NBA Picks

The Phoenix Suns take on the underrated Portland Trail Blazers as -4.5 road favorites Friday night at the Rose Quarter in Portland, Oregon. Phoenix looks to be one of the most solid teams in the West, while the Blazers aren’t receiving much credit for the roster upgrades they made in the offseason, which led to a nice opening day road-win in Sacramento vs. a scrappy Kings team Wednesday night. Who covers? Get our Pho/Por pick here!

Denver played Golden State tough last year! Can they keep that trend intact as +6 road underdogs Friday night in the Bay? Get our Den/GS pick here!

In their last time out, Boston finally made a stride towards figuring out their proper closing 5-man group of players. Kyrie Irving was up to his old tricks, Tatum is a young, blossoming go-to scorer, Horford commands their daunting defensive front, and Gordon Hayward does whatever it is that he feels comfortable doing right now. Their fifth spot theoretically belongs to Jaylen Brown, but early struggles and injuries have left him standing as the odd man out. Can Boston get JB back in full gear and can he shut down Oladipo to help the Celtics cover the spread? Kyle Cash has the NBA pick and prediction.

The best chance the Wizards have of salvaging their season is through the incorporation of Dwight Howard into their rotation. With his debut on Friday, we’ll be able to see what it looks like when John Wall has a legitimate rim-running, above-the-rim athlete as a pick-and-roll partner. Howard can set hard screens to free up Beal on the perimeter. He has untapped passing ability, so maybe a little high-low action from the elbow with cutters like Kelly Oubre Jr. and Otto Porter? The possibilities are endless! Or maybe Dwight can come back in time to play his usual role of the fall guy for a failed season? Kyle Cash breaks down the chances of the Wiz beating OKC and gives his NBA pick.

Anthony Davis is a once-in-a-generation talent. There’s hardly any dispute surrounding that. But he’s also a once-in-a-generation glass skeleton; it’s impossible that a man this big and strong can get this many ticky-tack injuries. He looked like he was operating at 80% capacity in last night’s bout versus the defending champions, and 80% isn’t going to cut it for a team who’s 4th best player is E’Twaun Moore. What can we expect out of Davis tonight versus Dame and the Blazer? Cash gives his prediction.

What Indiana lacks in style they make up for in competency. Nate McMillan’s team ranks in the top-10 in the NBA in Offensive Rating, Defensive Rating, and Boring as Shit rating. The Pacers are the perfect control test team; they are perfectly balanced. They are too talented and professional to lose to bad teams but lack the talent to take on the league’s elite. Most betting sites have Pacers -5.5 and their efficiency should mean an easy cover, right?