Tag: New York Knicks

NBA Betting Value Picks for Wednesday, April 10

By: Al Walsh – Follow him on Twitter @14AdotWalsh

It has all come down to the final night of the NBA season. Eight of the games on tonight’s slate have some level of implications on the playoff picture in each conference. There’s nothing left to do but sit back and have a fun night watching these matchups.

Let’s take a look at which games have plenty of value in the betting trends tonight…

[8:10 p.m. EST] Orlando Magic at Charlotte Hornets (-4) – Total: 219.5

The Hornets need a win and Pistons’ loss in order to clinch the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. And it’s a lot easier said than done, considering the Pistons will be facing the Knicks, who own the worst record in the NBA. None of the three games in this Charlotte-Orlando season series have been nail-biters, with the winning margin coming by an average of 31.7 points – the Hornets have the 2-1 edge over the Magic this season.

Considering the Hornets need this game in order to have a chance of making the playoffs, we should see them have another successful performance tonight. In fact, Charlotte has gone 9-2 against the spread in its last 11 games.

[8:10 p.m. EST] Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks (+9.5) – Total: 206.5

Alright, the table has been set for the Pistons tonight – win and they’re in. However, this team just exerted a ton of energy in a miraculous comeback win over the Grizzlies at home last night, and now have to bring that same level of intensity on the road. Granted, the Knicks have the NBA’s worst record and there’s no chance they’ll relinquish that fate at the end of the night. There’s a good chance, though, that they come out with a fiery effort in the final game of the season. In essence, this is a playoff-like game for the Knicks.

Detroit just isn’t playing its best basketball heading down the stretch and 9.5 points seems like a wishful number to hit on the road, especially for a team that hasn’t covered the spread in five consecutive games and could be without Blake Griffin. I do think the Pistons get the win tonight, but it certainly won’t be by double-digits on the back-end of a back-to-back.

[10:40 p.m. EST] Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers (-6.5) – Total: 225

The Clippers could avoid a first-round matchup with the almighty Warriors by winning tonight’s game against the Jazz, and the 6.5-point spread looks a lot easier to hit with Utah sitting all of its key players.

It’s an interesting scenario too because the Spurs and Thunder games matter a lot to the Clippers’ fate. San Antonio and OKC will tip off its respective games at 8:10 p.m. EST, two-and-a-half hours before Los Angeles takes the floor. According to ESPN… If the Spurs lose and Clippers win, LA grabs the No. 7 seed. If the Thunder lose, and Spurs and Clippers win, LA would get the No. 7 seed in that scenario as well. If all three teams win, or the Clippers lose, LA would get the No. 8. It’s all very simple, you see? Yikes!

With the Clippers essentially playing the Jazz D-squad, look for them to roll in this game.

NBA Betting Preview for Friday, April 5

By Al Walsh – Follow him on Twitter @14AdotWalsh

Get ready for another exciting night of NBA hoops! The Spread Knowledge top value plays of the night are listed below. However, because they are such heavy favorites on the moneyline, we’re only advising you to take them as an extra caveat to add to your parlays:

  • Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers (-667 ML)
  • New York Knicks at Houston Rockets (-2500 ML)

[7:10 p.m. EST] Under 226.5 – Atlanta Hawks (+342 ML) at Orlando Magic

There’s no getting around it, but the Orlando Magic need to win, as they currently sit in the final spot of the Eastern Conference playoff race. This is the final time that Orlando will have a regular season game on its home court, so the level of importance doesn’t even need to be described.

However, the SK value system loves the moneyline number on the Atlanta Hawks, who have been quite pesky down the stretch with outright wins over the 76ers (twice), Bucks and Jazz. Hawks point guard Trae Young is still trying to make one last heroic attempt at winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award and he can certainly make life difficult on the Magic defense.

While it is true that Orlando hit four straight overs, 216 has been the highest total over that stretch. Granted, Atlanta’s NBA-leading pace and lackluster defense are the reasons we see a 226.5 total tonight, but that just lends more optimism that the Hawks come in and pull off the upset win. In fact, two of the three Hawks-Magic matchups have gone under tonight’s total.

[8:10 p.m. EST] Under 213 – Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers

These two teams just faced off last Friday and now they’ll do battle once again. The term “battle” is an understatement, as they both have the same record and find themselves jockeying for homecourt advantage in their eventual first-round playoff matchup. The Boston Celtics do hold the head-to-head tiebreaker but a win for the Indiana Pacers would be monumental here.

