24 teams take the floor tonight for 12 action packed games of NBA action!
Find out who we like across each of the five games scheduled for tonight in our free analysis and moneyline picks below!
Golden State Warriors @ Washington Wizards – 7PM ET
Two sides with winning momentum will face off in the first game of our Wednesday night schedule when the Wizards host the Warriors in Washington.
With six wins from their past eight starts, the Golden State Warriors have climbed back into playoff contention with a 29-29, .500 record. The Warriors recent resurgence is almost entirely due to one man, the former two time league MVP, Stephen Curry.
Currently averaging 31.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, on 49.1%, 43.1%, 92.2% shooting splits, Curry recorded his 11th consecutive 30 point game (fifth 40 point game since the start of April) in Golden State’s most recent victory against Philadelphia on Monday.
Steph’s 49 point, 10 three pointer performance against the 76ers saw him become the first player in NBA history aged 33 or older with 11 straight 30+ point games, surpassing Kobe Bryant (10). In this recent run of scoring, Curry also dropped 53 points in the Warriors nine point win over the Nuggets, which saw him surpass Wilt Chamberlain as the all-time leading scorer in Warriors franchise history.
Steph Curry has 6 games with 10+ threes THIS SEASON.
No other player has more than 5 in THEIR CAREER. pic.twitter.com/2FGIziycC5
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 20, 2021
Curry (31.4 ppg) will face Bradley Beal (31.1 ppg) on Wednesday night, whom he recently surpassed as the No. 1 scorer in the NBA.
Along with Beal’s prolific scoring, Washington will also have Russell Westbrook on the floor for them on Wednesday night, who once again is averaging a triple double through his 50 games this season.
Currently averaging 21.8 points, 10.9 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game, Westbrook was the best player on the floor in the previous Wizards vs Warriors encounter on April 9th, scoring 19 points in 37 minutes, to go along with 14 rebounds and 14 assists.
With the Wizards on an active five game winning streak and also on the precipice of a playoff spot, this game has the potential to go down to the wire.
Although Curry has recently been on an all-time scoring run, he does not have the defensive capabilities / offensive help to negate or match it with the Beal and Westbrook combo.
With this in mind, we like the Wizards to extend their winning streak to six games against the Warrior in Washington.
NBA Pick – Washington Wizards (+120)
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Phoenix Suns @ Philadelphia 76ers – 7PM ET
In what is undeniably the best game of Wednesday’s NBA action, the No. 1 seed in the East will host the No. 2 seed in the West, when the 76ers host the Phoenix Suns in Philadelphia.
The 76ers suffered a rare loss at home in their last outing, going down to the Warriors 107-96, largely thanks to a 49 point, 10 three pointer performance from Stephen Curry. However, Philadelphia were without Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris against Golden State, who are both expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday.
Joel Embiid scored 28 points on a poor shooting night by his standards (38.1%), to go along with 13 rebounds and eight assists on Monday, keeping his name relevant in the MVP conversation.
On Wednesday, Embiid will go head to head with the No. 1 pick from the 2018 NBA draft, DeAndre Ayton. Ayton has one of four Suns players that scored 20+ points in Phoenix’s 128-127 overtime victory over the Bucks in Milwaukee on Monday.
Devin Booker led the team in scoring against the Bucks, putting up 24 points as well as seven assists and seven rebounds. While Chris Paul contributed 22 points and 13 assists, Ayton added 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges added 21 points of his own.
With Booker averaging 25.4 points per game and Paul averaging 15.7 points with 8.8 assists, Defensive Player of the Year candidate Ben Simmons will be under immense pressure of locking down the Suns two All-Star guards. While Ayton and Embiid will be going toe to toe all night.
Given that Philadelphia have the second best home record in the league this season, and will be welcoming Simmons and Harris back into the lineup, we like the 76ers to get a hard fought W in this encounter between two championship contenders.
NBA Pick – Philadelphia 76ers (-104)
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Atlanta Hawks @ New York Knicks – 8PM ET
Two teams in the Eastern Conference playoff picture will face off on Wednesday night when the New York Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden.
New York will enter Wednesday’s matchup with the longest active winning streak in the NBA behind them, having won each of their past seven games thanks to a 109-97 victory over the Hornets in their most recent game on Tuesday.
