NBA Best Bets for March 22: The Bulls Are Charging Hard Tonight
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Rainman M.
- March 22, 2025
Top NBA Pick: Bulls +9.5 (-108) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Top-rated sportsbooks have released their NBA odds for tonight’s action. Three games, in particular, interest me as worth investing in: Warriors vs. Hawks, Wizards vs. Knicks and Bulls vs. Lakers.
For your best bets, I will recommend investing in the Warriors, Wizards and Bulls.
Golden State Warriors vs. Atlanta Hawks
Saturday, March 22, 2025 – 07:00 PM EDT at State Farm Arena
Atlanta’s Offense
On offense, the Hawks primarily want to attack the basket, score in transition and use ball-screens to enable their ball-handler in their half-court offense to score. With their collection of rim-attackers, they attempt the fourth-most field goals per game within five feet of the basket.
Their propensity for running explains how they attempt the fifth-highest frequency of plays in transition.
As for ball-screens, this is something that their best player is known for liking. Point guard Trae Young loves to use screens to score. Atlanta, led by Young, runs the pick-and-roll for the ball-handler play type with greater frequency than most teams do.
Golden State’s Defense
The Warriors are well-built to limit Atlanta’s offense.
First of all, their defense is devoted to protecting the basket. This might seem confusing when you consider that their starting center is only 6’6. But this is a great example of a team using the scheme to turn a potential weakness into a real strength. We’ve seen a similar thing with the Lakers after they dealt away key interior defender Anthony Davis.
Golden State pays more attention to ways in which it can keep teams from scoring near its basket. As a result, the Warriors allow both the fewest field goal makes and the fewest field goal attempts within five feet of the basket.
As for their transition defense, the Warriors match up well against Atlanta also because they allow the sixth-fewest points in transition per game. The Warriors own of the best ball-screen defenses, allowing the fourth-fewest PPP (points per possession) against the pick and roll for the ball-handler play type.
Golden State’s Offense
Don’t be fooled by Atlanta’s last game: the Hornets were missing their top three scorers and would not have scored more than 102 points against any other team.
The Hawks still own a below-average defense, based on defensive rating, which makes it hard to like them when you know their offense will struggle a lot. Atlanta’s defense also matches up poorly with the Warriors because it ranks 26th at limiting opposing three-point makes.
While the Warriors don’t have Stephen Curry available, they still have other efficient three-point shooters like Moses Moody, Buddy Hield and Quinten Post. Jimmy Butler gives them the inside scoring prowess that Atlanta’s last opponent lacked and that adds significant balance to Golden State’s offense.
Takeaway
Atlanta’s offense will struggle mightily against a Golden State defense that matches up so well in so many ways against it.
The Warriors won’t need to score much to cover the spread, but their combination of three-point shooters and inside scoring prowess will ensure that they don’t miss Curry.
NBA Pick: Warriors -2.5 (-110) at BetOnline
Washington Wizards vs. New York Knicks
Saturday, March 22, 2025 – 08:00 PM EDT at Madison Square Garden
New York’s Key Absence
The Knicks are suffering without their superstar point guard Jalen Brunson. Since his absence began, the Knicks are 3-4 SU. They have lost:Â
- By 10 to the Clippers.
- By 3 to Golden State.
- By 15 to San Antonio.
- By 17 to Charlotte.
When they won games, they relied on anomalously good three-point shooting and on unusually strong performances from Mikal Bridges. However, their last two games, in which they scored 105 to San Antonio and 98 to Charlotte, emphasize the unlikelihood with which they can be expected to attain a competitive scoring total as long as Brunson remains hurt.
They have not been a good shooting team without Brunson. With Brunson gone, there is one healthy Knick who is converting over 38 percent of his three-point attempts this season. The fact that they’ve relied on strong three-point shooting to win games speaks to the crisis that they face without Brunson.
The Knicks do not want to shoot threes. They primarily want to score at the basket, as evident in their high total of attempts per game within five feet of the basket, but they can’t score at the basket well now because they miss Brunson’s characteristic driving prowess.
This Is Washington’s Type of Game
The Wizards have been known to be awful on the road, but this conception of their ability to play on the road is somewhat outdated. I say “somewhat” because the Wizards still do lose road games. But this is just the type of road game that they are winning.
In the beginning of February, they won:
- At Minnesota when the Timberwolves missed its star guard Anthony Edwards.
- At Charlotte when the Hornets missed its star point guard LaMelo Ball.
- At Brooklyn when the Nets missed their top scorer Cam Thomas.
The Wizards are beating teams, on the road, when they miss their best player and when that player is someone whom that team really depends on for offensive production. Brunson is a star who is obviously central to New York’s offense. His absence will give Washington, who has anyhow won some other impressive road games lately, such as at Detroit and at Denver, renewed confidence in itself.
Takeaway
A Washington win tonight would be par for the course.
NBA Pick: Wizards +15 (-107) at BetOnline
Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Saturday, March 22, 2025 – 10:30 PM EDT at Crpyto.com Arena
The Spread
The spread for this game seems way off.
Chicago has won six of its last games. Its two losses came by three and six points, respectively. Conversely, the Lakers have lost five of their last eight games. Chicago is a much better team now than oddsmakers give it credit for, and the Lakers are losing more than they are winning.
Making Chicago a ten-point underdog seems disrespectful and ignorant of how both teams have been playing for the most recent extended period of time.
120 Points
Chicago is averaging nearly 120 points per game in its last eight games.
The Bulls will easily cover the spread by attaining this point total tonight against a Lakers team that hasn’t scored more than 126 points in its last eight games. Chicago has the matchup edge that it needs to score 120 or more points.
The Bulls, to be specific, love scoring in transition. They attempt the second-highest frequency of field goals in transition. They will thrive against a Lakers defense that allows the eighth-most points per game in transition.
Chicago, moreover, loves to attempt threes. The Bulls attempt the second-most of them per game and have actually been one of the most efficient three-point shooting teams in road games.
Their outlook is great against a Lakers defense that is worse than most teams at limiting open or wide-open three-point attempts. The Lakers do a poor job of contesting threes as well as limiting three-point attempts.
Takeaway
With guard Coby White’s great form, the strong shooting of Nikola Vucevic and their other scorers, the Bulls will score enough points to cover the spread.
NBA Pick: Bulls +9.5 (-108) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