The one lean the SK value system has is Under 213 points in the game, mainly because of the importance of defense in this matchup, as Indiana ranks third in defensive efficiency and Boston ranks sixth. Not to mention, the two teams just saw each other and will likely have their best defensive efforts on deck.

[10:10 p.m. EST] New Orleans Pelicans (-130) at Phoenix Suns

The SK value system has quite the knack for pointing out these late-season NBA games that have absolutely no meaning whatsoever in the standings. However, the amount of key players the Phoenix Suns are missing is just too large to ignore. Granted, the New Orleans Pelicans will be missing Anthony Davis but that seems like a blip on the radar, consider the Suns are missing Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton and T.J. Warren.

Look for the Pelicans B-team to get the win over the Suns C-team.

[10:40 p.m. EST] Portland Trail Blazers (+236 ML) at Denver Nuggets

In what would be a dazzling upset win, the SK value system loves the Portland Trail Blazers to go on the road and get the outright W over the Denver Nuggets. The Trail Blazers have won 11 of their 13 games while the Nuggets have been a very Jekyll-and-Hyde sort of team, going 3-4 over the last seven. Denver has won each of the previous two meetings versus Portland this season by a combined four points. Not to mention, these two teams will face each other in their next game on Sunday – time for the Trail Blazers to get busy and even the score.

NBA Betting Preview for Monday, April 1

Happy April Fools Day, everyone! Don’t worry, no lame jokes about getting fooled here today — just straight 🔥🔥🔥 from the Spread Knowledge system once again.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter (@SKSportsBets) and sign up for our 🚨Live Pick Alerts🚨 under Membership in the upper right-hand corner!

NBA Betting Preview

[7:10 p.m. EST] Detroit Pistons at Indiana Pacers (-5.5/-230 ML)

The SK system is showing a lot more favoritism towards the home team Indiana Pacers, despite them losing seven of their last eight games. We can attribute that to a brutal West coast road trip and when they returned home the schedule didn’t get much easier. It’s certainly worth noting how big of a favorite the Pacers are on the moneyline – tied for fourth-highest on the slate. This is also the front-end of a home-and-home series between the two teams, and that usually bodes well for the home team on either end. Look for the Pacers to get back on the good foot tonight, and then we’ll likely have a nice lean on the Detroit Pistons when the two teams meet again on Wednesday.

[7:40 p.m. EST] Chicago Bulls (+3.5/+144 ML) at New York Knicks

Yikes! If this game was played in the 90s, we might have more interest in putting this game on our TVs. However, it’s the 2019 version of the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks – essentially two G-League teams going at one another. While Chicago hasn’t been winning a lot of games lately, that’s because they have been playing some stiff competition. Not tonight, though, as the Bulls will be taking on the Knicks, who own the NBA’s worst record and find themselves in prime position for Zion Williamson with the No. 1 pick. New York has lost 14 of its last 15 games, so the SK system likes the Bulls to keep this one competitive and even get the win tonight.

[8:10 p.m. EST] Portland Trail Blazers (-3.5/-164 ML) at Minnesota Timberwolves 

A lot of people, including myself, had written off the Portland Trail Blazers when Jusuf Nurkic suffered that horrific tibia and fibula injury. Well, Portland has now won two of the last three games, with the only loss coming on the back-end of a back-to-back on Saturday night against the Detroit Pistons. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been mathematically eliminated from the playoff race and don’t have much to play for here in April. On the contrary, the Trail Blazers currently sit in the No. 4 spot of the Western Conference and could move to No. 3 with a win tonight because of their head-to-head tie-breaker over the Houston Rockets. The SK system’s top value play of the night is Portland getting the win outright, with the second-best being them covering the 3.5-point spread. How’s that for conviction?

[9:10 p.m. EST] Charlotte Hornets at Utah Jazz (-11.5/-650 ML)

The Charlotte Hornets came out to the West coast with hopes of staying in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, but things have suddenly gone awry and their defense is mostly to blame. In Friday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers they allowed 129 points while allowing another 137 in a 47-point loss to the Golden State Warriors last night. Congratulations, Charlotte – now you get to face the Utah Jazz in one of the toughest road environments in the NBA. The SK system and anyone who has ever watched basketball know the Jazz are a solid play against the spread tonight. Utah has won nine of its last 10 games, including each of its last five at home by an average of 15.6 points.