NBA Picks

Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors are coming off a horrible road loss to the wounded Philadelphia 76ers. They are a .500 road team but no team to fool with after a loss; Golden State is 16-10-1 ATS after an "L. " They meet a Charlotte Hornets squad on a nine-game losing skid, seemingly looking forward to the lottery. Golden State has covered the number in four of five, and I like the Warriors to bounce back big against the reeling Hornets. 

Despite a rocky season for Steve Kerr’s men, I’m all-in on the new-look Warriors. They’re 7-1 with Butler in the lineup, scoring 119 points or more in their last five contests. This has been a friendly matchup for them too. Golden State has won four straight meetings against Charlotte — covering the spread in each of those victories — including a 128-92 win at Chase Center last week. Three of those spreads were 12 points or higher.

Heading into tonight’s matchup with the 76ers, Anfernee Simons has cashed the Over in points in six of his last 10 outings. He registered 27 points in a tough loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, helping Portland give the Eastern Conference leaders a serious run for their money. Philadelphia is poor defensively and allows 22.2 points per contest to shooting guards. On top of that, Simons is averaging 20.3 PPG on back-to-backs. After a standout performance against a much better squad on Sunday, he’ll do his thing again here.

Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane is coming off a 0-4 from long-range stinker against the Knicks, and the total promises an environment perfect for slump-busting. He doesn’t need much encouragement to fire away; the fifth-year guard from TCU launches nearly six long-range jumpers per home game. He meets a Hawks defense that’s been leaky, allowing a half-dozen 3-point attempts to opposing two-guards and 37% shooting from beyond the arc when wearing the visitors' jerseys. Bane drains 37% of his six triple attempts at FedExForum. The tempo will be kinetic, and the inconsistent Atlanta defense will oblige.

The Sacramento Kings are 18-10 since Doug Christie took over, and they have a winnable game at Dallas against a Mavericks side on a three-game losing skid. Sacramento is on a three-game winning streak and found a way to win at Houston without Domantas Sabonis. Dallas also has numerous injuries to the frontcourt, and they'll be without a trusted scoring option with P.J. Washington out. The Kings are playing great ball, and I'm betting Sacramento wins this one straight-up.