NBA Picks

When people talk about potential NBA Championship contenders, oftentimes, the New Orleans Pelicans get left out. They come in as +3 home underdogs vs. Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks tonight. Who gets the money?

Can the Portland Trail Blazers overcome a back-to-back including air travel from Los Angeles against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets? Get our Den/Port pick here!

In their last meeting, the Raptors gave the Celtics their just desserts in a 113-102 game that was not quite as close as the final score indicated. Last season, Boston was a top-10 home team, and the second best home team ATS in the NBA. In order for Toronto to keep their momentum going, they’ll need to hit Boston’s defense where it hurts. And that is right at Kyrie Irving. Kyle Lowry is – as they say in the business – a “bulldog;” he’ll bite your head off without blinking. Kawhi Leonard is the superduperstar of the Raptors’ roster, but every Lone Ranger needs his Tonto, and Lowry has to be that guy. Can Lowry take it to Irving again and keep the C’s from writing a revenge story line?

Many were getting ready for the possibility of a Spurs-less playoffs for only the second time in many of our lifetimes, but Coach Popovich has pulled a full MacGruber and has them firmly in the hunt. His current rotation of guards is basically a water bottle, a roll of duct tape, and some copper wire, but he managed to make a bomb out of it anyway, and the Spurs legacy lives on. Does Pop have enough to to put together a win and a cover with a +5? KC has today’s NBA pick.

I’m not convinced that number 2 Pelican Julius Randle is in shape. He’s a lot like Oprah; it’s hard to tell the difference between Skinny Julius Randle and Fat Julius Randle. Regardless, he will have all of the run he can handle if Nikola Mirotic is unable to suit up again. Randle and his cohort Anthony Davis are going to send Karl Anthony-Towns into an even deeper spiral.

Kemba will be the game’s focal point. He had his lowest scoring performance of the season against Cleveland the first time around, but it had more to do with them laying the smackdown in a 32-point victory than Kemba’s inefficiency. In Collin Sexton, Kemba undoubtedly sees a little bit of himself reflected back; a tenacious athlete with a desire for greatness, but a steep learning curve ahead. And just like his peers did to him, Kemba is going to take the young Sexton to school. But, if narratives aren’t your thing, here’s math for you: Charlotte and Cleveland have played nearly identical schedules in terms of strength, and yet Charlotte is 4th in Offensive Rating and 11th in Defensive Rating while Cleveland ranks 26th and 28th. Charlotte is nowhere near power-house status, but on paper, they dominate Cleveland across the board. They also dominated them nine days ago by 32 points. Betting sites have the Hornets favored by only 6.5 points. KC has his NBA prediction.