Handicapping the NBA: Thursday Picks

Handicapping the NBA: Thursday Picks

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

Alex Barutha

Timberwolves to win (+215) at Warriors -- FanDuel, 1:13 PM CT

The Warriors sans Draymond Green aren't exactly a juggernaut, so I'm happy to take over 2-to-1 odds that the Timberwolves pull this one out. Karl-Anthony Towns should easily win the frontcourt matchup, while Patrick Beverley will be assigned to bother Stephen Curry. Jarred Vanderbilt should also be able to shadow Klay Thompson. I wouldn't be surprised if this game goes under the 229 total for that reason as well.

Nick Whalen

Philadelphia 76ers -2.5 (-115) vs. LA Lakers -- DraftKings Sportsbook, Noon CT

This line feels suspiciously low, so that does give me some pause, but at the end of the day, I simply can't back this Lakers team against any above-average opponent. For most of the season, the Lakers have beaten the bad teams, played 50/50 games against other mediocre teams and lost to good teams. Even with a few role players missing, the Sixers are decidedly a good team, so I don't see the Lakers keeping this overly close on the road. The return of Anthony Davis will help long-term, but he'll likely be limited again in just his second game back.

Kevon Looney OVER 15.5 Points + Rebounds (-110) -- DraftKings Sportsbook, Noon CT

Admittedly, this is a bit of a niche prop, but Looney has quietly been very effective over the last few weeks. He's gone over this number in five of his last seven games, and the Wolves continue to be one of the league's worst rebounding teams -- especially defensively. Meanwhile, over his last 10 games, Looney is averaging 4.1 offensive rebounds alone.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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