In what was a complete performance from the Knicks, RJ Barrett led the team in scoring with 24 points, while Julius Randle stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in Tuesday’s victory. Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley also contributed off the bench, scoring 15 points and 17 points respectively.
New York now have a 32-27 record, are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and are just .5 of a game behind the 32-26, fourth seeded Hawks.
Seven straight. Back for more tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/FfRkD7dhFh
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 21, 2021
Similarly, the Hawks are also entering Wednesday’s match coming off a double digit victory in their last game, having defeated the lowly Orlando Magic 112-95 on Tuesday night.
Led by Trae Young’s team high 25 points, each of Atlanta’s starters scored 14+ points, while Lou Williams added 22 points off the bench. Clint Capela (19) and John Collins (15) also murdered the Magic on the glass, combining for 34 rebounds.
Even though Atlanta have many avenues to the basket and have a (marginally) better record than New York, the Knicks are at home and have the longest active winning streak in the league, making them tough to pick against in this matchup. Especially with fourth place in the Eastern Conference on the line.
NBA Pick – New York Knicks (-130)
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Denver Nuggets @ Portland Trail Blazers – 10PM ET
Two teams with playoff and title aspirations out of the Western Conference will face off on Wednesday night, when the Trail Blazers host the Denver Nuggets in Portland.
Wednesday night will be the second game of a back to back for the Blazers, having recently suffered 112-113 loss to the Clippers on Tuesday.
It was a valiant performance from Portland against the Clippers, competing against one of the best teams in the league without their All-Star guard Damian Lillard and their marquee big man Jusuf Nurkic. Lillard missed the game due to a hamstring injury, while Nurkic was managing his body.
CJ McCollum stood up in Lillard’s absence, scoring a team high 28 points in the loss. While Carmelo Anthony contributed 18 points off the bench and Norman Powell added 23 points of his own.
Denver will enter Wednesday’s matchup having defeated Memphis in double overtime on Monday. Nikola Jokic gave his MVP critics something to consider, scoring 47 points on 64.5% shooting from the field, to go along with 15 rebounds and eight assists.
Michael Porter Jr continues to stand up in Jamal Murray’s absence, adding 21 points and seven boards against Memphis.
Although Nikola Jokic got a hold of Memphis (without Jonas Valanciunas) in Denver’s last outing, we like Portland to return to the winners list at home in this encounter.
The Blazers showed how strong their roster is against the Clippers on Tuesday, and with Lillard and Nurkic expected to return to the lineup, we think Portland will get a W at home against the Murray-less Nuggets.
NBA Pick – Portland Trail Blazers (+108)
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Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles Clippers – 10PM ET
The Los Angeles Clippers are set to host the Memphis Grizzlies at the Staples Center on Wednesday night, in a battle between two Western Conference teams with playoff aspirations.
Memphis are currently sitting two games above .500 with a 29-27 record after their recent double overtime loss to the Nuggets on Monday.
Even without Jonas Valanciunas in the lineup, the Grizzlies challenged the Nuggets in their last outing, largely thanks to Ja Morant’s 36 points and 12 assists, Grayson Allen’s 24 points and De’Anthony Melton’s 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists off the bench.
33 PTS, 11 REB and the game-winning free throws for Paul George in the @LAClippers W. pic.twitter.com/9VxCj0uAwK
— NBA (@NBA) April 21, 2021
The Clippers also had a close game in their most recent outing, defeating the Trail Blazers by one point on Tuesday night in Portland.
LA have been one of, if not the form team(s) in the league recently, having now won nine of their past 10 games.
Without Kawhi Leonard in the lineup, Paul George led the way for the Clippers against Portland, putting up 33 points and 11 rebounds. While Marcus Morris (16), Ivan Zubac (10), Nicolas Batum (11) and DeMarcus Cousins (11) each added 10+ points respectively.
With Kawhi Leonard missing again for the Clippers and Jonas Valanciunas ruled out for the Grizzlies, the two teams will be ultimately unchanged from their most recent games.
As the Clippers recent form has been some of the best basketball that we’ve seen this season, we believe that the Grizzlies won’t be able to match it Los Angeles at Staple Center, especially with Jonas Valanciunas ruled out with concussion.
NBA Pick – Los Angeles Clippers (-205)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
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