PISTONS (-3.5) at KNICKS (224), 7:30 p.m.
Pick: Knicks +3.5
The Detroit Pistons (23-29) just had their most impressive victory of the season Monday night, defeating the Denver Nuggets, 129-103. Playing the second leg of a back-to-back on the road against a team with the worst record in the NBA would seem to be the very definition of a letdown spot. If you’re willing to throw out Monday’s Pistons result -- which you probably should considering the team with the second best record in the West lost by 26 to a team well below .500 -- then you probably won’t get that excited about backing the Pistons on the road. Tuesday night is just the fourth time all season Detroit is favored away from the Motor City, and the Pistons are 8-16 in road games this year. They could win this game by a possession and still not cover
As bad as the Knicks (10-24) are, they had several games during the last month land right around the number, and we think this one does as well with the home dog covering.
RAPTORS (+3) at SIXERS (231), 8 p.m.
Pick: Sixers -3
The Sixers are back at Wells Fargo Center which is a good thing for anyone interested in betting them. Philadelphia (34-19) enters this game 21-5 on its home floor (14-12 ATS). Granted, this kind of seven-game differential certainly indicates the difference between betting the money line and the spread, but with Toronto (38-16) coming to town on Tuesday, this difference is less pronounced. Not only has Philly been very good at home, but the Sixers have been terrific at bouncing back from losses. They ended last week’s west coast swing with a loss on Saturday night in Sacramento. With two days off since and one of the better teams in the East coming in, we think we get a big effort for the Sixers back home.
HEAT (+7.5) at TRAIL BLAZERS (211.5), 10:30 p.m.
Pick: Trail Blazers -7.5
We have a third game on our NBA card Tuesday for the night owls that are going the distance with the West Coast games. The Miami Heat (24-27) are slowly losing what was previously a firm grip on the East’s final playoff spot after going 3-7 in their last 10 games (3-7 ATS). A west coast trip probably isn’t what the doctor ordered for the reeling Heat but that’s what’s next on the schedule.
Miami visits Portland (32-20) and the Trail Blazers are 22-7 at home and 19-10 ATS on their home floor. The Jazz were the Trail Blazers’ most recent victim at home as Portland throttled Utah, 132-105, on Wednesday. With three days of rest and a struggling Heat team coming up to the Pacific Northwest, give us the Trail Blazers by double digits.