Our free NBA picks are out for Wednesday, December 22nd, 2021! Make sure you check our NBA picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free NBA picks for the five games on today’s schedule!
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics – 7.30pm ET
The Cleveland Cavaliers wrap up their road trip on Wednesday night when they take on the Boston Celtics. The Cavaliers haven’t played since December 18, as their game with the Hawks has been postponed, but they are currently on a six game winning streak, which brings their record to 19-12. The Celtics have only won two of their last seven games, which drops their season record to 15-16.
Denis Kirilov
The Boston Celtics will face off a high-flying Cleveland Cavaliers team that comes into the fixture on a 6-game winning streak. The Cavs found the victory path right after Collin Sexton suffered his bad knee injury. The team looks incredible, despite the way many people thought before the season. They are surprisingly 3rd in the East with 19 wins and 12 losses, right behind the Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets. They are quite closer to 1st place than they are to a position outside top 10 which is a fantastic achievement for the Cavs.
The Boston Celtics, on the other hand, are looking at a 15-16 record ahead of their home game against Cleveland. They had to deal with a couple of issues throughout the season as their performance from the field has been terrible. Jaylen Brown is finally back for the Celtics after several missed matches. He has been fighting with a muscle injury in November, while he was forced to be sidelined for five more games in December due to lack of match fitness. Ever since his final comeback, he has been improving his percentages and I think he will play a vital role against the Cavs tomorrow. Jayson Tatum and Dennis Schroder are also available for Ime Udoka who will do his best to make the Celtics a title contender once again. I believe that the hosts will win the match and bring joy to the fans at TD Garden.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Boston Celtics (-240)
Michael Lantz
The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to be the NBA’s surprise team as they own a 19-12 record and are currently the three-seed in the Eastern Conference. They’re in the midst of a six-game win streak, but will be hard pressed to get to seven as they’re missing some key players due to COVID protocol. For their matchup against the Boston Celtics they’ll likely be without Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Issac Okoro. Still, they’ve been getting great production across the board, from Darius Garland to veterans Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. They’ll expect those three to come up big as they’ll have their hands full with a Boston Celtics team at TD Garden.
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 21, 2021
The Celtics may have their star players Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, but they are also without some key players as COVID protocols have taken away key role players Al Horford, Josh Richardson, and more. The Celtics were looking promising last week after a win against the Milwaukee Bucks and a close loss to the Golden State Warriors. They then beat the New York Knicks on Saturday, but were stifled by their rivals the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. Despite this Cavs team missing some big names, they’ve still been one of the premier defensive teams in the league. Even a couple weeks back when the Cavs were depleted with injuries they were able to make things close with the likes of the Brooklyn Nets. I’m not sure they’ll pull this one off against the Celtics, but I like them to cover.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers +6 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
I keep waiting for the Cleveland Cavaliers to crumble, as I just don’t think the talent is at a high enough level to continue this play, but instead they just keep rolling right along. They’ve won six in a row, which has improved their record on the year to 19-12, and they now sit third in the Eastern Conference. At some point I still think they fall off just a touch, but for right now I’m done betting against this team, as time and time again they prove me wrong.
They go on the road in this one to take on a Boston Celtics team that I had high hopes for coming into the season, but virtually since day one the C’s have been a disappointment. After missing Jaylen Brown for a few games they now have him back, to go along with virtually everyone else being healthy as well, but I’m not sure it matters. The shooting from this Boston team has been absolutely abysmal all year long, and against a Cavs team that has been great all year long, I don’t know why I would expect that to change. I give Boston a slight chance in this one, with it being at home, but in the end I’m taking the Cavs to go on the road and sneak away with a victory.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers (+198)
Toronto Raptors @ Chicago Bulls – 8pm ET
*This game has since been postponed.*
The Toronto Raptors kick off a short two game road trip when they take on the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors have won three of their previous four, but they have been a bit disrupted as of late, with two of their games being postponed in the last few days. The Bulls had two games postponed in a row, then after that they won their next two games against the Lakers and Rockets.
