The NBA has a more limited slate with just two games on Tuesday night, but the Action Network NBA team has you covered with three best bets. Joe Dellera and Kenny Ducey have a total pick and a spread pick forTimberwolves-Knicks while Brandon Anderson has a plus juice play on Pistons-Warriors.
Check out their analysis and best bets below.
NBA Odds & Picks
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. New York Knicks
Joe Dellera: The Timberwolves are looking to avenge their December loss to the Knicks tonight, but head coach Tom Thibodeau should have the Knicks prepared for a battle against his old team.
The Wolves have a potent offensive attack when Towns, Edwards, and Russell are all healthy and on the floor together, which was not the case when the Wolves fell to the Knicks in December, and all three players missed.
When that trio shares the floor, the Wolves are +16 points per 100 possessions while scoring 117.7 and allowing just 101.7, per Cleaning the Glass. Those are elite numbers.
Although the Knicks have been one of the more profitable under teams this season, the Wolves have been more profitable to the over. In fact, this season, the Wolves are 15-6 to the over on the road. They should be able to score against this Knicks defense, which has paled in comparison to last season’s.
On the flip side, the Knicks should get the looks they want against the Wolves. New York likes to take 3s, and Minnesota gives up those looks, particularly from the corner. This could be a good spot for Evan Fournier and Quentin Grimes, the Knicks’ two best corner 3 shooters.
Given the shot profile of the Knicks and the health of the Timberwolves’ offensive attack, I’ll back the over in New York despite the Knicks’ generally slow pace.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. New York Knicks
Kenny Ducey: While it’s pretty tempting to fade the Knicks after Monday’s disaster, this line is very much bait. The fact is, New York should be set up pretty well in this spot.
The Knicks’ defense, which has been the main reason for the team’s recent success, remained relatively unscathed against a potent Charlotte offense. New York posted a 110.2 Defensive Rating and remains the second-best defense in the NBA since Christmas Day with a cumulative 104.6 Efficiency Rating.
The Knicks missed a bundle of free throws and struggled on the glass, two things that stand to improve here. In that same period of time, the Knicks are fourth in Rebounding Rate, and while they’re not the best free throw shooting team in the NBA, they will surely do better than 52.4%.
Considering the Knicks are 3-2 against the spread on the second night of back-to-backs, they should be a safe team to back here. Minnesota’s offense has sputtered over the last two games against good defenses and should do the same on Tuesday.
Detroit Pistons vs. Golden State Warriors
Brandon Anderson: Perhaps you've heard of the greatest shooter in human history?
It's been a cold stretch for Steph Curry, no doubt. Since New Year's Day, Curry has made only 25.5% of his 3-pointers. He's making just 2.3 treys per game over that stretch and hasn't made five in the same game at any point, meaning he's 0-for-his-last-6 on this prop.
Nothing that a little rest and a game against the Pistons can't fix, am I right?
Let's just say I'm not all that worried about Curry. He's had four days of rest now, so that should give him fresh legs, and the attempts have still been up at 9.2 per game even in this cold stretch, so the guy has not gotten shy. Curry has double-digit 3-point attempts in all but seven games, so we know he'll get his shots up. And at some point, maybe against a terrible Pistons team ripe for a get-right Warriors game, those shots will start falling again.
Before this cold stretch, Curry had gone over 4.5 made 3s in 22 of 33 games this season, hitting this over 67% of the time. Even including the last few weeks, he's still over 4.5 3s in 56% of his games. I'll play him to break out of his slump and get there again. You're giving us plus juice on Curry 3s? I'm taking it.
