The NBA Cup group play continues on Friday with 11 games on the schedule. With these games having a little more meaning, motivation plays a much bigger role. Let's take a look at some of the matchups and our top NBA picks & predictions for Friday.
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Thursday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Detroit Pistons at Brooklyn Nets
These teams couldn't be headed in more different directions. The Pistons have gotten off to the second-best start in the Eastern Conference. They've driven a really good defense to a 6-2 straight up (SU) and 6-2 against the spread (ATS) record. They're a young team finally turning a corner on that end of the court, and it's resulting in a top-seven defense per defensive rating. They're first in the NBA in effective field goal rate (eFG%) defense and in the top ten in creating turnovers. Led by Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren, this defense is turning into a dominant unit.
Brooklyn is already starting to look toward next year. At 1-7, they snapped a seven-game losing streak to start the season. They're a defense that is a bit of a sieve. Detroit is the best eFG% defense, and the Nets are the worst. They haven't been able to slow anyone down, and when teams do miss, the Nets are giving up the highest offensive rebounding rate in the league.
Duren and the Pistons should have a field day on both sides of the ball. This is just a bad matchup all around for this Nets team. I'll be backing the road favorite.
Pick: Pistons -10.5 (-110)
Chicago Bulls at Milwaukee Bucks
It's a matchup of division rivals when the Bulls and Bucks get together on Friday. The Bulls have surprisingly gotten off to the best record in the Eastern Conference at 6-1 SU and 5-1-1 ATS. There were lots of reasons to expect some improvement out of the young Bulls, but this start seems a bit like fool's gold.
Chicago has relied on hot shooting and just as hot a shooting defense. They don't turn their opponents over, and they're a pretty average rebounding team. Milwaukee is picking up where they've left off the last few years. They're a really strong offensive team that shoots the ball really well, especially at the rim. Chicago is a team that forces their opponents off the three-point line and towards the basket. This plays right into that Milwaukee strength.
The Bucks are more or less statistically the same team they've been the last few years, while Chicago is seemingly ahead of schedule. I think water finds its level, and the Bucks pull out the win and cover in this NBA Cup matchup.
Pick: Bucks -4 (-110)
Dallas Mavericks at Memphis Grizzlies
Obviously, it's been a tumultuous few weeks for the Grizzlies. It appears that the foundation of their roster is crumbling to pieces just a few years after looking like legitimate title contenders. Isn't that the perfect time to back them?
Admittedly, Memphis hasn't looked good in recent games, and the Ja Morant saga doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. When Memphis has played bad teams, in the bottom ten of NET rating, they've gone 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS. Dallas fits that mold. Even before the Anthony Davis injury, they were one of the worst teams in the league. Their offense, led by rookie Cooper Flagg, is disjointed and sits 28th in offensive rating. They're a poor shooting team and a poor rebounding team, especially with Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively on the mend.
This is an ugly pick because it's hard to back a team like Memphis, particularly in a situation where they're the favorite. However, Memphis is still the better team, and in games like this against bottom-third teams in the league, they've managed to win and cover more often than not. I'll take Memphis in an ultimate buy-low spot.
Pick: Grizzlies -4.5 (-110)
