NBA Picks For Thursday, 12/18

Thursday night offers a light four-game slate to help use bounce back from a rough Wednesday of NBA Picks. We dropped the ball a bit on a loaded 10-game night, as the Spurs, Cavs and Heat all lost at home. We at least were blessed with two awesome overtime games and still rounded out the night with a solid 6-4 record.

We march into tonight’s NBA action with a still strong 206-95 record:

Knicks @ Bulls

The Knicks are in a bad way as they head to the United Center tonight, as they’ll be without J.R. Smith and Amare Stoudemire and probably even Carmelo Anthony. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that even a Knicks team with Melo is going to struggle in Chicago. Take him away, and this has to be a rout.

Pick: Bulls 109, Knicks 88

Pelicans @ Rockets

Anthony Davis and the Pellies go toe to toe with James Harden and the Rockets tonight, in a game that showcases the return of big man Omer Asik to Houston. He’ll surely look to put the clamps down on Dwight Howard (if he plays), but the Pelicans are still over-matched. Houston is 9-3 on their own floor and they have won three straight.

Pick: Rockets 107, Pellies 101

Bucks @ Kings

Milwaukee will enter Sac-town without center Larry Sanders (suspension), rookie Jabari Parker (torn ACL) and possibly even Giannis Antetokounmpo (ankle). As for the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins makes his return from viral meningitis, so it’s hard not to like the Kings at home.

Pick: Kings 102, Bucks 99

Thunder @ Warriors

Kevin Durant leads the Thunder into Golden State tonight, as OKC tries to push their winning streak to eight games and the Warriors try to start a new one after having a 16-game run snapped in their last contest. The Warriors are a ridiculous 8-1 on their home floor, but the Thunder are white hot and really tough to bet against at the moment.

Pick: Thunder 112, Warriors 110