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!

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?

Coach Nick Nurse hasn’t proven the ability to game plan for the 76ers but they have bodies to throw at guys defensively. Ibaka is a stout defender, while Anunoby and Siakam are long enough and athletic enough to be a problem. Not much needs to be said about that new pair of baseball gloves from San Antonio. If Toronto watches the tape from the Hawks game and decides to sag off of Fultz and Simmons, the onus will be on them to knock down shots or find other ways to score. This will allow Raptors to help on Embiid on the block. Will the Raptors use the tools available and can bettors count on Nurse to be disciplined for 48 and cover the -6.5 most betting sites are dangling?

Los Angeles currently sits in the bottom-10 of both offensive and defensive rating, and it’s unclear whether the main culprit is scheme, personnel, chemistry, or all of the above. I’m going to go with D. All of the above. Final answer. LeBron-led teams have struggled on defense over the last couple of seasons as the King has realized his energy is best saved for offense, but that end isn’t clicking yet either. Who will win this pick’em game outright and earn the right to say they are a 3-4 team? Kyle Cash has his NBA pick!