The National Basketball Association (NBA) has seven games on the slate for Tuesday night, including a nationally-televised doubleheader. The New York Knicks and Houston Rockets meet at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, while the Portland Trail Blazers and L.A. Clippers square off at 11:00 p.m. ET in the second end of the TV doubleheader. Let’s build our bankroll with our best NBA picks & predictions for Tuesday, March 31st.
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Tuesday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Phoenix Suns (+112) at Orlando Magic (-132) | O/U 224.5 (-106/-114)
The Suns (42-33) and the Magic (39-35) meet at the Kia Center in Orlando at 7:00 p.m. ET. Phoenix is playing its second game on a four-stop road trip, and it looks to follow up an impressive 131-105 win on Monday in Memphis.
Phoenix has won three of the past four games, while covering each of the outings. The Suns have rediscovered their offense, going for 120+ points, while the over has cashed in each of the past three outings.
These teams met on February 21st in the Valley of the Sun, with Phoenix picking up a 113-110 win in overtime, while pushing as a 3-point favorite at most shops, as the over (218.5) cashed.
Orlando has suffered seven losses in the past eight outings, including an ugly 139-87 loss in Toronto last time out on Sunday, while going 1-3 against the spread (ATS) in the past four outings. The over has cashed in each of those outings. The total has also gone high in 10 of the past 12 games.
Let’s roll with the Suns on the Moneyline at plus-money odds, even though they’re coming in on no rest. And, we’ll go high on the total based on the trends for both sides.
Picks: Suns Moneyline (+112) & Over 224.5 Points (-106)
Charlotte Hornets (-1350) at Brooklyn Nets (+810) | O/U 218.5 (-112/-108)
The Hornets (39-36) and the Nets (18-57) meet at Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. ET. This is the third meeting of the season between these two teams. The home side won and covered each of the first two games, while the over and under have split.
Charlotte is locked into at least an NBA Play-In Tournament spot, as every team from No. 11 through No. 15 in the Eastern Conference standings has been eliminated.
The Hornets are 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the sixth spot, which gets you out of the NBA Play-In Tournament bracket. They’re 3.5 games back of the Toronto Raptors for the fifth spot, too.
The Hornets are actually a better team on the road, going 20-17 away from home, while going 19-19 at the Spectrum Center. The Hornets have an impressive +4.4 point differential, too, which ranks fourth in the Eastern Conference behind only the Detroit Pistons (+7.9), Boston Celtics (+7.1) and New York Knicks (+6.3).
The Nets have long since been eliminated from the postseason picture, and they’re just 10-26 at Barclays Center. On the flip side, Brooklyn has a -9.1 point differential, the second-worst mark in the Eastern Conference behind just the Washington Wizards (-11.4).
Charlotte has lost the past two games, but it is 5-2 straight up (SU)/ATS in the past seven games, while the under has cashed in five in a row. Brooklyn posted a 116-99 win over the hapless Sacramento Kings, cashing as a 1.5-point favorite as the under (216.5) hit.
That win halted a 10-game losing streak, although Brooklyn is 5-1 ATS in the past six games. The under is 3-0 in the past three for the Nets and 8-2 across the past 10 games. Let’s take the Nets to cover as 16-point underdogs and go low on the total based on the trends for both sides.
Picks: Nets +16 (-110) & Under 218.5 Points (-108)
Portland Trail Blazers (+176) at L.A. Clippers (-210) | O/U 227.5 (-108/-112)
The Trail Blazers (38-38) and Clippers (39-36) meet at the Intuit Dome at 11:00 p.m. ET. The Blazers have clinched an NBA Play-In Tournament spot, and they cannot get any higher than the seventh seed in the Western Conference. The Clippers could, potentially, be their opponent. Los Angeles is 1.5 games ahead of Portland with seven games to play, and has one game in hand over the Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers posted a 123-88 win on Sunday as a 16.5-point favorite against the Washington Wizards, and they’ve won three of the past four games while also going 3-1 ATS in the span. The under has cashed in the past two games, and Portland has allowed 100 or fewer points in four consecutive outings.
The Clippers have won five consecutive games, going for 119+ points in four of the past five games. The Clippers have failed to cover the past two games, though. They’re just 2-4-1 ATS in the past seven games and 3-6-1 ATS in the previous 10 outings. The under is 7-3 in the past 10 outings.
Let’s back the Trail Blazers catching the points, and we’ll go low on the total.
Picks: Trail Blazers +5.5 (-112) & Under 226.5 Points (-110)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe