This is it.  The last games of the last day of the regular season of the new NBA.  The NBA Bubble has proven to not only be an effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but it has also been an effective way to keep basketball fans from pulling all their hair out, which is what would have happened if the reboot didn’t take place. While the conference brackets are already set, with the exception of one seeding in the West, there are still a few NBA games that have to be played to wrap things up, so let’s have a look at our final regular season picks for Aug 14.

NBA Daily Picks Aug 14, 2020

The Raptors Look To Finish Strong

The Toronto Raptors took the championship last year and came in looking to make it two in a row.  They’re not at the top of the list to win the whole season, but they rank up there.  They have had a strong run as the season began to wind down and, from the beginning of March until now, have won 10 of their 12 games, going 6-1 in the bubble.  Since seeding is already done, tonight’s game doesn’t have a huge impact and it’s possible Toronto decides to give its starters a break.

The Denver Nuggets want to win if for no other reason than to say that they beat the Raptors in the final game of the regular season.  For that to happen, though, they would definitely need for Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter, Jr. to be in the game.  Like with the Raptors, the reward may not outweigh the risk, with the Nuggets needing to have all their strength and talent ready to charge deep in the postseason action.

Surprising to some, the Nuggets have controlled the court this season when playing the Raptors, which is about the only thing they have going for them heading into today’s game.  With not much reason for either team to stretch themselves thin, the score will most likely not reach into the stratosphere, staying below the Over/Under of 224.5 (-110).  Taking Toronto at -162 is easy money in the NBA, and so is our first pick for Aug 14.

The Thunder Look To Outwit The Clippers

The LA Clippers are considered to be the second-best contenders for the NBA Championship this year, only slightly behind the LA Lakers.  As they go into today’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, they want to utilize the time to work on a few moves and make a couple of adjustments that they hope will put them over the Lakers as the postseason moves forward.

The Thunder, fourth in the Western standings and four games behind the Clippers, have pulled off one surprising victory after another this year and have the talent needed to take the title.  The bubble, however, has shown that they need to become a little more organized, and today’s game will be a chance for them to pull together and get ready for the playoffs.

As with the Raptors/Nuggets game, fans shouldn’t expect to see big names receive a lot of court time in the Thunder/Clippers game.  If someone wanted to take a big chance, they could go for the Thunder at +230, which might not be a bad move.  The Thunder have strong defensive plays that will come in handy as the Clippers bench their hottest talent, and it’s important to remember that the Thunder beat the Lakers last week (even though the Lakers were already taking a break).  Give the Thunder the benefit of the doubt and take them to win and cover the spread (6), something they’ve been good at in the bubble.

So, there we have it for our final NBA picks of the regular season of 2020, on Aug 14. Good luck guys!