Handicapping the NBA: Thursday Picks

Handicapping the NBA: Thursday Picks

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

Alex Barutha

Nets to win (-157) at DAL -- DraftKings (12:56 PM CT)

The Nets are coming off three straight losses. However, the first was without Kevin Durant, and the next two were against the Bucks, one of the best teams in the East. Conversely, the Mavericks have been hot lately, winning seven of the past nine. But it wasn't against especially difficult competition (DET, LAL, LAL, GSW, DET, WAS, MIA). I think both teams are heading into a course correction Thursday. The Nets with Kyrie Irving and Durant are clearly better than the Mavericks without Kristaps Porzingis.

Nick Whalen

Nets -3.5 (-113) at DAL -- DraftKings (1:27 PM CT)

The Nets haven't been as effective since James Harden went down, but this line feels like an overreaction to the back-to-back losses to Milwaukee. The Mavs are a solid opponent, but they're not the Bucks, and they'll be without two regular starters in Maxi Kleber and Kristaps Porzingis. I'm not sure the Nets will be able to stop Luka Doncic, but I think they can slow down the rest of the Mavs' underwhelming supporting cast.

Hawks -6.0 (-110) at IND -- DraftKings

This could go one of two ways for the Pacers: they either rally around their hatred for the coaching staff and play well, or they pack it in and limp to the finish line of the regular season. Last night against the Kings, they chose the latter path, failing to score 100 points and losing handily to a bad team without three of its five best players. The Pacers' offense should have a better night, but they've given up some huge scoring games of late while playing at the fastest pace in the league over the last 15 games. Atlanta should be able to take advantage and pick up a comfortable win on the road.

Jeff Edgerton

Raptors to cover (-3) vs WAS -- DraftKings (11:28 AM CT)

Although the Raptors won't have OG Anunoby and Chris Boucher, the rest of the team is healthy.  With a dearth of frontcourt options, Pascal Siakam and the resurgent Khem Birch will go to work inside. All Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet need to do? Outscore and outplay triple-double threat Russell Westbrook.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Jeff Edgerton
Jeff has provided sports content for numerous sports outlets and has played fantasy sports since scores had to be tabulated via newspaper. He started working with RotoWire in 2017. Originally from South Carolina, he's a lifelong Clemson fan now enjoying the sun in Los Angeles.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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