Last week, our free NBA tips steered punters into three wins from three.
With another cracking set of fixtures scheduled for Friday, why wouldn't you use these free NBA tips to your advantage?
The highlight game sees Australia's own Ben Simmons travel with the 76ers down to Oklahoma City, where they will look to avoid a 20th straight defeat to the Thunder.
The T-Wolves take on the Pacers, and the Nuggets host the Jazz in our other two previewed games.
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Indiana Pacers
NBA Odds: T-Wolves $2.46 (+4.0) / Pacers $1.55 (-4.0)
With the NBA now in the final stretch, one team that needs to pick up the pace if they want to be in the playoffs is the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After an overtime loss to Atlanta on Thursday, the T-Wolves remain four wins outside the Western Conference Top 8.
With their star power, the team from Minnesota should be higher up on the table.
Their genuine star is seven-foot big man Karl Anthony Towns, who has been in the news lately for escaping a high-speed car crash with nothing but a concussion.
KAT has come out and stated that he's lucky to be alive.
Because of the NBA's concussion rules, the big centre was forced to miss three games for the T-Wolves.
This put an end to his 303 consecutive starts streak, which is the most of any player since the records began in the 1970s.
KAT came out and showed what he's capable of in his return game against the Kings.
His 34 points, 5 assists and whopping 21 boards helped Minnesota to a 7-point victory over Sacramento.
The next game, against the Hawks, Towns had 37 points and 17 rebounds.
He is clearly in some great form after his brush with death, but needs his teammates to come with him.
That's because, despite these huge numbers in Atlanta, the T-Wolves still suffered defeat in OT.
The Pacers meanwhile are currently sitting third on the Eastern Conference leaderboard, and have all but wrapped up a playoffs berth.
However, they will have to deal without their star man Victor Oladipo, who is out for the season with a knee injury.
While the Pacers initially responded well to this piece of bad news, they have recently dropped two games on the slide, both against average teams.
The Pacers strength as well as their weakness is that they have plenty of players who can score.
Eight on their list average 10+ points per game, led by Oladipo who averages 19.
But without him, there's no one player who leads the attack, creating confusion around who to go to in the big moments.
This problem doesn't apply to Minnesota, who should overcome an Indiana side on the slippery-dip.
Key NBA Stat
Minnesota have only won 9 of their 31 road games this season: Indiana to win @ 1.55
Free NBA Pick: Timberwolves to cover the +4.0 point line @ $1.92
Reasoning: Indiana won't win with any real margin against a side with KAT in top form.
Philadelphia 76ers @ Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Odds: 76ers $3.82 (+8.0) / OKC $1.27 (-8.0)
If you're wondering why the star-studded 76ers are starting as heavy outsiders according to the NBA odds, it's because their biggest star Joel Embiid is out with injury.
Embiid isn't just the best player in Philly, but he's also the biggest player.
Standing at 213 centimetres, Embiid's absence forces Ben Simmons to play more basketball in a forward/centre role, instead of his preferred guard position.
This messes with Philadelphia's dynamic, and why they have been making hard work of it of late.
Embiid has now missed three straight games. In this run, the Sixers suffered a 15-point home loss to Portland, and just scraped over the line against Miami and New Orleans- two teams they should be thrashing.
While Simmons has stood up in these games, it has been Jimmy Butler who has gone missing.
When Butler joined from Minnesota earlier in the 2018/19 season, he was hailed as the signing that would complete Philly's team and make them near unstoppable.
That just hasn't happened.
Butler still looks like he's struggling to find his place in the team, and in the past three games has only averaged 13.6 points.
For a player of his quality, this is nowhere near good enough, especially when you're missing the scoring output of Embiid.
But where Butler really excels is in defence.
He will have a huge job here in shutting down Paul George, in a match-up that will likely decide the outcome of the match.
George has had his career-best season by a country mile, and this is reflected in the MVP NBA odds, where he is one of only three players in single figures.
However, George didn't have the best game last time out, shooting 3 from 14 from beyond the arc, and 4 from 10 inside.
It was this poor shooting that cost OKC in the end, as they went down by 9 points to Denver.
Before this, the Thunder tasted defeat as well, and again it was down to George, who only made 4 of his 19 shots.
Another shooting display like this will give the Sixers every chance of pulling off an upset.
Key NBA Stat
OKC have won 19 consecutive matches against the 76ers: Oklahoma City to win @ $1.27
Free NBA Pick: Philadelphia to cover the +8.0 point line @ $1.92
Reasoning: With all of their star quality, it's about time Philly ended their OKC hoodoo.
George's poor recent form should have you leaning towards Philly, while this NBA pick provides a big safety net.
Utah Jazz @ Denver Nuggets
NBA Odds: Jazz $3.09 (+6.0) / Nuggets $1.37 (-6.0)
If there is one team that looks like it will dominate the NBA in the coming years, it's the Denver Nuggets.
With the 24-year-old Nikola Jokic and the 22-year-old Jamal Murray, the Nuggets have two of the best young players in the league.
But these aren't stars in the making. Both of them, and especially Jokic, are playing at the peak of their abilities, and why the Nuggets currently sit second on the Western Table.
The team from Denver are just one win behind Golden State, as they battle for the first place playoffs seeding.
Jokic can do just about everything on the basketball court. He has recorded the 2nd most triple-doubles this campaign with 12.
In Denver's recent victory over OKC, Jokic was just one rebound short of claiming the 13th triple double of the 2018/19 season.
Considering he is averaging in excess of 20 points per game, Jokic's MVP odds of $67 are way higher than they should be.
Denver's terrific season is also down to their superb home record.
Don't forget that the city of Denver sits at one mile above sea level, and teams can really struggle adjusting to the high altitude.
This is reflected in the numbers, with the Nuggets suffering just 4 home defeats all season, which is the lowest total in the league.
However, one team that will have no problem with the altitude is Utah, who play their home games at an altitude of almost 1,300 metres in Salt Lake City.
Having said this, Utah don't have a great record in their recent trips to Denver, losing all of their previous five.
The Jazz have also tasted defeat in their past three NBA away games, albeit against tough opposition in the Warriors, Thunder and Trail Blazers.
There were big wraps on the Jazz coming into the season, which they have failed to live up to as of yet.
Donovan Mitchell has had a solid sophomore season without really progressing from his stellar rookie campaign.
He will need to up his shooting percentage from 42% if Utah want to be a serious contender in the post-season.
Key NBA Stat
The last 10 fixtures between these sides have all been won by the home team: Denver to win @ $1.37
Free NBA Pick: Denver to cover the -6.0 point line @ $1.92
Reasoning: The home court advantage really matters here, and is why the Nuggets should win comfortably.
Mar 01, 2019 07:01 PM
AAP
Key NBA Stat
Free NBA Pick: Timberwolves to cover the +4.0 point line @ $1.92 
