Our free NBA picks are out for Wednesday, March 16th, 2022! Make sure you check our NBA picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free NBA picks for the best five games on today’s schedule!
Philadelphia 76ers @ Cleveland Cavaliers – 7pm ET
The Philadelphia 76ers are on the road for just one game on Wednesday when they travel to Cleveland and take on the Cavaliers. The 76ers have been alternating wins and losses for the last six games, and this takes their overall season record to 41-26. The Cavaliers have won three of their last five games, and in their last game, they beat the Clippers, 120-111 in overtime.
Jeffery Thomas
The honeymoon phase is 100% over between the 76ers and James Harden, and now fans are questioning whether or not they made the right move acquiring him. First, it was the blowout loss to the Nets where he shot 3-17, followed by a 5-19 shooting performance in a narrow win over a bad Orlando team, and then the loss to Denver on Monday. Harden is known to start fast with new teams and then fade, so the concerns of fans is warranted. A repeat of his March 4 performance against these Cavs would do a lot to silence the critics and maybe start to get things rolling again. In that game he had 25 points and 11 assists in a 125-119 home win, but surely the Cavs will have revenge on their minds. Speaking of the Cavs, they were able to snap a modest two-game losing streak by beating the Clippers at home in overtime 120-111.
Rookie of the year front runner Evan Mobley had a career-high 30 points, with his running mate Darius Garland going for 24 points and 11 assists. Mobley has done well when asked to step in and play center, averaging 21.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in those five instances. Most important was the win for Cleveland though, as they try to keep their top 6 spot, which would let them avoid the play-in tournament. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been a team all season that plays their best basketball at home, so they’ll be happy to get this tough opponent on their court. When these teams faced off two weeks ago, it took a 33-point effort from Tyrese Maxey and 5 three-pointers from Georges Niang to get a 6-point victory for Philly. While those are two good players, and key pieces to the rotation, those performances aren’t sustainable and if the Cavs can just play their game and get behind the home crowd they can keep this one close.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers +4 (-108)
All smiles in the gym today 😄 #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/JKfEuVYt62
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 15, 2022
Michael Lantz
After getting blown out by their rivals, the Brooklyn Nets last Thursday, the new-look Philadelphia 76ers have continued to look a tad bit off. They barely got past a lowly Orlando Magic team over the weekend, and then on Monday night they blew a 19-point lead to the Denver Nuggets on national television, losing 110-114. It’s not panic time yet in Philly, but it could quickly turn that way, as things won’t get any easier for them on Wednesday as they take on a playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers squad.
The Cavaliers bounced back on Monday night after losing consecutive games to the Heat and Bulls. They were able to outlast a very good Clippers team in overtime, as rookie Evan Mobley went off for 30 points and the team was thrilled to have Caris LeVert back in the lineup, as he scored 11 points off the bench. Even with LeVert back and Mobley, and All-Star Darius Garland playing great, the team will still be without center Jarrett Allen for this one. Allen has had quite a bit of experience containing Joel Embiid, so now it’ll be up to young Evan Mobley to take over that role. After a run of tough games, the 76ers are looking vulnerable, but last time they played the Cavs they were able to beat them by double digits —without James Harden. With “The Beard” on the court, I’ll take the 76ers to win in this one.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Philadelphia 76ers (-178)
Phoenix Suns @ Houston Rockets – 8pm ET
This one is sure to be an interesting matchup, when we see the Phoenix Suns, the one seed in the Western Conference take on the Houston Rockets, the 15 seed in the same Western Conference! The Suns are playing on back-to-back nights, and last time out they beat the Pelicans, 131-115. The Rockets have lost their last two games in a row to the Mavericks and Pelicans.
Jeffery Thomas
The Houston Rockets are heading towards another top 3 pick in the NBA draft, as they currently have the worst record in the NBA. They have only won three games in the past two months, but interestingly enough all three were against teams who are in the playoff picture (Lakers, Grizzlies, Cavaliers). It would take a Herculean effort for them to pull off a win against the Suns on Wednesday, who still hold the league’s best record. They built upon that record on Tuesday in a road win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Suns already own a 3-0 record over the Houston Rockets this season and there’s no reason they won’t have a clean season sweep. They have matchup advantages at every position and will get whatever they want offensively. The Rockets can get hot at home at times, but it’s obviously not been sustainable enough for them to get positive results. Give me the Suns in blowout fashion.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Phoenix Suns -11 (-110)
Afternoon 3 on 3 🤘 pic.twitter.com/Q8yNvMk6Dp
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) March 15, 2022
Michael Lantz
Even without Chris Paul, the Phoenix Suns have remained the best team in basketball. Last night they were able to payback the New Orleans Pelicans, after they fell to them a couple of weeks ago, beating them 131-115, behind Devin Booker’s 27 points. Now the Suns will turn around and play a Houston Rockets team that, while bad, also are fully capable of putting up some major points. The Rockets may be in dead last in the Western Conference, but they’ve still had some solid wins lately, including victories over the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers.
