NBA betting picks – 3/2/22 | Hornets v Cavaliers | Knicks v 76ers

After a fun night of ball that saw Luka Doncic take down LeBron James and the Lakers, the NBA returns tonight with eight more games. With many teams starting to feel the heat of a potential missed playoff berth, each game is important and could springboard themselves into the playoff race. There are a lot of intriguing games on tap for tonight, so here are the best free picks available.

Charlotte Hornets at Cleveland Cavaliers

In the latest match up between these two ascending teams, the Cavs are betting favorites. They have been the better team as of late, so it makes sense. However, they have some injuries to their guards and may be without all star Darius Garland. Even if he plays, their next two backups are out and that should allow a lot of space for Hornets star LaMelo Ball. Charlotte comes into this game limping with a 2-11 record in their last 13 but have been good away from home. They are 10-3 against the spread in their last 13 away games and have the pieces to pull it out against the Cavs.

The Cavs are very fun but without their guards, this game will be difficult for them. They are currently the five seed in the East even with their current 1-4 skid. This will be a good spot for them to turn it around but Charlotte is just the healthier team right now. Until the Cavs heal up and put out their best lineup, they will be tough to pick and the value is on the underdogs in this matchup.

New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers

These teams recently matched up and the 76ers were able to blow out the Knicks. With the addition of James Harden, Philadelphia fancies themselves as a legitimate title contender and have something to prove. They are simply a better team than the Knicks, who have completely let down their fans this season. The Knicks are on the verge of blowing it all up and beginning yet another rebuild. This experiment clearly hasn’t worked and MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid will be licking his chops to take advantage of their flaws tonight.

That will be the defining factor of this game. The Knicks simply don’t have anyone to guard Embiid. Joel should go off tonight and although this is a big number to cover, the 6ers should ride their home fans to a blowout win. Philly comes into this game on a 5-1 run and will be pushing for home court in the playoffs. Despite them needing to cover a big number, the lowly Knicks will not be able to stop them and the 76ers should win by 20.

Miami Heat at Milwaukee Bucks

This is the definite game of the night. The Heat are the one seed and are playing great basketball as of late. They will come into this game on a 9-1 run and will be looking to extend their lead on the rest of the conference. However, Miami will be without one of their key players, Kyle Lowry. Lowry adds a lot to this team and without him, the defending champion Bucks have a great opportunity to get a big win.

The Bucks have the best player on the court in just about every game they play. Not enough can be said about Giannis Antetokoumpo and he is truly one of the best basketball players of all time. He knows this is a big game and in front of his home fans, expect him to show out. The Bucks are the 4 seed right now and they know they can do better. A good performance in this game will be a tone setter for the rest of the season, so expect Giannis to go off and carry the Bucks past the Heat in a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview.