Friday’s NBA Picks
Our team of writers and handicappers hand out their NBA picks and predictions for Friday, April 10.
New York Knicks at Orlando Magic, 8:05PM ET
It hasn’t been a good week for the Orlando Magic as they try to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. A matchup at home with the New York Knicks may be just what they need to get back on track.
Coming off a pair of lackluster performances, Orlando looks for its first season sweep of slumping New York in seven years when the teams meet Friday night.
The Magic (58-20) are one game behind Boston in the race for the second seed in the East, but they’ve struggled offensively this week.
On Tuesday in Houston, they were held to their lowest point total in nearly two months and shot 38.0 percent from the field in a 93-83 loss. Orlando scored even fewer points Wednesday night at home against lowly Memphis but came away with an 81-78 victory.
NBA Free Pick: Orlando – View Game Matchup | Best Line:
Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks, 7:35PM ET
The Atlanta Hawks didn’t panic while they were struggling through a brutal two-week stretch in their schedule. Perhaps that’s because they were confident they’d respond positively once the opposition grew easier.
The Hawks look to clinch home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with their third straight win Friday night when they host the Indiana Pacers, who are on the verge of elimination from the postseason race.
Atlanta (45-34) went 2-6 from March 21-April 4 as it played two games against Boston and one apiece against Cleveland, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia and Orlando. The Hawks managed to get wins over the Lakers and lowly Minnesota in that stretch before finishing it with three straight losses.
The Hawks, though, have rebounded with consecutive road wins over sub-.500 teams Toronto and Milwaukee to pull 3 1/2 games ahead of fifth-place Miami in the East. With one more win or one more Heat loss, Atlanta clinches the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the opening round.
NBA Free Pick: Atlanta – View Game Matchup | Best Line:
New Jersey Nets at Detroit Pistons, 8:05PM ET
The Detroit Pistons have reached at least the Eastern Conference finals for six consecutive seasons. Now they just want to make sure they qualify for the playoffs.
The Pistons look to clinch a postseason berth Friday night when they host the New Jersey Nets, the team they eliminated from contention their last time out.
Detroit (38-40) leads ninth-place Charlotte by three games with four to play. The Pistons secured the head-to-head tiebreaker in the season series by beating the Bobcats 104-97 on Sunday, meaning a win Friday or a loss by Charlotte at Oklahoma City will earn Detroit a postseason spot. The Pistons also are battling Chicago for the seventh seed.
Despite being on the brink of their eighth consecutive playoff appearance, the Pistons haven’t resembled the team that made the East finals for six consecutive years with two NBA finals appearances and one title (2004). If they don’t win all of their final four games, they will fail to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2000-01.
NBA Free Pick: New Jersey – View Game Matchup | Best Line:
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Posted: 4/10/09 6:00AM ET