Denis Kirilov
Another interesting combat in the East will put up the Toronto Raptors against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night in the NBA. The 2019 NBA Champions will have a tough visit at United Center where they had lost their last two games. The Raptors are on a 4-game losing streak against the Bulls in their head-to-head matches. They will try to build on their amazing performance from the fixture against the Warriors as now OG Anunoby has returned from a month-lasting hip injury. He dropped just 7 points against one of the top teams in the NBA, but he will surely come back on top once again. The team has been performing on a high level recently and it will be curious to see whether they will be able to overcome the Bulls.
The Chicago Bulls are 2nd in the East with a 19-10 record, sitting only behind the Brooklyn Nets who are suffering in this Covid-19 outbreak. The team will surely try to take advantage of this and clinch the top spot in the Conference, but they will need to defeat the Raptors first. The Bulls will be without Alex Caruso who has been playing on an immensely high level from the beginning of the season, while Zach LaVine is still questionable after entering the health & safety protocols. However, even without one part of their perfect duo, the team managed to get the victory in their last two meetings over the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets. For me, they are the better team as the Raptors will also be without Pascal Siakam. I don’t think that Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Scottie Barnes will be able to match the performance of DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Nikola Vucevic. I will trust the Bulls to cover their spread on this electrifying match on Wednesday.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls -9.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
The Toronto Raptors will come limping into this one as COVID protocols will prevent them from playing almost their entire starting lineup as Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet are all expected to miss this game. The Raptors will be facing a Chicago Bulls team that’s just 1.5 games out of first place in the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls continue to be lethal on both sides of the ball as they thanks to DeMar DeRozan being one of the league’s top scorers, and a fiery defense that includes Alex Caruso who’s second in the league in steals per game. Unfortunately Caruso will be out with an injury, and the team’s other dominant scorer Zach LaVine is still missing time with COVID. Still, against this depleted Raptors team, DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Nikola Vucevic should be more than enough to run away with this one at home. I’ll pick them with an easy cover.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls -9.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
I think the brief Covid pause may have been the best thing that could’ve happened for the Chicago Bulls. They started the year extremely hot before slowing down just a touch, and following the two game postponement, they’re 2-0 since and look to potentially be back on track.
Toronto comes into this one as one of the most roller coaster-like teams in the league this year. They’ve shown the potential to be a really good team when everyone is healthy, and they’ve also shown the ability to be a lackluster team with everyone healthy. For this one, they’re going to be without Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, who just got placed into virus protocols. They’re already inconsistent with everyone on the floor, I’m not sure I like their chances against a really good Bulls team, as they will be without two of their best players. Give me the Bulls in a big way.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls (-450)
Houston Rockets @ Milwaukee Bucks – 8pm ET
The Houston Rockets hit the road on Wednesday night when they travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks, who are wrapping up a two game homestand before heading out on the road again. The Rockets have a terrible record when playing on the road, currently standing at 3-14, and they lost their last game. The Bucks are currently on a two game losing streak, with losses to the Pelicans and Cavaliers.
Denis Kirilov
The Houston Rockets will travel to Wisconsin in an attempt to further worsen the situation for the reigning champions. The Milwaukee Bucks are on a 2-game losing streak as they were also shattered by the Covid-19 outbreak. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis entered the health & safety protocols, while Khris Middleton was sidelined due to a knee injury. This left Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, and Pat Connaughton alone in their mission to lead the Championship team. Khris Middleton might return for the game against the Rockets, but Milwaukee will still miss the players who are out due to Covid-19.
The Rockets, on the other hand, might be able to use Jalen Green after a long-lasting leg injury. Christian Wood and Eric Gordon have been performing quite exceptionally as they led Houston to a 7-0 run in November-December. The team that put an end to their winning streak was exactly the Milwaukee Bucks who defeated them after a 41-point masterpiece from Giannis Antetokounmpo. Later on, the Rockets managed to get just two wins out of 7 games as they outclassed the Atlanta Hawks and the Detroit Pistons. This will surely be a tough one to call, but I think that this absence of key players for the Bucks will play a crucial role for their performance in their upcoming matches. That’s why I will go with the Rockets in this one, but still going on a safer note choosing their spread.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Houston Rockets +10 (-112)
Michael Lantz
Despite sitting at 10-21, the Houston Rockets have had some highlights this season. They went on a decent win streak a couple weeks back; have seen continued growth from Christian Wood; and have gotten some veteran leadership from Eric Gordon. Also, their defense hasn’t been awful as they sit right outside the top ten in opponent three-point percentage. That being said, they also give up the fifth most attempts from beyond the arc per game. Luckily they’re playing the team that gives up the most three point attempts per game in the Milwaukee Bucks. They’ll look to take advantage of that—especially Gordon—who is shooting almost 45% this season when he decides to shoot from the triple.
