It's not often that the NBA has a huge slate of games on Tuesday. This Tuesday, however, we've got 10 games across the night, including Knicks vs. Mavericks (8:30 p.m. ET) on NBA TV.
Last night, our crew was on one game, but we've got three best best for Tuesday. Check out our expert picks and predictions for tonight's huge slate.
NBA Odds & Picks
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic
Andrew O'Connor-Watts: The Lakers really had a stretch there where they looked competitive, before Anthony Davis was sidelined indefinitely.
LeBron James has been a 37-year-old, age-defying monster in Davis’ absence averaging 33.8 points, 6.8 assists and 6.5 rebounds in six games, according to Statmuse.
However, the Lakers have not been as impressive, giving up a 51-point quarter to the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day. The Lakers have yet to cover since Davis went down on Dec. 16 and are 2-6 straight up and 1-7 against the spread without him this season.
The Magic on the other hand have been red hot lately. In their last 10 games, the Magic are seventh in Offensive Rating (115.5) and fifth in Defensive Rating (109). They are 8-2 straight up and 10-0 against the spread.
I’m betting on the hot team to stay hot. I like Orlando down to -4.5.
Atlanta Hawks vs. Indiana Pacers
Chris Baker: Great spot for the Hawks to get right as they have a number of key edges over this young pacers team. The Pacers offense is predicated on the deep ball as they rank fourth in NBA in 3-point attempt rate (41.5%) on the year. The Hawks actually do a great job of running shooters off and limiting 3s as they rank fifth-best in 3-point attempt rate allowed in the NBA.
Consequently, they rank 28th in defensive rim rate allowed but that is not really what this Pacers team excels at as they rank just 14th in rim rate and 23rd in accuracy on those looks. The second major key when defending this Pacers offense is forcing them to play in the half court.
The Pacers rank second in the NBA in transition points per 100 possessions and third in transition frequency. They drop to 23rd in points per 100 possessions when forced to play in the half court. The Hawks defense has done an excellent job in transition as they rank sixth-best in NBA in transition defensive rating on the year.
Focusing on the hawks offense, they also love to get out and run in transition as they rank 10th in transition offensive rating and ninth in transition frequency. Unlike the Hawks, the Pacers defense has been awful in transition as they rank 25th in transition defensive rating and 27th in transition frequency allowed.
The Hawks should be able to generate some easy baskets through fast breaks tonight. In the halfcourt, the Hawks offense should be able to get Trae and Dejounte going against a Pacers D that ranks 29th in FT rate allowed. That is a recipe for disaster when playing a foul hunter like Trae young.
Another area where the Hawks may have an edge is on the offensive glass as the Pacers rank dead-last in defensive rebound rate. The Hawks rank 14th in offensive rebound rate so they should be able to generate some extra looks tonight.
Finally, this Pacers defense does one thing really well and that is turn their opponent over as they rank 6th best in the NBA in Turnover rate. They won’t be able to rely on turnovers tonight against a Hawks offense that excels at taking care of the ball, ranking third-best in the NBA in turnover rate.
The Hawks have a ton of edges in this spot so trust them to cover the short number at -1.5.
Phoenix Suns vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Kenny Ducey: The Suns are going to be without numerous wings in this game including Devin Booker and Landry Shamet, but I’m going to stop short of saying Torrey Craig will go for more than 10 points here.
Over the past seven games, Craig has averaged more than 26 minutes per game but has hit this number just twice. He’s averaged 3.7 3s per game, which means roughly half of his attempts are coming from downtown, and he’s about to go up against the 11th-best 3-point defense in the NBA, allowing just 35.6% shooting.
More than this, though, the Grizzlies own the fourth-best defense in the NBA and a hard-nosed frontcourt. They have allowed the sixth-fewest points per game to opposing power forwards, and because of this I think it’s going to be incredibly difficult for Craig to get anything at all going around the rim.
This man is averaging 8.6 points per game over the last seven with some hefty playing time, so against a sharp defense I have a hard time believing the story changes.
