Another very successful night for the SportsTips free NBA picks last night, going 12-6 including two games with a perfect 3/3 right!
We were preparing for a massive 10 game Wednesday but Utah @ Washington, Orlando @ Boston and Atlanta @ Phoenix have both been postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, meaning there are seven games and 21 bets to make and win!
Find our free NBA picks for all scheduled games below!
Dallas Mavericks @ Charlotte Hornets – 7PM ET
After having their game on Monday postponed due to not having enough eligible players available to play, the Mavericks will head down to Charlotte to take on the Hornets for the second time this season.
Dallas will still be without five players, which isn’t much for a side that has had multiple positive tests, but those five players are all in the top seven for minutes so far this season. In their last fully healthy game, a 124-117 overtime win over Denver, three starters from that game are out tonight due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. The Mavs were also fully healthy in their first matchup with the Hornets where they were blown out of the water at home.
The positive for Dallas is Kristaps Porzingis is expected to make his season debut and they will need him against a Charlotte team on a four game winning streak. While they have won four in a row, all four were against teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season. They have however played four games against teams that did make the playoffs last season, going 2-2 in those games, including the win against Dallas.
Hayward dropped 34 PTS as the Hornets won their 4th straight game last night! ♨️ pic.twitter.com/CJzy7U4ltS
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 12, 2021
Six Charlotte players scored in double figures in the game, led by LaMelo Ball’s 22 points while Luka Doncic could only manage 12 points and five assists. We expect Doncic to come out hard to make up for the last performance, but Porzingis will have a lot of rust and they are missing over half of their usual rotation. Given the outs for Dallas and their earlier matchup, we are unsure how Charlotte are the underdogs in this one. It seems weird to say but Charlotte will win their fifth straight!
NBA Pick – Charlotte Hornets (+150)
NBA Spread – Charlotte Hornets +4.5 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Under 220 (-105)
Milwaukee Bucks @ Detroit Pistons – 7PM ET
These Central Division rivals have already played twice this season, with Milwaukee winning both at home by 10 and 15 points. The Pistons have come out and gone 1-1 since, beating Phoenix before losing to Utah.
The positive for the Pistons is that this one will be in Detroit, where both their wins have occurred. Their most recent game, a 86-96 loss to the Jazz, saw Jerami Grant score 28 points with the next highest being 12. Three starters combined for just 14 points and they won’t be winning any games scoring such a low total.
Especially against the team with the best offensive rating and best net rating in the league. Milwaukee has scored over 120 points in seven of their 111 games and hasn’t scored under 100 all season. Their most recent game was a 121-99 road win against the Magic, with three players scoring 20+ led by Giannis’ 22 while Bobby Portis had 20 and 5 off the bench.
A big positive for Detroit is that Derrick Rose is due to return to the lineup and his scoring punch off the bench is vital for their success, but Detroit just seems as if they would be able to keep up in this one, much like their previous two matchups. The Pistons scored 115 points in both games and it just wasn’t enough against this offense.
NBA Pick – Milwaukee Bucks (-581)
NBA Spread – Detroit Pistons +10.5 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Under 227 (-105)
Utah Jazz @ Washington Wizards – 7:30PM ET
*This game was postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a new date has not been confirmed at this time*
Orlando Magic @ Boston Celtics – 7:30PM ET
*This game was postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a new date has not been confirmed at this time*
KD CROSS ❗️
AND SLAM ❗️ pic.twitter.com/xLu2rRZYaN— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 13, 2021
Brooklyn Nets @ New York Knicks – 7:30PM ET
*UPDATE: Brooklyn has made a deal to acquire James Harden from the Houston Rockets, who will not be available to play in this game. The Nets have sent Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, Rodions Kurucs and multiple picks in the deal, all of whom will be out for this game.*
The New York Knicks are on a three game slide and go into the first Battle of the Boroughs matchup of the season in the complete wrong form. Brooklyn on the other hand looked back to their offensive best with Kevin Durant back in the lineup and firing on all cylinders last night.
Durant had 34 points on 67% along with nine rebounds and 13 assists. He seemed to have complete control of the second half, helping Brooklyn get out of a 16 point halftime deficit. Brooklyn won the third quarter 36-20 to tie things up with one quarter remaining, where they ran over the top to win by six. Joe Harris and Bruce Brown both played well with more minutes in starting roles and Caris LeVert returned to being sixth man and had 20 points and six assists.
