NBA Playoffs Round 1: Free NBA Picks Today for Saturday, April 22nd, 2023

Our free NBA picks are out for Saturday, April 22nd, 2023! Make sure you check our NBA picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free NBA picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!

Philadelphia 76ers @ Brooklyn Nets – 1PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Philadelphia 76ers come into this one looking to put away the Brooklyn Nets and complete the sweep to move onto the second round of the eastern conference playoffs. They won’t have Joel Embiid for this game as he has been ruled out with a sprained knee and they will have to get the job done without their best player and likely the winner of the most valuable player award this season. They are still very capable of picking up the victory with the rest of the roster, even without them being in the lineup against Brooklyn here on Saturday afternoon.

The Brooklyn Nets have their best shot to steal a game in this series during game number three, but a bad bad pass that led to a turnover and a free dunk for Philadelphia put that to rest. Now the Brooklyn Nets come in the game number for the series at home with their backs against the wall in a must win situation. If they fail to win here tonight, their season will be over and they will suffer a four-game series sweep to the Philadelphia 76ers. Unfortunately, for Brooklyn that is exactly what I expect as I think Philadelphia completes the sweep here in this one even without Joel Embiid in the lineup.

Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Clippers – 3:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Phoenix Suns will come into this game looking to grab another victory over the Los Angeles Clippers to take a three games to one lead in the series. After struggling in game number one of the series, Phoenix has got it together and has picked up victories in back to back games against Los Angeles. Now they will be looking to make it three consecutive victories here in this one on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. They are fully healthy and getting hot at the right time which makes them as dangerous as ever heading in the game number of this first round series here on Sunday.

Not only have the Los Angeles Clippers not had Paul George for the first three games of this series, they won’t have Kawhi Leonard for the second consecutive game in this series either. After such a promising start to the series with a game one victory, Kawaii’s absence has left a lot of doubt surrounding the Los Angeles Clippers as their failed experiment of a big two is likely going to find themselves with another early exit in the playoffs. They will need to win one of these games at home if they want to put themselves in a solid position and stay off of the brink of elimination before they head back to Phoenix for game five. However, I don’t see that happening as I think the Phoenix Suns will pick up the victory here on Saturday afternoon.

Milwaukee Bucks @ Miami Heat – 7:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Milwaukee Bucks won’t have Giannis Antetokounmpo in this game against the Miami Heat on Saturday afternoon. However, they played great without him during game number three of the series and got a massive blowout victory over the Miami Heat. They will be looking to replicate that performance here in game number four as they look to take a three games to one lead before heading back to Milwaukee for game five. Milwaukee will have to replicate the performance that they put on in game number three if they want to get another victory over Miami in this one on the road.

The Miami Heat will be looking to bounce back here in game number four on Saturday afternoon. Game four comes after they squandered their best opportunity to grab themselves a two to one lead in this series after Giannis Antetokounmpo missed game three. They will have to perform a lot better than they did in the previous game and guys like Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo will have to step up in a big way. That is what I expect to happen as I look for Miami to regroup and grab the victory here in game four on Saturday night.

Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles Lakers – 10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Memphis Grizzlies have looked solid throughout this series, even when they didn’t have Ja Morant in the lineup for their previous game. Now the series will head to Los Angeles as they play game number three and what could be a very pivotal moment in this first round series. The Grizzlies will be looking to replicate their performance from game number two as they look to take a two games to one lead over the Los Angeles Lakers at crypto.com arena on Saturday evening. It is still unknown of Ja. Morant will suit up for this game, but with their performance last time, it gives them hope without him.

The Los Angeles Lakers will be looking to bounce back after they squandered a massive opportunity to steal both games in Memphis earlier in the week. Now they will be looking to pick up their first playoff victory of the year at home here on Saturday evening against the Memphis Grizzlies. LeBron James and Anthony Davis will factor huge into the outcome of this one, and they will be hoping they can remain healthy throughout the remainder of the series as well. They are both currently listed as doubtful on the injury report, but they are likely to play here in game number three. That is why I think the Los Angeles Lakers will regroup on their own home floor and grab the victory in this one.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.