Restricted Area is back and STREAMING NOW on Bucks YouTube!! pic.twitter.com/wHN8qp3thX
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 21, 2021
Aside from that statistic, Milwaukee will also continue to be without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo as he recovers from COVID. Still, they power ahead with Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, who both missed the Bucks last game against Cleveland, but don’t appear on the current injury report. Even though this would be a prime opportunity for the Rockets to beat the Bucks, I like how this Milwaukee team steps up in Giannis’ absence—especially at home. I’ll look for big games from Middleton and Holiday in what should be a fun one, against a Rockets team that’s shown their ability to score big points in recent games.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks (-480)
Michael’s NBA Bonus Pick: Eric Gordon – Over 2.5 Threes (+132)
Noah Dunlap
The Houston Rockets have gone from an abysmal team early in the season to being at least a respectable team as of late. Their record is still mediocre to slightly below average, but the energy and effort is there, which has to be a good sign for Rockets fans. With Christian Wood progressing down low, the paint presence has at least been a decent surprise for this Houston squad.
Now they get the defending champions, and it’s not a matchup that I see being a good thing for the Rockets. The bad news for Milwaukee is that they’re still going to be without Giannis, who remains in Covid protocols, but they should have everyone else available in this one, and with Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton leading the way for the Bucks I’m going to lean Milwaukee in a close one here.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks (-480)
Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 8pm ET
The Denver Nuggets wrap up their road trip on Wednesday night when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Nuggets have won three of their last four games, with their only loss coming against the Timberwolves, 107-124. The Thunder are currently on a two game winning streak, with wins against the Clippers and Grizzlies.
Denis Kirilov
The Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder are among the teams that are least affected by this Covid-19 outbreak. Maybe that’s the reason they have been performing pretty well during the past week. The Thunder defeated the Clippers at home and took revenge against the Grizzlies for the 73-point loss earlier in the campaign. The Nuggets, on the other hand, are looking at a 3-1 run lately defeating the likes of the Spurs, the Wizards, and the Hawks. They inevitably lost a game at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves as Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 70 points.
The Nuggets started off this season slowly, being barely above 0.500 at the moment. This is actually enough for the 5th place as they are leading the second chasing group composed of the Clippers, the Lakers, the Timberwolves, and the Mavericks. Nikola Jokic is doing a fantastic job for the team so far as he puts up numbers that haven’t been seen before to be averaged throughout the campaign. The Thunder are 13th in the current standings in the West with just 10 wins out of 29 matches. They will try their luck at snatching a spot in the Playoffs, but this won’t be an easy task. The Nuggets are far more experienced than the Thunder, but are still quite inconsistent. That’s why I will support OKC tomorrow and trust them to cover their spread at Paycom Center.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Oklahoma City Thunder +5.5 (-110)
Michael Lantz
Despite injuries hitting some of Denver’s key players, they’re pleased to still be seeded number five in the Western Conference. For a while it looked as if Nikola Jokic was going to have to be a one-man show in the Mile High City, but recently he’s had role players step up on the scoring end as players like Jeff Green and Monte Morris have had big scoring performances. This was evident last Friday as they beat the Atlanta Hawks 133-115 thanks to all three of the aforementioned players scoring 20 or more. They’ll look to keep that fifth-seed secure, as they have multiple teams that are within a game out in the standings.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will look to play spoiler against the Nuggets, as they’ve won consecutive games against two playoff teams in the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies. Their young core is really starting to come along as they’ve been getting exceptional performances from Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Lu Dort, and Josh Giddy. This is just the start, as they still have plenty of draft picks in coming years. The Thunder just beat one of the NBA’s hottest teams in the Grizzlies, so I expect them to go to the brink with the Nuggets at home.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Oklahoma City Thunder +5.5 (-110)
Noah Dunlap
Denver is another team that has been an absolute roller coaster of a ride this year, as they can’t seem to decide one game to the next what kind of effort they plan on putting out. If they actually give moderate effort, this is a team that can be one of the best teams in the West behind last year’s MVP Nikola Jokic. They’ve currently won three of their last four, and that’s due in large part to Jokic getting help from a supporting cast that struggled early in the year.
