Thursday's Top Expert NBA Picks: Bulls, Knicks Highlight Short Slate

The basketball schedule features just five games for Thursday night, but there are still some intriguing matchups we're targeting with our top NBA picks.

The NBA experts at Sportsbook Review give their top against the spread and Over/Under picks for Thursday's smaller five-game slate (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Top Expert NBA Picks

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SEE ALSO: Top NBA Parlay Picks

Top Expert NBA ATS Picks

Knicks +2 (-110)

The New York Knicks have improved by leaps and bounds over the last two games, showcasing a great offensive attack by scoring 117.9 points per 100 possessions against the solid Brooklyn Nets defense after holding the Atlanta Hawks to a 97.7 offensive rating in a huge road win on Saturday. Without PG Kemba Walker in the lineup now, we can only expect more solid defensive performances from New York without losing much offense at all.

In fact, the scoring seems to be seeing an uptick as well if that loss in Brooklyn is any indication.

The Knicks have been elite in one area this year, and that's stopping shots inside. They have the third-best field goal percentage against them inside the restricted area this year and that will come in handy given Chicago Bulls C Nikola Vucevic and SG DeMar DeRozan drive so much of this offense inside. This is a tough matchup for the Bulls and I think the Knicks pick up a huge win at home as they begin to get hot again. - Ducey

Pistons +12 (-110)

Have I gone loco here? The Phoenix Suns are on a franchise record-tying 17-game winning streak, while the Detroit Pistons are again one of the NBA’s worst teams and on a seven-game losing skid. However, this sure seems to set up as a trap game for the Suns as they are coming off a massive 104-96 win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. They'll face the Warriors again on Friday in San Francisco.

The Suns also are without leading scorer SG Devin Booker, who injured his hamstring on Tuesday, and Phoenix was only 3-2 without Booker last season. It would be human nature for the Suns to overlook the lowly Pistons in between two games against the Warriors.

The Pistons are 5-0 ATS in their last five games following a double-digit loss, and they were routed on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. - Jordan

Bulls -2 (-110)

The Knicks have been up and down when it comes to having success. That can be said for the Atlantic Division as a whole, outside of perhaps the Nets. New York battled against Brooklyn but ended up falling two points short in a 112-110 loss.

Chicago is a tough offensive team that has plenty of weapons to work with on that end of the floor. The combination of DeRozan and G Zach LaVine in the backcourt with a frontcourt led by Vucevic is a dangerous trio for any team to try and defend. Chicago split its two home games with New York this season, and they'll earn the road win on Thursday. - Lipka

Top Expert NBA O/U Picks

Spurs-Trail Blazers Under 216 (-110)

The Portland Trail Blazers will be playing this game without PG Damian Lillard, which has severely hampered them on the offensive side of the ball. This team is scoring over eight more points per 100 possessions with Lillard on the court this year, and things might get tricky against a San Antonio Spurs defense that allowed fewer than 100 points in back-to-back wins against the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics.

On the other hand, the Trail Blazers have actually improved by over three points per 100 possessions on defense in the non-Lillard minutes, and will take on a Spurs team squarely in the bottom half of the NBA in offensive efficiency so far this year. Mix in the fact that both of these teams are 21st or lower in pace over the last five games and I think this is far too high of a total. - Ducey

Spurs-Trail Blazers Under 216 (-110)

Portland probably will be down about 46 points on Thursday because of injuries to Lillard, SF Norman Powell, and PF Nassir Little. Lillard and Little are for sure out, while Powell hasn’t played in the last two games and isn’t likely to be back.

San Antonio, meanwhile, doesn’t have a true No. 1 scorer and is a mediocre offensive team at best that has been kept in the 90s in three of its last six games. San Antonio (13.1 turnovers per game) and Portland (13.3 turnovers per game) average the fifth- and sixth-fewest turnovers per game in the NBA. The Under is 4-0-1 in the Spurs’ last five road games.

Bucks-Raptors Under 215.5 (-115)

The Raptors are playing by far their worst basketball at home this season. You’d have to go all the way back to Oct. 29 to find their last home victory. Things just tend to go wrong when they’re playing at Scotiabank Arena.

There’s also the fact that they’re dealing with a lot of injuries right now. SF OG Anunoby, C Khem Birch, and PG Goran Dragic are all out. SG Gray Trent Jr. is also listed as questionable for Thursday. Anunoby and Trent are two of their top-four scorers.

That’s a big problem when facing a Bucks team starting to hit their stride. They’re averaging 121.6 points per game across their last three outings and facing a Raptors defense that’s ranked in the bottom-half of the league by efficiency. The Bucks are reminding the world that they’re a legitimate possibility to repeat as NBA champions. They’re going to swarm the shorthanded Raptors defensively and limit this total as they enjoy a blowout win. - Lipka

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