They have some exciting young talent in Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr., plus various other players with lots of potential. Even though they’re a few seasons from contending, they can never be overlooked. I’d like to say this one has a shot at being close but with the Rockets, they usually either win or they lose — by a lot. I’m picking the Suns to win in this one, and because the Rockets have a hard time hanging around when they lose, I’ll pick Phoenix to cover.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Phoenix Suns -11 (-110)
Chicago Bulls @ Utah Jazz – 9pm ET
The Chicago Bulls are in the middle of their three game road trip and on Wednesday night in the NBA they will go toe-to-toe with the Utah Jazz. The Bulls have lost six of their last eight games, and this takes their overall record on the season to 41-27. The Jazz have been alternating wins and losses for the last eight games, and last time out they went down to the Bucks, 111-117.
Jeffery Thomas
The Bulls road trip got off to a disappointing start on Monday night when they lost to the Sacramento Kings 103-112. They had no answer for the scorching-hot De’Aaron Fox (I liked his prop overs in this game) who had 34 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds, ending a four-game losing streak for the Kings. The once top seed in the East, the Bulls are now in serious danger of falling into the play-in tournament if they don’t turn things around quickly. They have lost six of their last eight games and with 14 games remaining, are only three games ahead of the 7th seeded Raptors. Things won’t get any easier on Wednesday when they square off against the Jazz in Utah who will also be looking to bounce back after a loss on Monday night to the Bucks.
A crazy stat that goes to show how tough it is to win in Utah is that that was Milwaukee’s first win in Salt Lake City in 20 tries dating back to the 2002-03 season. Despite the loss it was nice to see Mike Conley Jr. break out of one of the worst shooting slumps of his career. Prior to Monday, Conley had made only 5 of his last 34 shots, scoring just 18 points across the previous four games. In the Bucks game he had 29 points and 7 assists so he’ll look to keep the momentum going in a great matchup against Chicago. The Utah Jazz will feel like they let one get away in their last home game and we should not expect it to happen twice in a row. The Bulls have come back down to Earth from their crazy hot start and they’re a team I’m looking to fade any time they face one of the top teams in the league. The Jazz fit that bill and I expect them to make a statement against Chicago in a comfortable home victory.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Utah Jazz -6 (-110)
From that Giannis block to a career-high scoring night! Take a look back at this week’s biggest plays ⏪#InstantRewind | @socios pic.twitter.com/ZKorx1qkFE
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 15, 2022
Michael Lantz
In a battle between the fourth place team in each conference, the Chicago Bulls head to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz. Utah has been up and down in recent weeks, but if you look a little closer, their ups have mainly come against teams out of the playoff contention, whereas they’ve lost against playoff teams, recently falling to the Bucks, Pelicans, and Mavericks. The Jazz have the talent with Donovan Mitchell continuing to be an offensive threat and Rudy Gobert holding down the big man position down low. They also have great support from veteran Mike Conley and last season’s Sixth Man of the Year, Jordan Clarkson. The Jazz have battled a lot of injuries in 2022, when they all get together they seem to click. After a close loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, they’ll look to bounce back against the Chicago Bulls.
Right as the Bulls were inching back to full health, they ran into an unlikely road block — the Sacramento Kings. With Zach LaVine back after missing a couple of games and Alex Caruso starting to get back in the swing on defense, this Bulls team should’ve wiped the floor with the Kings. Instead, they lost as the Bulls shot below 30% from three and allowed the Kings to shoot nearly 48% from the field. The Bulls will need to pull it together quickly if they want to maintain their fourth seed or get higher, as the Eastern Conference continues to grow tougher. With this one in SLC, and the Jazz pretty healthy (Bojan Bogdanovic will unfortunately be out) I think the Jazz should end their skid against playoff worthy teams.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Utah Jazz (-250)
Boston Celtics @ Golden State Warriors – 10pm ET
The Boston Celtics hit the road and travel to Chase Center in San Francisco to face off against the Golden State Warriors. The Celtics had their five game winning streak snapped last time out, courtesy of the Mavericks, 92-95. The Warriors have now won four games in a row, with their victories coming over teams like the Clippers, Nuggets, Bucks and Wizards.
Jeffery Thomas
The Boston Celtics will start up a four-game stint away from home when they travel to the Bay for a game Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors. Last time out on Sunday, their five-game winning streak was snapped at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 92-95. It was a bittersweet day for the franchise, as they retired Kevin Garnett’s number before the game, and then Luka Doncic and company came in and spoiled the day. Jayson Tatum had his streak of 30-point games snapped at five, as he was only able to make a couple buckets in the second half, finishing with 21 points. The Warriors were off on Tuesday after a vintage performance on Monday from their future Hall of Famer Steph Curry on his 34th birthday. He went off for 47 points on seven made three-pointers and looked very happy to get his buddy Draymond Green back, even though he was on a minutes restriction.
