NBA Tuesday In-Season Tournament best bets
Monday's disastrous card dampened a hot stretch of best bets. We're still well over .500 on the season, so let's shake it off with Tuesday's slate.
It's the final day of In-Season Tournament group play before the quarterfinals start next week.
Warriors @ Kings (-1, O/U 236.5)
The Warriors won their first two meetings with the Kings, but Sacramento star De'Aaron Fox left the first game with an injury and didn't play in the second.
The Kings' main pieces are almost fully healthy (Keegan Murray is listed as doubtful) and they've been great at home. They've won five straight and are 9-6 against the spread in Sacramento. Draymond Green returns from suspension Tuesday night, but that won't immediately fix all of the Warriors' problems.
Golden State has a 0.1 net rating, 20th in the league. The Warriors' offense has been inconsistent as Steph Curry's supporting cast struggles to carry any scoring load. Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins are having down seasons so far. When Curry isn't having a magical night, the Warriors struggle to score. Green's presence won't help fix their offensive woes.
Pick: Kings -1
Thunder @ Timberwolves (-3, O/U 228.5)
This is poised to be a defense-oriented matchup between two top-10 defenses. The Timberwolves have the second-best defensive rating, while the Thunder are seventh.
The Timberwolves like to play slow. They rank in the bottom half of the league in pace. As 3-point home favorites, if they can control the flow of the game, it'll be a slower contest than the Thunder are accustomed to.
Both teams also lie in the bottom half in possessions. Expect a low-scoring game in Minnesota.
Pick: Under 228.5
Bulls @ Celtics (-13.5, O/U 218.5)
The Celtics are the NBA's best team and the Bulls are a below-average one that's closer to blowing up their roster than contending.
However, this is just too many points against a desperate Chicago team that's lost four straight and seven of its last eight. There's a chance the Bulls show more quit than heart tonight, but our model puts this line closer to 10, so there's value in backing the Bulls on a number this big.
As long as Zach LaVine and Alex Caruso play - both are listed as questionable - this will be closer than people expect. Boston's Kristaps Porzingis missed last game with a calf injury and will likely sit Tuesday night as well, which is a massive advantage for Chicago.
Pick: Bulls +13.5
Jalen Brunson: Over 2.5 threes
Brunson has been on a tear this month, lifting the Knicks to a 9-7 record. He's scored over 30 points in three of his last five games.
Brunson has become a volume 3-point shooter, which has led to some of these scoring explosions. He's averaging 6.8 threes per game, by far the most of his career, and shooting 47% from deep this season.
His brilliant footwork and lethal pull-up game already made him a dangerous scorer, but that kind of accuracy from deep takes him to an entirely new level.
Brunson has made at least three 3-pointers in six of his last seven games. On Tuesday, the Knicks are playing an abysmal Hornets team that has the league's second-worst defensive rating and opponent effective field-goal percentage.
Odds: -145
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @soshtry for more betting coverage.