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The NBA gives us a full, meaty slate again on Friday night, with a jam-packed 9-game schedule coming our way. It’s a star-studded affair, too, with the likes of John Wall, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin and so many others gracing the hardwood in some big games tonight.
We could hand out our regular NBA picks for this slate, but with so many games, this feels like a good spot to concentrate more on the upset specials that could be worth betting on. Here are our favorite underdog NBA picks for Friday night:
Memphis Grizzlies (+6) Over Los Angeles Clippers (-6)
The Clippers have honestly looked fantastic for much of the young NBA season, but they finally slipped up the other night in a loss to the Thunder. Losing to Memphis tonight certainly isn’t in their plans, but Memphis has rebounded from a slow start and can be tough at home.
If we’re betting straight up, the Clippers are still our pick, but Memphis isn’t even 100% healthy and will want to fight a rival tooth and nail in this one. Tony Allen is also back, so hitting outside shots could get a little more difficult for the Clips tonight. Brace for a slower-paced game and Memphis beating the spread.
Pick: Clippers 98, Grizz 95
Brooklyn Nets (+7) Over Charlotte Hornets (-7)
The Brooklyn Nets have been an odd team, as a few times now they’ve been on fire from outside and in just about every game they’ve really struggled on the defensive end. With Jeremy Lin sidelined with an injury, we can expect the latter to continue and the former to possibly be put on hold.
That being said, the Nets are at home and Charlotte can be a very hot and cold team. If Brooklyn doesn’t rest Brook Lopez, he could have a big game and the Nets could keep it close at the Barclays Center.
Pick: Hornets 104, Nets 101
Miami Heat (+7) Over Toronto Raptors (-7)
Miami is our first straight up upset pick of this grouping, as Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside headline a fairly underrated team that can dictate the pace of games. Toronto can, too, but the only guy really firing on all cylinders for them at the moment is DeMar DeRozan. With Justise Winslow potentially locking him down defensively, this could be a great spot for Miami to stage a nice road upset.
Pick: Heat 97, Raptors 96
New York Knicks (+8) Over Chicago Bulls (-8)
It’s the Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah revenge game we’ve all been waiting for. It’s easy to see the allure of this matchup, as Chicago’s prodigal son returns home and after a “meh” start to the year, could be ready for his first true breakout game.
Even if Rose doesn’t blast off in his first trip back to the United Center, perhaps Chicago finally goes completely cold from the floor. They’ve gotten by on jumpers thus far, but still will need to prove the oddsmakers wrong for a while before we fully buy into them as a high end playoff contender.
Look for Rose to get his revenge and the Knicks to get the upset road win.
Pick: Knicks 101, Bulls 99
That does it for our Friday night NBA upset picks. We’ve got two teams beating the spread and two flat out pulling off upsets. Bet at your own risk, but regardless the path you take, we wish you luck in your NBA betting endeavors tonight.
