NBA Picks Week 17 (Feb 10- Feb 16) – Updated Daily!

Toronto Raptors 40-14 at Brooklyn Nets 24-28

730PM EST

Opening Line: Raptors -2.5 and 224
Current Line: Raptors -3.5 and 224

The league’s hottest team in the Raptors hit the road one last time before the All Star break. The Raptors are on a 15 game winning streak and have done much of this good work away from home. They are on a 10 game road winning streak that predates the overall winning streak, and haven’t lost a road game since January 2nd at Miami. This will be the third matchup with the Nets this season, and Toronto won each of the first two with eight point and 19 point wins.

Both teams continue to be without players in this one as Kyrie Irving will continue to sit through the All Star break and Marc Gasol and Norman Powell continue to be out for the Raptors. Serge Ibaka is questionable and it would bring peace of mind if he were to play, but would not ruin the play if he did not.

The Nets pulled off a win in their last game at Indiana as the Pacers are still struggling with chemistry and reassimilating Victor Oladipo in their lineup. What is notable is the last time the Nets beat a team with a winning record prior to that was January 10th. The time before that was December 15th. Needless to say, the Nets are not a team that beats quality opponents and that will not change tonight.

Take the Raptors to extend their winning streak and to carry it through the All Star break.

The 76ers +1.5 took control of the game in the second half and had their lead hover around 10 points for the majority of said second half. The 110-103 win was more than enough for a cover and the 76ers kept our hot streak rolling.

The win brings us to 61-46 on the season.

Los Angeles Clippers 37-16 at Philadelphia 76ers 33-21

7PM EST

Opening Line: Clippers -1 and 225
Current Line: Clippers -1.5 and 224.5

This line immediately caught my eye knowing the 76ers are the league’s best home team. Their 24-2 home record is better than even Milwaukee’s and even with the Clippers being a better overall team at near full strength, it is a head scratcher that they would be favored in Philly. The 76ers remain the best defensive team in the league at home, leading the league in both average points allowed and defensive efficiency. This is how they win at home and it translates to a +10.1 average point differential per game, third best in the league. They will be at full strength for this game while the Clippers will be without Patrick Beverly. The Clippers are not dissimilar to the 76ers in the sense that they are far better at home. Their 22-5 home record dwarfs their 15-11 road record and they should be classified as just above average in away games, which is highly unlikely to be good enough to beat the home version of the 76ers, which we know is very high end. The wrong team is favored Tuesday night, so take advantage of the 76ers in a home game without having to worry about margin of victory, any outright win will do just fine.

The strength of the Magic -6 play was not lost on the betting public, and the line moved all the way to -8.5 by tip off in most places. In the game itself, the Hawks were as game as they could be in the first half, and even held a five point lead at halftime. The second half however saw the Magic slowly take over and extend a double digit lead in the fourth quarter. The 135-126 final was a it of a sweat, but it got home.

The win brings us to 60-46 on the season.

Atlanta Hawks 15-39 at Orlando Magic 22-31

7PM EST

Opening Line: Magic -6 and Off
Current Line: Magic -6 and Off

The Hawks travel to Orlando in the second leg of a back to back. The Hawks are the second worst road team in the league at 6-22, and attacking them in any road game is generally favorable, but there is more at play here. Their game on Sunday went into double overtime and they were able to pull out the win, but this brings a two pronged negative for them. The first is that their two stars in Trae Young and John Collins played very heavy minutes. The second is that they’ve won consecutive games just once since their first two games of the season. This all sounds great so far, but we haven’t gotten to the best part yet. The Hawks on the second leg of back to backs have been utterly horrific. They are 1-8 in those spots and now brace yourself for this stat. Their average point differential in those games is -22.8!! Can’t top that one right? Well, we actually can. In the second leg of back to backs on the road, the Hawks are 0-5 and the average point differential in those game is an insane -30.8 points!! We get this scenario today and three more times for the remainder of the season and they will all be spots to attack and attack heavily if you so choose. Not that the opponent matters in this spot, but the Magic are a .500 home team and capable enough of dispatching the Hawks.

The strength of play here is as high as NBA games get, so fire away.

The Blazers -3 held a small lead for essentially the entire game. They were never quite able to pull away but also never surrendered the lead they held and won 115-109, securing the cover. Damian Lillard continues to play at a supremely high level and dropped another quality line in this one of 33/4/8.

The win brings us to 59-46 on the season.