Filip Tomic
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In case you missed it, the NBA playoffs tipped off yesterday with 4 highly competitive games in both conference. There will be no shortage of action on Sunday, either, as the action begins as early as 1:00 pm ET. I have included 3 teams into my NBA mega parlay, so continue reading below to see them.
We will have predictions for every single NBA postseason game played on Sunday; simply head over to our NBA picks page to see them.
Now let’s dive into my bet!
DAL Mavericks -2.5 (-112)
IND Pacers -1.5 (-110)
OKC Thunder -8.5 (-112)
Parlay odds: +584
DAL Mavericks -2.5 over LA Clippers (-112)
Without Kawhi Leonard at their disposal, the Clippers could be in a lot of trouble. Dallas enters the game having won and covered the spread in 16 of the last 20 outings, plus unlike in previous years superstar Luka Doncic has no lingering injuries heading into the postseason. The Clippers did win 2 of the 3 regular-season meetings, but those were all before 2024 started so they don’t carry too much weight.
LA’s offensive rating goes down from 121.1 when Kawhi plays to 113.4 when he doesn’t, so the Mavs would be wise to get one of the first two games before an eventual comeback from him. The Clippers finished the regular season just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games, plus at home in their last 11 they have covered the spread only twice. I’ll take the Mavs in the series opener.
IND Pacers -1.5 over MIL Bucks (-110)
There is history between the 2 teams, as tempers flared during the regular season and Indiana dominated the proceedings with 4 wins in 5 games. The Pacers have looked really solid to close out the regular season with 6 wins in 8 games. Tyrese Haliburton has picked it up, he is not yet the player he was before his hamstring injury, but he is getting there.
Milwaukee’s troubles started with the hire of head coach Doc Rivers. Since he took over the Bucks are barely a .500 team and to make matters worse they also lost Giannis Antetokounmpo to a calf injury — which could force him to miss at least the first couple of games of this series. Damian Lillard is also battling groin and abductor injuries, but he is expected to play. The Pacers are likely going to push the tempo and I don’t think an injury riddled Bucks team can keep up.
OKC Thunder -8.5 over NO Pelicans (-112)
With no Zion Williamson at their disposal, the Pelicans barely squeezed into the postseason and now they have to face the team with the best record in the West. Oklahoma City won the regular-season series 2-1, as these 2 teams clashed in late March and OKC came out on top 119-112 — overcoming a big game from Zion.
New Orleans managed to put up just 83 points on the Thunder the last time they faced them without Zion, so it could be a struggle to score for them in this series. Brandon Ingram did show signs of improvement following his return from injury, but I’m still worried that he hasn’t fully recovered. SGA and company finished the regular season on a 5-game winning streak, taking care of business by an average of 22 points per game. Look out for a dominant performance in the series opener.
