We got a little unlucky on our way to a 1-1-1 night last night, as the Dallas Mavericks pushed as a 2-point favorite against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Some late-game nonsense prevented the winning evening, but we're back at it tonight. Check out our three NBA best bets on a night that features the New York Knicks hosting the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Clippers facing the Denver Nuggets in a TNT doubleheader:
1. Golden State Warriors at Orlando Magic - 7:00 p.m. ET
The Warriors are going to be without Steph Curry indefinitely, so they could struggle to win games like this one convincingly for the near future. Golden State will still have Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole and Draymond Green against Orlando in this one, but Curry is just so important to everything that the Warriors do on offense. The Magic also happen to be ninth in the league in defensive rating over the last 10 games, so this is a team that is playing well on the defensive end. They'll just need somebody to show up and play well on offense in order to keep this one close enough for Orlando bettors to cover. The Warriors also happen to be just 8-11 against the spread when playing as road favorites this season. On top of that, they're only 13-17 against the spread when favored by 3.5 to 9.5 points this season.
THE PICK: Magic +7.5
2. Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks - 7:30 p.m. ET
The Hawks have had a disappointing season this year, and they have only covered in one of their last nine games. They are, however, set to face a Knicks team that they know quite well after they destroyed them in the playoffs last year. This turned into quite the rivalry during that series, and the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden should be electric in this one. It is, however, worth noting that John Collins and Julius Randle are set to miss this game. That's bad for both of these teams, but it's especially worse for the Knicks. New York runs a lot of offense through Randle and really doesn't have enough offensive talent to be missing a player like him — especially against a team that has Trae Young at point guard. The Knicks also happen to be just 2-8 straight-up and 3-7 against the spread when playing as home underdogs of 6 or fewer points this year. On top of that, they're 5-7 straight-up and 4-8 against the spread against Southeast division opponents.
THE PICK: Hawks -2.5
3. Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets - 10:00 p.m. ET
The Clippers haven't played since Friday, so they'll be full of energy when they take on the Nuggets in this game. Also, the spread in this one is just as large as the difference between these two teams in three meetings this season. That's right: the three games these teams have played against one another this year have been decided by a total of seven points. Denver also happens to be just 31-44 against the spread when playing at home on the year, and the team is also 4-13 against the spread in home games with a total of 220 to 229.5 this year. On top of that, the Nuggets are just 1-5 against the spread in their last six games as favorites. And if that's not enough, Los Angeles does have a good counter for Nikola Jokic. Ivica Zubac isn't going to outplay the former MVP or anything, but he's going to work hard and try to tire him out. HIs physicality will surely make a difference in this one, so don't be surprised if the Clippers are the ones executing at a higher level down the stretch.
THE PICK: Clippers +7
