The surging Philadelphia 76ers visit the rebuilt Cleveland Cavaliers in a nationally televised showdown Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. The Cavaliers are listed as three-point favorites, with the over-under for total points scored set at 223.5.

Before picking a side, you should hear what SportsLine senior analyst Larry Hartstein has to say. The veteran NBA handicapper continues to enjoy his best run of the season. He is in the midst of a 30-17 against-the-spread roll in NBA picks for SportsLine since the All-Star break. 

He also has a keen sense for the talented but sometimes inconsistent 76ers, with a 20-13 ATS record in selections on their games. 

Part of his success: Hartstein has a vast network of Vegas sources and has been covering the industry as a sportswriter and analyst for two decades. He can spot a bad line from a mile away. Now, he has locked in a play for Sixers-Cavs on Thursday.

Hartstein knows the Cavaliers saw an immediate uptick in their performance following a trade-deadline reconstruction of their roster that saw them welcome four new players.

But recent performances suggest they still have some work to do. They have split their past four games, including a blowout loss at short-handed San Antonio and a home loss to the Wizards.

They are coming off a 129-123 win over the moribund Nets in which Cleveland did just enough to avoid an embarrassing upset. LeBron James had a triple-double with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

But defense continues to ail the Cavaliers, who allowed Brooklyn to shoot 54 percent and hang close until the end.

The home team has covered six of the past seven meetings in this series, but the underdog is on a 9-3 ATS run.

Will Cleveland take another step toward refining its postseason form with a quality victory and cover Thursday, or will Philadelphia get back on the winning track, or at least stay within the spread? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of 76ers-Cavaliers you should be all over on Thursday, all from an expert who's hitting 64 percent of his recent NBA picks.