NBA Picks for Tuesday: Knicks, Spurs and Lakers Betting Preview

Monday’s NBA schedule was light but had some interesting games. There are 10 games on Tuesday, giving us more choices on what we want to watch and what we want to bet on. I’m a bit biased towards the best teams and best players. I will highlight a few below.

The Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks are the two best teams in the East. San Antonio is definitely a contender in the West and is must-see TV whenever the Los Angeles Lakers play (odds via DraftKings).

New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors

Knicks -108 to -2.5

This will be the fourth game in a four-game series between the two teams this season. New York easily won the first three contests by scores of 20, 16 and 27 points. The Knicks have too much depth and offense for the Raptors to overcome, and they are playing very well right now.

They have won four of their last five and came away with a big 114-89 win over San Antonio.

Toronto played well overall after the break, beating Chicago, Milwaukee and Washington. But they fell short against better teams like Oklahoma City and San Antonio. They will play well against the Knicks in front of their home crowd, but they are outmatched in this game.

New York will cover surprisingly small spreads.

San Antonio Spurs vs Philadelphia 76ers

The Spurs suffered a disappointing loss to the Knicks but were not far off their stellar undefeated streak in February. However, this is Spurs’ fifth away game. Fatigue will creep in and become a factor. It is worth noting that 11 of the 17 losses were on the road.

But that may not be that big of a deal compared to a Philadelphia 76ers team that is barely a .500 team (16-15) at home. The 76ers suffered a disappointing 114-98 loss to the Celtics in Boston and will be without Joel Embiid.

My Pick: Spurs -115 to -7.5

The spread would seem more comfortable to start at (-5.5), but it has since shifted in San Antonio’s favor. Without Joel Embiid, I don’t think the 76ers will have an answer for Victor Wembanyama.

The team has enough talent to remain competitive, but Spurs will pull away in the second half.

New Orleans Pelicans vs Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers -8.5 (-108)

This game should be easy, right? We have a healthy Lakers team coming off a 24-point win over the Sacramento Kings and a 28-point win over Golden State. Then there’s a poor but relatively healthy Pelicans team that suffered a 20-point loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles.

Yeah, I don’t know why so many online analysts are taking points with the Pelicans. The Lakers have had trouble against good teams in recent weeks, but they handle things well when they play bad teams.

Covering the spread would be questionable if Zion Williamson plays, but I would still cover the Lakers.