The All-Star Game is in the history books, so we’ve officially reached the most crucial part of the season. Contending teams will look to make a run for playoff-seeding purposes, all while trying to keep their players healthy for when it matters the most.
Non-contending sides, on the other hand, are likely to just waive the white flag to try and improve their chances of getting a high pick in the lottery of the NBA Draft. That means giving the veterans some rest and their youngins a longer leash.
From now on, we must consider all those factors when handicapping games, especially if we’re looking at two potential playoff teams. With that in mind, we’ll share some picks for Friday’s NBA slate.
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Toronto Raptors at Atlanta Hawks
The Raptors haven’t exactly been a contending team this season, and not even adding Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett has done much to help their ever-struggling offense. Now, they’re going to struggle against a bigger Atlanta Hawks team that could cause trouble with their size.
This could be the end of the line for Trae Young and Dejounte Murray playing together, but they could still get hot and make a deep postseason run, so we expect them to fire at all cylinders following the break.
Pick: Hawks -6.5
Milwaukee Bucks at Minnesota Timberwolves
Replacing Adrian Griffin with Doc Rivers hasn’t done much to help the Milwaukee Bucks’ winning cause. This team looks out of sorts, and it doesn’t sound like they’re having much fun or like each other right now.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, on the other hand, need to protect their No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, and they’re much stronger on the defensive end of the floor.
The Bucks have struggled against contenders all season, and this won’t be the exception to that rule.
Pick: Timberwolves -4.5
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Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers
The Denver Nuggets haven’t been as dominant as per usual this season. Nonetheless, they might be saving their best basketball for when it matters the most, so they should be back to their usual level after the break and with the playoffs in sight.
The Portland Trail Blazers shouldn’t win many games for the remainder of the season. Struggling rookie Scoot Henderson is likely to be back with the starters to allow him to grow through his mistakes, but this game should be a blowout.
Pick: Nuggets -10
Washington Wizards at Oklahoma City Thunder
The Washington Wizards could make a case for being the worst team in the league, even worse than the Detroit Pistons. They do have some guys who can shoot the ball, but their defense has been utterly atrocious for most of the campaign.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are still aiming at the first seed in the West, and they cannot afford a setback against beatable teams. They should be merciless and make a statement against the ever-struggling Wizards and their subpar defense en route to a high-scoring matchup.
Pick: over 242.5
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