While Sundays are for the NFL, you better believe that Friday is always an exciting night for NBA fans. There are always going to be some outstanding showdowns and this is the case on Nov. 19 as well. In this article, we have NBA picks for Friday including Celtics vs. Lakers in what should be a great matchup at the TD Garden over in Boston. Who will come out on top?
It goes without saying, but the Celtics will hope to record a needed win over the Lakers in this one. It’s been an up and down season for both of these teams, which no one saw coming. Historically, both Boston and Los Angeles are among the most successful teams in NBA history, as they have all the glory and NBA Finals titles to back up that notion in a big way.
For the Los Angeles Lakers, the main story of the season thus far has been the absence of the one and only LeBron James. James, arguably the best player of all time, has been dealing with an abdominal strain and has missed the last two weeks of play. It’s completely up in the air if he’ll be able to rock in time for the showdown with the Celtics on Friday night in primetime.
| NBA odds |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakers to win | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Celtics to win | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Bucks to win | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Thunder to win | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
However, according to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, there’s ‘growing optimism’ that James will be able to be cleared in time to hit the hardwood on Friday against the Celtics. At the same time, if James isn’t at 100 percent, LA could wait a little more time to bring him back. The last thing they would want would be to rush him back too soon and have him further injure himself.
Should James be able to rock in this one, it would of course massively help the Lakers. While the best NBA Vegas odds haven’t been released for this one yet, we think that the Lakers should be able to record a win. However, it will be reliant on James returning for his team. If LeBron indeed is in action, then LA should get the win. We’ll risk it here, and go with the Lakers as our pick.
In another exciting matchup, the Bucks should cruise to a win over the Thunder when they meet up on Friday night at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. It’s been a bit of a hangover season thus far for Milwaukee after the team won the NBA Finals last season going up against the Phoenix Suns. While Giannis Antetokounmpo powered things last season, Milwaukee hasn’t looked the same this fall.
The expectation was that Milwaukee would be able to stay hot after winning it all last year. Instead, they’re nowhere near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, which has been a major bummer to see for all of the team’s supporters. Instead of Milwaukee looking like serious threats to repeat, they’ve seen the Bulls, Wizards, Nets and Heat look fantastic out East.
Meanwhile, for the Thunder, the team continues to be in a bit of a rebuild following the days of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden all suiting up for the team. Similar to the Bucks, on the other side of things, Oklahoma City is near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. In order for them to try and turn things around, they’ll need to record some impressive wins.
That could start on Friday going up against Milwaukee. That will be much easier said than done, though, as traveling to Milwaukee and taking down the Bucks on their home floor most definitely is no easy task. The odds for this showdown also haven’t been released, but we still believe that Milwaukee will be able to send their home fans home happy. We’re going with the Bucks. Agree? Check out our NBA betting sites to get a wager in.
If you’re looking for a must-see matchup for Friday, the Bulls vs. Nuggets is easily the best game of the night for fans to enjoy. Both teams are off to great starts this season, with their superstar players really living up to the hype. For Chicago specifically, they’ve been one of the best surprises of the year thus far over in the Eastern Conference and their fans are hyped.
Chicago went out and spent big during free agency, and it’s paying off for them. The Bulls are looking like serious threats to compete for a trip to the Finals this year, as guys like DeMar DeRozan, Zach Lavine, Lonzo Ball and others are playing some outstanding basketball right now. DeRozan and Lavine are both averaging well over 20 points per contest.
Meanwhile, for the Nuggets, Nikola Jocic is fresh off his MVP season in 2020-21 and he’s once again got high NBA MVP odds to win it again. The Serbian is also averaging way more than 20 points a night. Will he be able to power Denver to a victory over Chicago? We don’t think so, as we’re going to go with DeRozan and Lavine to get the job done here for the Bulls.