They now back it up tonight against a Knicks side who has lost three straight by an average of just under 20, falling to score 90 points in all three. Surprisingly, New York had six players score in double figures in Monday’s loss to Charlotte, led by Kevin Knox’s 19 points off the bench, but the heavy reliance on the starters is starting to take its toll on the side.
Through the early stages of the season, the Knicks attempt the fewest threes per game across the league whilst also shooting them at just the 23rd best percentage. Brooklyn on the other hand shoots the 12th most threes whilst shooting with the seventh best three point percentage and that is a big reason why they are the third highest scoring team in the league.
Given New York’s offensive struggles, they seem like they won’t be able to keep up with the Nets in this one.
NBA Pick – Brooklyn Nets (-180)
NBA Spread – New York Knicks +3.5 (-105)
Game Totals Pick – Under 217 (-105)
Memphis Grizzlies @ Minnesota Timberwolves – 8PM ET
Two sides that have struggled through the early stages of the season due to missing their best player, the Grizzlies and Wolves go head to head in Minnesota with both coming off wins.
Ja Morant has now missed seven straight games with Memphis going 3-4 in those games. They have needed different players to step up at different times and in their win over Cleveland on Monday, it was Dillon Brooks. The fourth year guard out of Oregon led the team with 21 points and seven rebounds while the big man combo of Brandon Clarke and Jonas Valanciunas were solid down low with 27 combined points against the Cavs.
It is still uncertain how important they will be against the Wolves tonight as Karl-Anthony Towns is listed as questionable and will be a game-time decision. The Timberwolves still managed to get their third win of the season against the Spurs on Sunday despite missing Towns with D’Angelo Russell stepping up to finish with 27, 5 and 5.
If Towns misses this then it could be an ugly game, but Minnesota had two nights off and didn’t have to travel, with Russell being the best player on either side, so Minnesota should win at home.
NBA Pick – Minnesota Timberwolves (-136)
NBA Spread – Minnesota Timberwolves -2.5 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Under 222.5 (-105)
This angle of Bron’s no-look three 😂
(via @Lakers)pic.twitter.com/3sYTnElRwQ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 13, 2021
Los Angeles Lakers @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 8PM ET
The league leading Los Angeles Lakers head from Houston last night to Oklahoma City tonight to take on the Thunder, who are coming off a home loss to the Spurs, despite DeMar DeRozan not playing.
OKC never really looked like winning this game, despite only losing by 10 points. They made multiple second half runs but anytime they got close, the Spurs would get a timely bucket or stop to extend the lead back out. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led six players in double figures with 20 points and nine rebounds but had just two assists in the loss.
The Lakers on the other hand come off back to back massive wins over the Rockets in Houston. Last night LeBron James had 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Anthony Davis had 19 points, 10 boards and five blocks. LA got out to an early 37-14 lead and were able to extend it to 26 points at the final break meaning the starters all got to rest with no one playing over 30 minutes.
Both James and Davis have been on the injury report with some sort of injury for every game this season and while LeBron has played every game so far, Davis has rested one of the games in both of the Lakers’ back to backs so far this season. He will likely miss again here against the Thunder, but if James plays, the Lakers should be winning.
NBA Pick – Los Angeles Lakers (-360)
NBA Spread – Oklahoma City Thunder +8 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Under 218 (-105)
Atlanta Hawks @ Phoenix Suns – 9PM ET
The Phoenix Suns will be very disappointed after their three game east coast road trip, going just 1-2. They get an opportunity to bounce back when a vulnerable Atlanta Hawks rolls into town.
The Hawks have gone just 1-4 in their last five games, with their only win being on Monday against Joel Embiid and the end of Philadelphia’s bench on Monday night. The Sixers were depleted in that game due to COVID-19 and the Hawks were able to capatilise with Trae Young having his best shooting night since the first game of the season. Young shot 47.4% from the field on his way to 26 points and eight assists with the starters getting an easy night in the blowout.
