Top NBA Picks of the Week – November 27th Edition

The San Antonio Spurs will welcome back point guard and future Hall of Famer Tony Parker on Monday against the Dallas Mavericks. He has been out since last season’s playoffs due to a torn left quadriceps tendon. The Spurs have missed Parker and had to make do with both the veteran leader and Kawhi Leonard out. It’s not clear when Leonard might debut this year. Here are two marquee NBA picks in this week’s matchups. Check back for NBA odds at MyBookie.

Top NBA Picks of the Week – November 27th Edition

#NBA statistical power rankings after the 6th week of games: pic.twitter.com/7hAo7wXSow

— Jacob Goldstein (@JacobEGoldstein) November 27, 2017

Washington Wizards at Philadelphia 76ers

When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET (NBA TV) The Wizards will have to make do without their best player, All-Star point guard John Wall, for at least two weeks – unfortunately depriving us of watching Wall and stellar 76ers rookie Ben Simmons duel.  Wall is dealing with discomfort and inflammation in his left knee. He received platelet-rich plasma and viscosupplementation injections to reduce the inflammation. Wall initially was injured during a Nov. 7 loss to the Dallas Mavericks but largely played through it, although he missed a couple of games. Wall is averaging 20.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He leads the Wizards and is third in the NBA with 9.2 assists per game. When Wall is playing, the Wizards are averaging 110.6 points per possession, which would rank third in the NBA. With Wall off the court, that offensive rating is 99.8, which would rank 26th. Tim Frazier has replaced Wall in the starting lineup, but he’s just a journeyman. As it is, Washington is struggling in the clutch this year. It has played in five games in which the team was tied or trailing by one possession within the final minute of regulation. In those situations, the Wizards have missed all 11 attempts from the field — including seven blown three-point attempts — resulting in five losses. No other team in the league has attempted more than six shots in this scenario without hitting at least one bucket. Philadelphia enters the week on a three-game winning streak and is one of the most improved teams in the NBA thanks to Simmons and Joel Embiid. The 76ers and Wizards opened the season against one another in D.C. Washington won 120-115. Wall scored 28 points on 10-of-28 shooting and had eight assists. In the final minute, Philadelphia turned the ball over twice and J.J. Redick missed a 3-pointer. Sixers forward Robert Covington had 29 points. Simmons had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Embiid had 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder

When: Friday, 8 PM ET (NBA TV) These two teams underwent facelifts this offseason, with the Wolves adding the likes of Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague and Jamal Crawford. Of the 15 players who finished 2016-17 on the Wolves’ roster, only seven are back this season. OKC this offseason traded for All-Stars Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to team with reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook. OKC has been very up-and-down thus far. For example, it played terrific basketball last Wednesday in a 108-91 rout of Golden State but then followed that up with a home loss to Detroit and a 97-81 rout at a terrible Dallas team to fall to 8-11. George had just two points on 1-for-12 shooting vs. the Mavs. It was the fewest points for George since the finale in 2014-15, when he missed all but the final six games due to a broken leg. Minnesota enters the week at 12-8. That equals the team’s best 20-game start since the 2005-06 season. Teague has missed the past two games with a sore right Achilles so you will want to monitor his status. The former Atlanta Hawk has averaged 14.0 points and 7.5 assists. The Wolves visited OKC on Oct. 22 and won 115-113 on an Andrew Wiggins shot at the buzzer. Anthony had hit a 3-pointer with about five seconds left to give the Thunder the lead. The Timberwolves were out of timeouts so they were scrambling. Taj Gibson inbounded to Wiggins, who rushed up the court and got free with help from a pick by Karl-Anthony Towns before pulling up for the winner. Wiggins scored 27 points and Towns had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota.  Westbrook scored 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter for the Thunder. George was just 6-for-20 shooting for 14 points.

Expert Predictions & NBA Picks of the Week

OKC seems to play its best against the better teams so it will get payback vs. Minnesota. Take Philly over Washington in your NBA picks – probably wise to fade the Wizards most nights with Wall out.