NBA Picks Today: Celtics vs Heat, Hawks vs Magic, Nuggets vs Jazz Bets

Celtics star Jaylen Brown is disturbed over his last outing when he fell one point and one assist shy of a 30-point triple-double. Oh, I see, 20 missed field-goal attempts, six free throw misses and six turnovers in Boston’s 112-102 loss to the host Atlanta Hawks.

Look for Brown to be more consistent when the Boston Celtics visit the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. You know you’re pretty good when a terrible night nets you 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

The streaking Atlanta Hawks face the Orlando Magic and they are among the teams in the mix for the final two Eastern Conference playoff berths. The Denver Nuggets had to rally to knock off the lowly Utah Jazz on Friday and the two teams square off again.

BOSTON CELTICS AT MIAMI HEAT

Jayson Tatum is expected back in the lineup after sitting out against the Hawks to rest the Achilles he tore in the playoffs last May. Whenever Tatum is on the court, teams can’t be so quick to double-team Brown and that helps the movement of the entire offense.

The Celtics lost to the Hawks even though Luka Garza scored 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting. You have to take advantage of a gift like that – it was his second 20-point outing of the season – but instead Boston lost for the fourth time in the past 11 games.

Miami dropped seven of eight games before Monday’s 119-109 home victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Bam Adebayo (23) fell 60 points short of that unforgettable career high but Tyler Herro made up for it with 30 points.

Celtics minus 5.5-point spread, -105 (DraftKings)

ATLANTA HAWKS AT ORLANDO MAGIC

The Hawks have won 16 of their past 18 games in an unforeseen lava-like stretch. In the last four games, Atlanta beat the Eastern-leading Detroit Pistons in overtime and split two matchups with the Celtics, the No. 2 team in the conference.

Breakout star Jalen Johnson averaged 25.3 points, 8.3 assists and 7.8 rebounds during the span that also included a win over the Sacramento Kings. The good news for the Magic is that the game is in Orlando as Atlanta has notched 13 consecutive home victories.

Orlando beat the visiting Phoenix Suns 115-111 on Tuesday, two nights after losing by 52 points to the host Toronto Raptors. The Magic have lost seven of their past nine games and are looking for Paolo Banchero re-emerge – he has scored 28 total points the past two games after putting up 105 over the previous three games.

Jalen Johnson to score 24-plus points, -104 (DraftKings)

DENVER NUGGETS AT UTAH JAZZ

Denver clinched a playoff spot Tuesday night while it was hanging out in Salt Lake City with the night off. The berth was wrapped up when Phoenix lost to the Magic.

The Nuggets surely remember how tough Friday’s game in Denver was as they trailed by 13 points in the fourth quarter before orchestrating an impressive rally and posting a 135-129 victory. That gave Denver its ninth straight win over Utah and it enters the rematch with a six-game overall winning streak.

The Jazz have been auditioning youngsters all season and second-year pro Cody Williams is displaying he can play a role with five 20-point outings in the past eight games. Utah has lost 18 of its last 21 games and hasn’t always been trying to win but they may be able to cover the spread with the Nuggets ready to relax after clinching the postseason berth.

Jazz plus 16.5-point spread, -105 (DraftKings)