Tuesday NBA Picks
Our team of writers and handicappers hand out their NBA picks and predictions for Tuesday, March 31.
Atlanta Hawks at Philadelphia 76ers, 7:05PM ET
A brutal stretch of schedule wasn’t doing much for the Atlanta Hawks before they delivered a lockdown defensive effort to defeat one of the top teams in the NBA.
The Hawks hope to replicate that performance against another team battling for playoff position in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday night, when they look to strengthen their hold on fourth place with a road game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Atlanta (43-31) lost at East-leading Cleveland last Saturday in the opener of a rough eight-game span that’s included home losses to San Antonio and Boston.
In addition to the game against the Sixers (37-35), the Hawks also visit the Celtics and host Southeast Division-leading Orlando before the rough stretch ends. Atlanta, however, has to be feeling better about its chances to win those games after defeating the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers 86-76 on Sunday.
The Hawks held the Lakers to a season-low point total while limiting Kobe Bryant to 17 points and 7-for-19 shooting, perhaps aided by Bryant’s upset stomach that forced the MVP candidate to miss the morning meal and film session.
NBA Free Pick: Philadelphia – View Game Matchup | Best Line: -3 SPORTSBETTING.COM
Los Angeles Lakers at Charlotte Bobcats, 7:05PM ET
The Los Angeles Lakers already have clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, but they didn’t look like an elite team in their last game.
That has been a familiar sight for the Charlotte Bobcats, who have routinely kept Los Angeles from playing its best.
The Lakers look to bounce back from their worst offensive performance of the season and avoid their sixth loss in seven games against the Bobcats when the clubs meet Tuesday night in Charlotte.
Los Angeles (58-15) has been the West’s most dominant team all season, riding MVP candidate Kobe Bryant and fellow All-Star Pau Gasol to the top of the conference and the second-best record in the NBA.
The Lakers, though, haven’t had any answers for the Bobcats (33-40) in recent years. Though Charlotte hasn’t finished a season with a winning record since joining the league as an expansion team in 2004, it’s won five of the last six meetings with Los Angeles, a perennial contender.
With a 5-4 all-time record against the Lakers, the Bobcats are one of only two teams – alongside Boston – with a winning record against them since they moved to Los Angeles in 1960.
NBA Free Pick: LA Lakers – View Game Matchup | Best Line: -5 SPORTSBETTING.COM
New York Knicks at Denver Nuggets, 9:05PM ET
The Denver Nuggets are hoping their strong surge in the past three weeks will lead them to the Northwest Division title, but they are already all but certain that it will take them back to the playoffs.
A win Tuesday night against the visiting New York Knicks would clinch a sixth straight postseason berth for Denver, which also is trying to fend off a pair of division contenders with its fourth straight victory.
A well-oiled offense has helped Denver win eight of its last nine games as the team tries to emerge near the top of a crowded Western Conference field.
The Nuggets (48-26) are just one-half game behind second-place San Antonio in the standings, but their lead on Utah and Portland in the Northwest is a mere 1 1/2 games.
While the Los Angeles Lakers have clinched the top seed, six other teams in the West still have a realistic chance at home-court advantage in the first round – a key goal for the Nuggets as they try to avoid a sixth consecutive opening-round exit.
Still, they have a chance Tuesday to make sure they’ll at least be playing another first-round series. They lead ninth-place Phoenix by eight games with eight to play.
NBA Free Pick: NY Knicks – View Game Matchp | Best Line: +12.5 SPORTSBETTING.COM
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Posted: 3/31/09 12:42PM ET