They will need to be rested against one of the best teams in the league so far this year and a team that will be coming out hard, at home, after some disappointing performances. The Suns were embarrassed by an undermanned and struggling Washington side on Monday, losing 107-128. This was the highest total that Phoenix has allowed so far this season and after having six straight games to start the season not allowing over 110, the Suns have done it in each of their last five, going 2-3 over that span.
Chris Paul is one of the best on ball guard defenders since he joined the league and between him and Mikal Bridges, Young and the Hawks guards are going to have a tough time getting up shots. While smaller, Jae Crowder will be tough and physical against John Collins and can matchup with him inside or outside. The Suns are five point favorites at the moment and that number seems a bit low here.
NBA Pick – Phoenix Suns (-216)
NBA Spread – Phoenix Suns -5 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Under 228 (-105)
New Orleans Pelicans @ Los Angeles Clippers – 10PM ET
*UPDATE: Zion Williamson will be out for this game due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.*
An interesting contest here as the Clippers come into this one with two nights off after their 130-127 win over Chicago, but New Orleans actually has had more rest. The Pelicans’ Monday night clash with Dallas was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak amongst the Mavericks, so New Orleans hasn’t played since Friday night!
.@kawhileonard tied his career-high of made three-pointers in a game, knocking down seven of nine attempts vs. Chicago.
📼 Clippers CourtVision pres. by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/47j6e8KnoD
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) January 12, 2021
Hopefully the Pelicans used their time off effectively as they would be disappointed in their performance against Charlotte. They had a 16 point lead after the first quarter but slowly gave it away. They still managed to hold a five point lead heading into the last quarter but were outscored 23-36 in the final frame. New Orleans averages the fourth most turnovers per game and against Charlotte, the starters had 15 just by themselves.
Zion Williamson does seem to be a bit of a nightmare matchup for the Clippers who usually play with Kawhi Leonard or Nicolas Batum at the four, as he had 26 in their last game and has averaged 27.5 points on 61.5% shooting and seven boards over the last week.
Los Angeles comes into this one on the back of allowing Zach LaVine to put up 45, 7 and 7 despite managing to escape with a three point win. Leonard had 35 points while Paul George contributed 28 points, seven boards and nine assists with the duo combining with Batum for nine steals in the game. Lou Williams had his best game of the season off the bench with 21 points and three steals, and he will need to be playing well for the Clippers to win this.
This is a very interesting matchup, but having four full days off might mean that the Pelicans come into this one a bit rusty. We have seen the Clippers be extremely inconsistent but this is a game they should just win.
NBA Pick – Los Angeles Clippers (-236)
NBA Spread – Los Angeles Clippers -8.5 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Over 220.5 (-115)
Portland Trail Blazers @ Sacramento Kings – 10PM ET
A rematch of Saturday night where Portland ran away with a 125-99 win in Sacramento. Both sides have come out and won their only game since and Sacramento’s win, despite losing this one, was far more impressive.
A 6-3 Indiana Pacers said that was second in the east rolled into town and the Kings didn’t lose a single quarter on the way to their five point victory. It was a close game the entire time but the Kings came up with big plays on both ends of the floor down the stretch and were able to hold on. Harrison Barnes had a special night, scoring 30 points on over 70% shooting while Richaun Holmes had a monster game with 16 points, 10 boards and six blocks!
The Blazers have now won three straight, but needed every last second to get over the line against Toronto. Heading into the last quarter down 10, Carmelo Anthony scored 14 points in the final frame to help Portland get back in it, with the Blazers not getting their first lead until there was just 2:36 left. CJ McCollum had 30 while Dame had 23 and both shot 50% or better from the field.
The big story is that Jusuf Nurkic only lasted just under nine minutes before going off with a quad contusion and is questionable for this one. Portland will need Enes Kanter and Harry Giles, against his former team, to both step up given how well Holmes has been lately.
Portland won by such a large margin last time the two sides met but Sacramento had 15 turnovers which translated into 30 Portland points and their leading scorer could manage just 15. That sort of performance just isn’t happening again and we are riding with the Kings to get some revenge.
NBA Pick – Sacramento Kings (+155)
NBA Spread – Sacramento Kings +4.5 (-110)
Game Totals Pick – Under 236 (-105)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of PointsBet.
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