For Oklahoma City, they’re a young team that honestly doesn’t have the talent to compete at a high level game in and game out, but they have shown the ability at times to creep up on teams that overlook them, which was shown in their last outing as they knocked off the Memphis Grizzlies. While I think they’ve been playing better ball as of late, I still think the inexperience becomes a problem in this one against a team that made it to the Western Conference Finals a year ago. Give me Denver and the points here, but I don’t think this one sees the Nuggets pull away until late.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Denver Nuggets -5.5 (-110)
Los Angeles Clippers @ Sacramento Kings – 10pm ET
The final game of the night will see the Los Angeles Clippers face off against the Sacramento Kings. The Clippers are currently on a three game losing streak, with losses to the Jazz, Thunder and Spurs, which brings their season record to 16-15. The Kings have won two of their previous four games, which takes their season record to 13-19.
Denis Kirilov
The Sacramento Kings take on a pretty clumsy Clippers team in their Golden 1 Center. Paul George made his return from an elbow injury in the game against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. The Clippers lost this match 92-116 as they shot terribly from the field. They are once again back at full strength (excluding Kawhi Leonard), but it seems that it will take them some time before they synchronize with one another. The Kings are troubled with lots of sidelined players due to Covid-19 measures. They are still without De’Aaron Fox, Richaun Holmes, Terrence Davis, Davion Mitchell, and Alex Len. This didn’t stop them from defeating the San Antonio Spurs – the same team that demolished the Clippers in their last match.
The Kings are out of the Playoffs zone, in 11th place, as they have won 13 games out of 32 matches so far. This percentage won’t be enough for them at the end of the year and they will need to level up their game if they want to enter the bracket. The Clippers are a bit ahead of the Kings as they are 6th at the moment. The team from the “City of Angels” will do their best to get into the top 4 at the end of the season, so that they can get the crucial home advantage for the Playoffs. I think that such games are a “must-win” for the Clippers if they want to chase this goal. Hence, I will support them in covering the spread on Wednesday. I also expect a brilliant performance from Paul George and I would suggest picking the option for “over points” in this match.
Denis’ NBA Pick: Los Angeles Clippers -5.5 (-110)
Denis’ NBA Bonus Pick: Over 218 (-110)
Michael Lantz
Both of these teams have had to deal with an abundance of injuries lately. The Clippers have had Paul George sidelined, whereas the Kings are currently dealing with COVID issues. The Clippers have done a pretty good job of stepping up in George’s absence as players like Reggie Jackson and Terrence Mann have picked up some steam on offense. But you could see them starting to get a bit fatigued in recent games, so adding their star player back to the lineup on Monday was a blessing. Unfortunately, the result was not, as the Clippers fell to the Spurs 92-116. They’ll hope for a better result against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
Focused on tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/hUnxKoXDID
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 21, 2021
The Sacramento Kings continue to stick around in the playoff picture, but they are currently missing numerous players to COVID, including star guard De’Aaron Fox and rookie Davion Mitchell. They’ll also be without big man Richaun Holmes who is dealing with an eye injury. The Kings still have players capable of putting up points in Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes, but they’ll be facing a near full-strength Clippers team (without Kawhi Leonard of course), that’s looking to bounce back after a tough loss. I’ll pick the Clippers on the road.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Los Angeles Clippers (-235)
Noah Dunlap
From a talent standpoint, this isn’t a game that should even really be remotely close. The Clippers with Paul George, Reggie Jackson, and Luke Kennard should be able to take care of this one even as they await the return of Kawhi Leonard, but the problem is they’ve fallen on hard times, and can’t seem to find any rhythm at all from their core. They do get a bad Sacramento team in this one, which could help, but with how they’ve played lately, nothing can be taken for granted.
The good news for Los Angeles in this one is that Sacramento is facing some serious issues in regards to Covid, with De’Aaron Fox and Richaun Holmes being out, in addition to a few others. With how the Clips have been playing, if the Kings came into this one fully healthy I would actually take Sacramento, but with the Covid problems I’m going to give a slight lean to Los Angeles, but with no faith in the spread, simply take the moneyline and take what you can get.
Noah’s NBA Pick: Los Angeles Clippers (-235)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
