Week 17 of NBA Pick ‘Em Weekly Six definitely has some exciting matchups to choose from. Come along as I explain some of my picks this week. Head over to the NBA’s official site to make your own picks for the week.

NBA Pick ‘Em Week 17 – Raptors Over Nets by 11

The Raptors have been on an absolute tear. They won their first of 14 consecutive games on January 15 against the OKC Thunder. Tonight they play the Minnesota Timberwolves. If they win they’ll be going for their 16th straight win against the Nets. (We all know that’s a W for #WeTheNorth, right?)

As an aside, in the kind of poetic irony you just can’t plan for, the Raptors could tie the Bucks season-high 18 straight wins. In order to break the season record and win 19 straight, they’ll have to beat those very same Bucks.

But I digress.

The Raptors have lost 181 man games including 13 different key positions since the beginning of the season. Yet, they are still sitting pretty at second in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors’ ability to win in spite of injuries really is remarkable. The teams that have lost more games to injury than the Raptors (39-14) are…

• Pistons (19-36),
• Wizards (18-33),
• Trail Blazers (25-29)
• Warriors (12-41)

This Raptors squad is, “Next man up“, personified. If you’ve been sleeping on this team sans Kawhi Leonard, it’s time to wake up. Going up against the Nets was an easy pick in favour of the Raptors.

Kyrie Irving has been in and out of the lineup too many times this season. It has to have hampered his flow with the team. Not to mention, in a narrative that’s starting to feel as old as the idea that the earth is flat, he once again doesn’t seem to be having a positive overall effect on his team.

Lakers Over Nuggets by 7

At the end of the day, picking the Lakers over the Nuggets came down to offensive and defensive ratings. The Lakers are 4th and 5th respectively. I just don’t think the Nuggets will have enough to overcome the Western Conference juggernaut. Denver is 10th offensively and 9th defensively.

Denver sits all the way down at 28th place in possessions per game this season. The Lakers are up at 14th. Even if they have a poor shooting night against the Nuggets, their pace of play alone should be enough to keep them in the game.

The other side of that is the fact that Denver’s slower-than-almost-every-other-team-in-the-league pace makes them just that much easier to defend. I mean, what team doesn’t love an offence that moves so slowly they never have to scramble to keep up with their coverages? Add to that the fact that the Lakers are the fifth best defensive team in the league and this was an easy pick.

That being said, the Nuggets are by no means a bad team. Do I think they’ll lose? Yes. Do I think they’ll roll over and go quietly? Absolutely not.

Check out the gallery below for my other four picks for NBA Pick ‘Em Week 17. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @auxiliarythings and have a look at all the other useful content Belly Up Fantasy Sports and Picks has to offer.