New York @ Detroit picks

Though Brunson is only shooting 44% from the field so far in this series, he’s attempted 21 free throws. Sure, the Knicks would like to see him at the charity stripe even more, but he’s already getting almost 25% of his points at the line. That creates a nice floor for this Over pick, and Brunson could be looking at a workload north of the 40-minute mark again here after playing 44 minutes on Monday.

J.B. Bickerstaff has the luxury of turning to two experienced bench cogs when things get bumpy, and we saw plenty of Malik Beasley and Dennis Schroder in Monday night’s victory. In turn, that cuts into the minutes for Tim Hardaway Jr., and I’m fading his points prop here on the back of a 0-for-8 shooting effort in Game 2. If he isn’t making 3-pointers, there are certainly better defenders for Detroit to lean on, and he only played 21 minutes last time out.

Detroit’s Game 2 victory owed plenty to a connected defensive effort, and Jalen Duren caught the eye after a quiet outing in the series opener. I see that carrying over into tonight’s battle. With the Pistons largely trusting Tobias Harris to handle the Towns assignment, Duren can roam free, and, in theory, he faces a lower risk of foul trouble. He finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds on Monday, and I’m predicting something similar tonight for the Detroit big man.