like this could finally be the year that they manage to get over the hump, and then the world came crashing down around them, as they hit free fall mode. Despite the rough year, they have won the first three against Atlanta this year, and now they go for the sweep at home. In the end, it’s extremely hard to win four against the same team in the regular season, and with it being Trae at Madison Square Garden, I’m going to take the Hawks in this one, though I think it ends up being close.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Atlanta Hawks -2 (-110)
Chicago Bulls @ Milwaukee Bucks – 8pm ET
A clash between two Central Division teams will likely be the highlight of the night, when the Chicago Bulls travel to Milwaukee and go up against the Bucks. The Bulls are playing on back-to-back nights, and in their game last night they beat the Raptors, 113-99. The Bucks have split their last four games, and this includes a loss last time out against the Timberwolves, 119-138.
Jeffery Thomas
The Chicago Bulls got a much needed win on Monday night when they took down the Toronto Raptors 113-99. Nikola Vucevic had a double-double in the win and DeMar DeRozan added 26 points to help snap the three-game losing streak. Now they will travel to Milwaukee on Tuesday with the task of doing something that they’ve struggled to do all season, and that is beat one of the top teams in the league. Their opponent this time, will be the Milwaukee Bucks who will be nice and rested after not playing a game since Saturday.
That game was a 119-138 loss to the Timberwolves but there was no Giannis for that game. Now with their MVP back and being at home, everything is pointing towards a huge bounce back performance. The Bucks are 2-0 so far against Chicago this year and given all the circumstances surrounding this matchup, I like them to push that mark to 3-0. The Bulls will be on the back-to-back after rallying from a halftime deficit the night before and their tired legs will show up late in the game and allow Milwaukee to pull away for the victory and cover.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks -6 (-108)
Michael Lantz
The Chicago Bulls pulled off a big win last night as they beat the Toronto Raptors 113-99. This comes after they had gone 2-8 in their last ten games, including double digit losses over the last week. But now the Bulls are almost at 100%, with Lonzo Ball being the only key player out. While his absence is still huge, they’ve gotten a ton of their defensive role players back from injury to accommodate their scoring talent of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. Now they’ll have another tough opponent to face on Tuesday as they take on the Milwaukee Bucks.
Alright, who gave Khris a whistle?! pic.twitter.com/uz3sa80TbK
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 22, 2022
The Bucks are coming off a 19-point loss to the up-and-coming Minnesota Timberwolves. Still, they have a bit of an excuse: they were without Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis should be back for Tuesday night’s game, but now the Bucks will be without another key player as Khris Middleton will be out for this game. Despite this one being in Milwaukee, the Bucks often struggle when either Giannis or Middleton miss a game; additionally the Bulls team they’re playing is getting healthy and starting to mesh again — resembling the team that was a one-seed earlier in the year. I’ll pick the Bulls to pick up back-to-back wins here to bring them closer to a top-four seed.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls (+198)
Noah Dunlap
The Chicago Bulls come into this one trying to turn their latest stretch around, as they spent much of the year as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, before a recent stretch where they found themselves struggling in a major way, as before a win last night over Toronto, they had lost eight of their last 10. The win over the Raptors was a step in the right direction, though taking on Milwaukee on the second night of a back-to-back is going to be a tough task, as it would be for anyone in the league.
The defending champion Milwaukee Bucks come into this one having a mediocre year by their standards, as they sit at 44-27 on the year, and third in the Eastern Conference. They’ve split their last four, but even with that, they’ve won eight of their last ten. They did lose their last game, a blowout at the hands of Minnesota, but that was without Giannis. Now they get Giannis back for this one, though now they’ll be without Khris Middleton. Milwaukee should win this one, even without Mid, but I’m not fully convinced, so give me Chicago to at least cover the spread, if not get the win outright.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls +6 (-112)
Los Angeles Clippers @ Denver Nuggets – 10pm ET
The final game of the night will see the Los Angeles Clippers travel to Denver to go toe-to-toe with the Nuggets. The Clippers are coming into this clash on a three game losing streak, and will be hopeful they can snap it here, so they can return to the .500 mark, as their current record stands at 36-37. The Nuggets are also on a losing streak, but theirs stands at two in a row, as they suffered defeats at the hands of the Cavaliers and Celtics.
Jeffery Thomas
The Los Angeles Clippers are in serious need of a win after dropping their last three and falling below the .500 mark on the season. Their 92-121 loss on the road to the Jazz on Friday was the last time we saw them in action and with just 9 games left in the season they’ll need to build some positive momentum ahead of the play-in tournament. The Clippers are sitting at the 8 seed in the West and on Tuesday will be taking on the 6 seeded Denver Nuggets who are on a losing streak of their own.
It’s just a two-game losing streak but it was enough to knock them 0.5 games ahead of the Timberwolves in the Western Conference standings, which is a significant development because that 6-7 seed line is the difference between making the playoffs outright and having to play the play-in game. Denver will surely be highly motivated to get back in the win column and back up to that 6 seed line. The Clippers aren’t a team that can be trusted right now. It appears the missing pieces are starting to finally catch up with them at the wrong time of the year and they just don’t have that star they can turn to in a time like this. Denver does though, and they will ride their MVP big man to the finish line of the season, and he will carry them starting here on Tuesday night with a big win over the Clippers at home.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Denver Nuggets (-270)
Michael Lantz
This should be a fun game between two Western Conference teams headed to the playoffs. The Los Angeles Clippers have continued to entertain despite having so many injuries hitting their team this year. They’re currently the eight-seed in the Western Conference, but are they starting to run out of steam? They’ve lost three games in a row, and things aren’t about to get easier for them as they have to take on a Denver Nuggets team that’s looking to bounce back after an ugly loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. While the Nuggets have not been hit as hard with injuries as the Clippers, they’ve still been without both Jamal Murray (for the entire season) and Michael Porter Jr. (for most of the season).
Things we love to see: This ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/JlebcbVYxa
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) March 22, 2022
That being said, they’ve had reigning MVP Nikola Jokic to continue his dominance and help guide them closer to a postseason berth. Still, they also might be running a bit out of steam, as they were blown out by the Boston Celtics at home on Sunday and also fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers two nights before. But, after a couple of days rest, I expect the Nuggets to bounce back: just a couple of weeks ago they were zoning in on a four-seed in the conference. The Nuggets will want to avoid the play-in at all costs, so I expect them to be ready to play on Tuesday against a Clippers team that’s on a skid.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Denver Nuggets (-270)
Noah Dunlap
The Los Angeles Clippers continue to impress, despite the major number of injuries they’ve faced all year long. They’re almost a lock to make the playoffs at this point, which is shocking given the fact that they’ve been without Kawhi Leonard all year, and Paul George for most of the year, as well. Now, they have lost three in a row, which should be somewhat concerning, but I do think they’ll be fine, at least for the remainder of the regular season. However, getting a Denver Nuggets team that is playing well, at least Nikola Jokic is, isn’t going to be an easy situation.
Jokic is still playing at an MVP level, and is the favorite to win the award for a second straight year among many people, though I think he comes up a little short. Even with that, he’s managing to almost single-handedly carry this Nuggets team, who comes into this one at sixth in the West, at 42-30. That may be working now, but until they get Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back, I think their postseason chances, at least in terms of making a real run, remain slim. While their chances at a run in the postseason may remain slim, I do think Jokic can carry them past a Clips team that is finally struggling. Give me Denver in this one, with relative ease.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Denver Nuggets -6.5 (-110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
