PICKS & PARLAYS

The New York Knicks (38-22), sitting third in the Eastern Conference, host the San Antonio Spurs (43-16) at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, March 1, tipping off at 1:00 PM ET on ABC, with both squads near full health in a matchup that has "future Finals preview" written all over it. San Antonio arrives riding an 11-game winning streak, the longest active run in the NBA, as the league's hottest team by every meaningful metric over the last ten games, while New York brings a 23-8 home record and one of the most efficient half-court offenses in the league. The Spurs are installed as 1.5-point road favorites, practically a pick'em, and for good reason: six of their last seven meetings with the Knicks have cleared 230 combined points, the total is set at 228.5, and both starting lineups are locked and loaded for what shapes up as the most compelling early afternoon tip of the season.

The Portland Trail Blazers (29-32) have no business looking dangerous right now. Damian Lillard is gone for the season, Shaedon Sharpe is in a walking boot for 4-6 weeks, and Deni Avdija has been in and out with a nagging back issue all month. On paper, rolling into Atlanta on the second night of a back-to-back against a Hawks team riding a three-game winning streak is a nightmare draw. The line opened Atlanta (-6) and has settled between -5.5 and -6 across most books, which tells you the market respects Portland's ability to hang around even at their most banged-up. It should. The Blazers are 8-4 against the spread on back-to-backs this season and 11-8 ATS as a dog of six points or more. Atlanta, meanwhile, just ran off three straight against Washington twice and Brooklyn. Sunday is a level-up game.

The Milwaukee Bucks (26-32), clinging to the Eastern Conference play-in conversation, visit United Center on Sunday, March 1, to face a Chicago Bulls (24-36) roster that just went 0-11 in February, traded away Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu at the deadline, and currently has six players sitting out, all in the same breath. Giannis Antetokounmpo remains out for Milwaukee with a right calf strain, but Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. have been carrying the Bucks through the Giannis absence, going a combined 8-2 in their last ten with a backcourt that is legitimately cooking. The line sits at Bucks -3.5 (-105), and this is about as clean a fade-the-tank setup as you'll find on the Sunday slate.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders will visit the Iowa State Cyclones on February 28th. Can the Red Raiders beat out Big 12 rivals Iowa State and score a huge upset for their ranking? McBets is backing Iowa State to shut down upset talk in this Saturday afternoon matchup.

The Raptors and Wizards and the Pelicans and Jazz are squaring off on Saturday, with RJ Barrett and Toronto looking for a big away win. Jeremiah Fears and the Pelicans visit the Jazz seeking to cash in on the tank-a-thon. McBets is targeting both players in his two game parlay.