Still, even only in 20 minutes Draymond flirted with a triple-double getting 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. As he gets more ramped up and we start to see the Warriors of old, they are definitely a dangerous team that needs to be taken seriously again. This is going to be the game of the night and I really can’t wait to see these stars going at it in the Bay. Steph Curry is fresh off a near 50 ball and I’m sure he’ll love nothing more than a repeat of that in front of the home fans. If he gets schemed out the game then there’s Klay or Jordan Poole who can also go off for 30 any night. The Celtics have Tatum and Brown but I don’t think they’ll be enough to keep up with these Warriors when they are cooking.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors -3.5 (-110)
We have signed Malik Fitts ☘️ pic.twitter.com/3CyrHPlqdl
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 15, 2022
Michael Lantz
In the marquee game of the day, the Boston Celtics take their game to the Bay Area, as they face the Golden State Warriors. Boston has been one of the hottest teams in basketball over the last month. Going into Sunday, they had won five straight, but they ended up falling to a Dallas Mavericks team that’s blossomed into one of the league’s top defensive teams. While the Celtics have a future MVP in Jayson Tatum, and a two-way all-star in Jaylen Brown, there are still some questions about their depth and consistency. They’ll have a chance to silence their doubters on Wednesday as they face a Golden State Warriors team that’s getting healthy and getting ready to make another big run.
The Warriors were a bit opposite of the Boston Celtics over the last month, they were struggling heavily and were missing Draymond Green’s presence on both sides of the ball. Now, Green has returned from a nearly two month injury and Klay Thompson is starting to find his feet after time out of the game. With Steph Curry continuing to shine and the likes of Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole constantly coming up big, this team is showing signs of their dynasty days a few years back. They’ll have a big test as the Boston Celtics come to town with some phenomenal two-way players and a confidence that’s almost out the roof right now. Still, I’ll pick this Warriors team that’s in the midst of a four-game win streak and are only looking to get stronger.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Golden State Warriors -3.5 (-110)
Milwaukee Bucks @ Sacramento Kings – 10pm ET
The road trip continues on for the Milwaukee Bucks, who on Wednesday night will travel to Sacramento and take on the Kings. The Bucks have won seven of their last eight games, and this takes their overall season record to 43-26. The Kings put an end to their four game losing streak last time out with a win over the Bulls, 112-103.
Jeffery Thomas
The Milwaukee Bucks will be happy to make this trip up to Sacramento to take on the Kings. It’s been a very favorable matchup for the Bucks who have beaten the Kings eleven straight matchups, five of which have come in Sacramento. The first meeting of these two teams came with no Giannis back on January 22, with the Bucks winning 133-127. The two-time MVP is back healthy now, and riding a four-game 30 point streak, but he’s not the only one in this game on a crazy scoring stretch. De’Aaron Fox of the Kings has topped 30 points in four of the last five games, averaging 35 points in that span.
Sacramento is coming off a win over the Bulls, just their third in the past twelve games. The Kings are going to have to wait a little longer to get their first win over the Bucks since 2016. The defending champs have their eyes set on getting that 1 seed in the East, and home-court into an Eastern Conference Finals run, so games like this are the ones they need to take care of. I expect them to come out hot early and try to put this one away, cruising to a nice road victory.
Jeffery’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks -9 (-110)
all smiles at team picture day 😁 pic.twitter.com/xHT9GOvGhg
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 15, 2022
Michael Lantz
The Milwaukee Bucks picked up a major win on Monday as they knocked off the Utah Jazz 117-111, keeping them in second place in the Eastern Conference. It was a feel-good win after they lost to the Golden State Warriors by double digits. Even better — they got Brook Lopez back after he missed nearly six months. Lopez has felt like the missing piece to the puzzle; Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to be an MVP candidate, and Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday have both been awesome second options. The team has missed Lopez for his defense, his ability to play down low and hit big threes. Now that their roster is looking like the team that won last season’s NBA Championship again, they’ll continue to put it to the test Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings.
Even though the Kings are likely out of the playoff race, they still have some exciting talent. That talent was on full display Monday as they were able to upset the Chicago Bulls 112-103. The Kings got Domantas Sabonis back after he missed a couple of games, as he scored 22 points and De’Aaron Fox went off tallying 34 points of his own. This team has quite a few guys that can score; they’re a team you can never overlook. Still, with this Bucks team starting to get back to its dominant ways, I can’t see them losing this game against a Sacramento team that gives up tons of points. With the Kings having Sabonis back I’m tempted to pick them to cover, but I think the Bucks cover is the safer choice.
Michael’s NBA Pick: Milwaukee Bucks -9 (-110)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
