The Los Angeles Lakers come into this game seemingly unable to put together a consistent stretch of play. After picking up some much-needed wins last week, the team fell flat on their face vs Phoenix. Given that they are playing on back-to-back nights, I like Toronto to deliver another blow to Los Angeles. I recommend taking the Raptors to pull off the win and cover the spread

Heading into this game, the Washington Wizards will be looking to get back on track after dropping last night's matchup with Los Angeles. As we enter the season's stretch run, the Wizards will need to pick up as many wins as possible if they hope to reach the NBA's play-in tournament. On the other side, Portland has dropped 6 straight games, as they are dealing with a significant amount of injuries. Even though Washington is playing on back-back nights, I like them to bounce back and cover the spread vs Portland.

Heading into this game, the Washington Wizards will be looking to get back on track after dropping last night's matchup with Los Angeles. As we enter the season's stretch run, the Wizards will need to pick up as many wins as possible if they hope to reach the NBA's play-in tournament. On the other side, Portland has dropped 6 straight games, as they are dealing with a significant amount of injuries. Even though Washington is playing on back-back nights, I like them to bounce back and cover the spread vs Portland.

Heading into this matchup between Washington and Los Angeles, the Lakers are 4.5 point home favorites. Keep an on the injury report, as Lebron James, Malik Monk, and Talen Horton-Tucker are all questionable. For the year, the Lakers have not been a good betting team, posting an ATS record of 27-38. This mark includes dropping their last two contests vs. the spread. Look for this trend to continue, as Washington's strength is their ability to attack the basket, an area that LA is among the worst in the NBA.

Heading into this matchup, the Utah Jazz are 11.5 point favorites at home. In terms of betting, the Jazz have dropped 4 straight games vs the spread and are just 13-19 ATS at home. On the other side, Portland has been a great team to fade, as they are just 10-19-1 vs the spread in their 30 road contests. Look for Utah to break out for a big win, as they hold a significant advantage on offense. So far, they are NBA leaders in effective field goal percentage. They will take this offense up against a Blazers unit ranked 29th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Heading into this game, the Memphis Grizzlies enter as the 5.5 point home favorites, as both teams are looking to improve their seeding in the playoff race. With Golden State dropping 5 straight games, the Grizzlies have moved into the second seed on the Western Conference. On the other side, the Pelicans are firmly in the mix for the play-in tournament. Look for the Grizzlies to pick up the win and cover the spread, as they hold a significant advantage on offense. I don't see the Pelicans being able to keep up, as their defense doesn't figure to hold up vs Memphis.

Heading into this matchup, the San Antonio Spurs have dropped four straight games, straight up and three straight matchups vs the spread. If they hope to make a late-season push to reach the play-in tournament, they will have an opportunity to take down a team directly ahead of them in the Lakers. So far, the Spurs have struggled on the defensive end of the court, ranking 24th in opponent field goal percentage. Look for Los Angeles to pick up the win and cover the spread in San Antonio. 

With Fred VanVleet questionable for the Raptors in today's matchup, offensive production will need to be shouldered by Pascal Siakam. With the loss of VanVleet's shooting to space the floor, I believe too much pressure will be placed on Toronto to score in the paint, where they are an average team (17th in the league). Factoring in Cleveland's staunch defense and slow pace of play, I like their chances in covering the spread. Take the Cavs against the spread in this matchup.

Heading into this matchup, both the Spurs and Hornets have above .500 records vs the spread. However, San Antonio has dropped two straight games ATS. On offense, it is no secret that the Hornets are looking to get up shots from outside, averaging just under 40 three-point attempts per game. Look for Charlotte to have a big night scoring as the Spurs are one of the worst teams at defending the three. Look for the Hornets to pick up the win and cover the spread.

Heading into this matchup, both the Timberwolves and Thunder are coming off impressive wins. Minnesota enters this games, having taken down the Golden State Warriors as they hope work their way up the Western Conference Standings. On the other side, Oklahoma City knocked off the Denver Nuggets, looking to continue their role as a spoiler in the playoff race. Look for the Thunder to cover this spread, as they have been playing well on offense. Even though Minnesota should have no problem putting up a big scoring night, I expect the Thunder to hang around. 

