NBA Expert Picks and Best Bets | November 14

The four games on the NBA schedule were just the appetizer for a great week ahead. Tuesday’s schedule is packed with big games that count in the regular-season standings and in the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament. That raises the stakes as we give three expert picks for games on Tuesday’s NBA schedule, including a late-night showdown between the Warriors and the Timberwolves.

Nets -2 | -110 at DraftKings

Whether they’ve been favorites or underdogs, the Nets have beaten the spread eight times in their first 10 games of the season. That’s a promising omen for Tuesday's game against the Magic, especially since Brooklyn is at home for the second straight game. To be fair, Cam Thomas and Ben Simmons are set to miss this game, which explains why the spread is small. But that means it’ll be a little easier for the Nets to cover. Spencer Dinwiddie can run the team and dish out assists the way Simmons usually does while Mikal Bridges and others can make up for the loss of Thomas in the scoring column.

As for the Magic, they’ve had to travel a lot lately after playing in Mexico City last week. To their credit, they’re 4-2 against the spread as an underdog this season. However, Orlando also has injury issues with Markelle Fultz, Wendell Carter, and Gary Harris sidelined. The Magic are already relying too much on Paolo Banchero without those missing pieces, which is why we expect Brooklyn to pull away late and cover the spread in a team effort.

Clippers +6 | -110 at DraftKings

As the reigning champs, nobody is denying that Denver is among the elite NBA teams, especially after starting 8-2. However, the Nuggets are just 5-5 against the spread and coming off a road loss in Houston over the weekend. They haven’t been the same team offensively over the last few games with Jamal Murray sitting because of an injury. That means Nikola Jokic will have to go above and behind his usual 29.8 points and 13.7 rebounds per game to help Denver cover the spread.

To be fair, the Clippers haven’t been good this season, starting out 3-6. But four of those six losses have come by seven points or less, so it’s not as if they’re getting blown out every night. At some point, James Harden will start to gel with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Despite some disappointing results, the Clippers have too much star power to swallow six points against a Denver team that’s missing Murray.

Warriors -4 | -110 at DraftKings

As good as the T’Wolves have been this year, this spread is far too small for the Warriors at home. Of course, Minnesota just knocked off Golden State at home 116-110 on Sunday night. With three straight losses and four losses in their last five games, this has to be a game where the Warriors show some urgency. They have a balanced attack behind Steph Curry and a veteran distributor like Chris Paul to help them put their recent slide behind them.

On the other side, the Timberwolves are just 2-2 on the road this season. They might have an edge inside with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, but will that be enough to overcome Curry two games in a row? We favor the Warriors to get back on track Tuesday night while also ending Minnesota’s winning streak.