Jan 5, 10:51am | 4 min read

Daily Picks 01/05: Trail Blazing, Eyebrow Raising

NBA

Dan Canova

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One of our expert hoops handicappers gives his best picks for today's games

ANALYSIS

In Saturday’s NBA action, Fred VanVleet finished with 29 points, 11 assists and four rebounds for the Toronto Raptors in a 121-102 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Kyle Lowry added 26 points, four boards and five assists in the victory.

For the Utah Jazz, Donovan Mitchell had 32 points, six assists and three rebounds in a 109-96 victory over the Orlando Magic. Rudy Gobert chipped in eight points and 17 rebounds.

Here are Today’s NBA Picks:

BET OF THE DAY:

New York Knicks @ Los Angeles Clippers

Since the 2013-14 NBA season, the Los Angeles Clippers have a 9-3 record against the spread when playing the New York Knicks. (Stat courtesy of Statschecker)

What’s wrong with the Los Angeles Clippers? Montrezl Harrell finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and three assists in a 140-114 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, and the vocal forward spoke out after the game saying that the Clippers have locker room issues.

Maybe it’s because Paul George was inactive again? Maybe the Clippers aren’t happy that Kawhi Leonard continues to use load management due to his injuries? Who knows, but clearly the Clippers aren’t on the same page as a team.

Well with that said, after a tough loss you can expect the Clippers to bounce back at home against the New York Knicks.

Take the Clippers minus the 8.5 points in this one.

2u – Clippers (-8.5) @ -110

Portland Trail Blazers @ Miami Heat

The Portland Trail Blazers have a 21-10-2 against the spread record in games played during January since the 2017-18 NBA season. (Stat courtesy of Statschecker)

The Miami Heat continue to be a dominant force on their home court, but this game will be about the Portland Trail Blazers and Hassan Whiteside’s return to Miami.

The Blazers are coming off a big victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Damian Lillard finished with 35 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Whiteside put up a monster double-double performance, with 23 points and 21 rebounds.

Whiteside is averaging 15.7 points per game, he leads Portland in rebounds (13.8) and leads the NBA in blocks (2.8). So far this season, he has 26 double-doubles in 33 games and is shooting 59.9 percent from the floor.

I expect Whiteside to be effective in this game against his former team, and I believe the Trail Blazers will definitely cover the 5.5-point spread.

Take Portland plus the points here.

1u – Trail Blazers (+5.5) @ -105

Detroit Pistons @ Los Angeles Lakers

Since the 2010-11 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers have a 7-1 against the spread record against the Detroit Pistons at the Staples Center. (Stat courtesy of Statschecker)

The Los Angeles Lakers are cooking, and I don’t see the Detroit Pistons slowing them down. The Lakers are currently on a five-game winning streak, with their latest win against the New Orleans Pelicans in Los Angeles.

Anthony Davis finished with a game-high 46 points to go along with 13 boards and three steals in a 123-113 victory over the team which drafted him. LeBron James added 17 points and 15 assists, and Danny Green had 25 points, which included six three-pointers.

The only thing the Pistons have going for them is recent trade rumors of Andre Drummond.

Lakers cover the 15 points easily.