The Chicago Bulls travel to take on the Atlanta Hawks, sitting just 1.5 games behind the Miami Heat for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Despite their strong overall record, the Bulls are just 15-14 when playing away from home. However, I see Chicago improving this mark, as they will take advantage of a Hawks defense ranked 25th in effective field goal percentage allowed. So far, the Bulls are the second-best team in overall field goal percentage at 48%. Look for Chicago to inch closer to the top seed in the East, with a win over Atlanta that covers the spread.

The big question surrounding the Phoenix Suns is how they will overcome the injury to Chris Paul. Without Paul in the lineup, Devin Booker takes over a majority of the team's ball-handling responsibilities. These new roles appeared to play a role in Phoenixs' loss to the Dallas Mavericks. However, in tonight's game, I expect the Suns to bounce back and cover the spread. On the season, Portland is the 4th worst team in effective field goal percentage allowed (47%), while Phoenix leads the NBA in effective field goal percentage. Even without Paul, I expect a big scoring night for the Suns.

One of the key reasons for the Golden State Warriors' season-long success is their ability to defend. However, with injuries to Draymond Green and now Klay Thompson, the Warrior's defensive efficiency has taken a hit. Even though the Timberwolves are not an efficient offensive team, they rely on getting up and down the court to make up for their shooting woes. With the line sitting at -1 in favor of Minnesota, I see the Timberwolves picking up a win and covering the spread.

Atlanta might be down a couple of dudes, but can Trae Young carry this team for one game? Yes, he can. Also, four of the six games in this series have been decided by five points or less. They might not win this game outright, but we like the Hawks plus the points for our free NBA betting pick for Sunday.

With a healthy Leonard, the Clippers were going to be our pick here for Game 5. But without him, no way. Los Angeles played 36-16 SU, 31-21 ATS this season with Leonard, 11-9 SU, 8-11 ATS without him. So they're basically about a .500 team without him. Meanwhile, Utah played 7-2 both SU and ATS this season against teams that finished within five games of .500. We're betting the Jazz here for our free NBA pick for Wednesday, and we'll get down quick before that line goes any higher. 

Big Mo rides with Atlanta into Game 2, and that means a bunch to us when handicapping this contest. Meanwhile, we didn't think Embiid would play in Game 1, then he did and wonderfully, but it didn't matter because he didn't get a whole lotta help. And Embiid is still hurting and again listed as questionable. Finally, how 'bout that Hawks' record under Coach McMillan?! We like Atlanta, again, for our free NBA playoffs betting pick.                                                                                                              

We've said from the beginning we thought the Clippers were the better team here and would win this series and we see no reason to walk that back now. Dallas might have Doncic but LA has Leonard, who's come up big in spots like this before. Plus, we gotta believe the home team will win at least once in this series. So we're taking the Clippers here, minus the points, for our free NBA playoffs pick for Sunday.  

Momentum sailed with the Clippers back to LA as their patience paid off. Los Angeles began this series as a -375 favorite to win it; it's now lined at -395. Meanwhile, the Mavericks' best player is ailing. Also, LA led the Association in free-throw shooting this season at 84 percent, and those free-throws come in real handy when trying to put a game away and cover a spread. We like the Clippers here, minus the points, for our free NBA playoffs pick for Wednesday.

Portland won Game 4 of this series comfortably while getting basically no help from Damian Lillard. Our guess is the Blazers guard will shoot a little better than 1/10 from the floor Tuesday night. Meanwhile, Denver just isn't the same team right now that it was even two months ago. We liked Portland to win this series before it began, and we're betting the Blazers to take this Game 5.  

Utah's the better team here and not likely to go down 2-0 at home. The Jazz also shot just 12/47 from 3-point land in Game 1 of this series, but our assumption is they'll improve upon that mark in Game 2. Also, Utah swept three games from Memphis during the regular season and led two of those games basically by double-digits throughout. Plus, it looks like they're getting Mitchell back. We don't put a whole lot of credence in the "zig-zag" theory of NBA basketball betting, but we're playing it here. We like the Jazz, minus the points.