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NBA Tuesday betting preview: Fade slumping Raptors without Lowry

Scott Audette / National Basketball Association / Getty

There are only seven games on Tuesday's NBA schedule, but that doesn't mean we're skipping the slate. Here are our favorite bets against the spread:

Hawks (-2, 224.5) @ Raptors

Why does the betting market keep giving the Raptors so much respect when they aren't living up to it? Toronto is 4-12-1 ATS since March 13 and a lousy 2-6-1 ATS as an underdog, losing by an average of five points per game. Remove a blowout win over the Nuggets on March 24, and that negative scoring margin jumps to 8.62.

Much of the blame is on the offense, which has averaged almost two points fewer per 100 possessions since the team traded Norman Powell on March 25. Kyle Lowry has played just three of 10 games since then and won't play Tuesday, either. The Raptors are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games without him.

The Hawks, meanwhile, have covered six of their last seven games and are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 against teams with losing records. This line shouldn't be this close.

Pick: Hawks -2

Thunder @ Jazz (-17, 222.5)

This is the biggest line of the season - it's more lopsided than when the Jazz played the Magic (+16.5), Rockets (+16), and Cavaliers (+16). Utah won those games by a combined 100 points, and it should have no trouble dispatching the Thunder, too.

Double-digit favorites are a stellar 61-29-3 ATS this year and 9-4 ATS against Oklahoma City, which has been absolutely dreadful of late. If this line seems like an overreaction, consider this: The Thunder are 3-10 ATS with eight losses by at least 17 points since the trade deadline. That includes five of their last six games, a stretch in which Oklahoma City has lost by an average of 28.5 points.

Teams laying at least 17 points are 7-2 ATS with an average scoring margin of 22 points since 2018. Don't be afraid to play the massive favorites here.

Pick: Jazz -17

C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.

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