The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, which means it's time to start focusing more on basketball. We're targeting three games in tonight's slate and are hoping to help you build your bankroll before Sunday's Super Bowl. Keep reading for our favorite plays:
1. Charlotte Hornets at Detroit Pistons - 7:00 p.m. ET
While the Hornets will be without Gordon Hayward in this game, the Pistons are expected to be getting back Cade Cunningham. Detroit also has the comfort of knowing that Jerami Grant, arguably the team's best player, isn't going anywhere. The Pistons opted not to deal him at the trade deadline, and now you should expect a more competitive version of Detroit moving forward. The Pistons should kick that right off with a close game against the Hornets. Detroit is solid defensively in the backcourt, which is important against a Charlotte team that has LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier. The Pistons also have a wrecking ball inside in Isaiah Stewart, whose motor and size should cause issues for a Hornets team that is weak inside. Charlotte is also 1-6 both straight-up and against the spread in its last seven games coming into this one. It's just a tough ask for a struggling team to win by eight on the road against anyone.
THE PICK: Pistons +7
2. San Antonio Spurs at Atlanta Hawks - 7:30 p.m. ET
The Spurs made some significant deals at the deadline, but they held on to Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Jakob Poeltl. That means that this San Antonio team will remain competitive for the rest of the season, and there's no reason this team can't hang around with Atlanta tonight. The Murray-Trae Young battle at the point guard position should end up being something of a wash, despite Young being the better player. That's just how good Murray has been and it's gone somewhat under the radar. He's capable of holding his own in any match-up. Meanwhile, Poeltl is one of the game's best interior defenders and should be able to prevent the Hawks from easily getting buckets at the basket. Vassell, meanwhile, is a great perimeter defender and has a good shot at slowing down one of Atlanta's wings tonight. The Spurs also happen to be 19-8 against the spread as a road underdog of 6.5 to 12 points over the last three seasons. San Antonio only lost those games by an average of 4.4 points per game, which would comfortably put the Spurs in the covering zone here.
THE PICK: Spurs +8
3. Minnesota Timberwolves at Chicago Bulls - 8:00 p.m. ET
The Bulls are really missing Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball, but they got Zach LaVine back recently. With LaVine and DeMar DeRozan on the perimeter and Nikola Vucevic playing well inside, Chicago should start to consistently string together wins again. And while Minnesota has been solid this season, this is a game that Chicago really should win. The Bulls are fourth in the league in offensive rating this season, and they should be able to efficiently score the ball against the Timberwolves tonight. And while Chicago's defense is really missing Caruso and Ball, the team is capable of getting stops when it needs to down the stretch. The Bulls just need to have a plan in place to slow down Karl-Anthony Towns, who has been a monster all year. Chicago is 18-9 against the spread when playing at home this season, and the team is also 22-13 against the spread as a favorite.
THE PICK: Bulls -3
