NBA Picks

The Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat will take the court for the final time prior to the postseason when they square off on Sunday evening in Miami. Atlanta clinched an outright spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating Cleveland on Friday and it will be either the #5 or #6 seed. Miami is locked into a play-in spot in the East as either the #9 or #10 seed. Although it is by no means do-or-die for either team, there is certainly more at stake for the Heat. Atlanta will go up against either Cleveland or New York in round 1; there’s not much difference in those matchups. Miami will either play at home or on the road against Charlotte to begin the play-in tournament. Obviously head coach Erik Spoelstra’s crew would much rather play at home in that must-win situation; it is 25-15 in the 305 this season compared to 17-24 as visitors.

Tyler Herro, Norman Powell and Davion Mitchell are all listed as day-to-day for the Heat. However, there is no reason to think that any of them won’t play. All 3 sat out on Friday, but that was due it being the second leg of a back-to-back situation against a pathetic Washington squad. They had all played the night before against Toronto, so none has any kind of real injury. The Hawks may play all of their guys, but they have been going all out in recent weeks in an effort to complete their amazing run to an automatic playoff spot. It would be no surprise if some or all of Atlanta’s top players log an lower-than-normal number of minutes as the playoffs approach next week. Unless Herro and/or Powell doesn’t play, Miami certainly should not be such a sizable underdog.

Hawks vs Heat prediction: Miami +6.5 (-114) available at time of publishing. Playable to +5.5.

Now you can bet any of our Hawks vs Heat predictions at FanDuel Sportsbook, which has a great new-customer offer to take advantage of. If you sign up for FanDuel right now, you can get up to $250 in bonus bets if your first $5 wager is a winner! Use this link 🔗 to join FanDuel right now and learn more.

It’s not often you see the Charlotte Hornets head into Madison Square Garden as -7.5 favorites, but that’s exactly the case on the final day of the regular season as they try to wrap up the #9 seed. The Miami Heat can still leap over the Hornets in the standings thanks to them owning the tie-breaker from winning the season series. In theory, that should motivate the Hornets to perform better than their last trip to NYC. Their only visit to this building earlier this season was a 15-point loss back in December. Since then, they’ve put together one of the more remarkable runs we’ve seen in recent years, and they head into this game having won 14 of 17 road games.

For the Knicks, their playoff positioning has already been settled, locked into the #3 seed behind the Pistons and Celtics following Friday’s big win over Toronto. It’s quite possible that head coach Mike Brown will field a weakened lineup here, just to give the likes of Brunson, KAT and others some rest before the postseason begins. The only starter I expect to play here is Mikal Bridges, even if it’s just briefly to preserve his consecutive game streak going.

You have to like Charlotte’s chances against the Knicks reserves here. A win guarantees the Hornets home court advantage in the play-in game against the #10 seed Miami Heat. For the way they’ve played the last couple of months, I think their fans deserve at least one playoff-like atmosphere before the season is over.  They’ll get exactly that if they beat the Knicks and secure the 9th seed here. Take Charlotte.

Hornets vs Knicks predictions: Charlotte Hornets -7.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

If you’re looking for a new sportsbook, check out bet365, the world’s #1 sportsbook. They have an amazing sign-up offer where you can INSTANTLY receive $200 in bonus bets from a $10 wager, regardless of whether that bet wins or loses! There’s no catch, it’s really that simple. Join Bet365 right now ⏰ in time to fade or follow our experts’ Hornets vs Knicks predictions.

The Pistons showed no mercy to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday despite already having wrapped up the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Cade Cunningham is doing his best to get back into the thick of things in these remaining couple games of the regular season following his long layoff due to a collapsed lung. His last opportunity to do so will be Sunday when Pistons face off with the Indiana Pacers in an otherwise meaningless game for both sides. Detroit has won all 3 meetings this season, and only one of them was decided by single digits — the game played in Indiana back in late November.

It pains me to say it, but I am almost certain the Pacers won’t be trying to win this game. It makes sense from a front office standpoint considering a win guarantees they remain the 2nd-worst team in the East, which means a higher chance of getting a top-4 pick in the upcoming historically great NBA draft. Against Philadelphia on Friday, we saw a mixed lineup that featured lesser-known names, and this could very well be the case in their final home game of the regular season. This team has just 1 win in 14 home games, but they’ve been a decent bet against the spread lately, covering 10 times in 12 games.

It’s not often a team gets a chance to win 60 games in a regular season, but the Pistons have a chance to achieve just that on Sunday, and I expect them to go all out for it. Cunningham looks like he hasn’t missed a beat, and one more solid game to wrap up the season sends out a clear message that the Pistons and their leader mean business this year. I’ll back the road team.

Pistons vs Pacers predictions: Detroit Pistons -12.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

You can bet on our Pistons vs Pacers pick with BetMGM, where right now new users can activate your new BetMGM account ⚡ and receive $150 in bonus bets INSTANTLY if your first $10+ wager is a winner!

So much for Victor Wembanyama’s rib injury. The alien had yet another superb performance on Saturday, dominating the lowly Dallas Mavericks with a 40 point and 13 rebound performance in just 26 minutes of play. His Spurs got the job done by 19 points, putting up 139 to win their 62nd game of the season. Having already wrapped up the 2nd seed, without a chance of moving up to 1st, there is a solid chance we see a slightly altered line-up in the final game of the season when the Spurs face off with the Nuggets. Even a team like San Antonio which has shown to care about the integrity of the game more than some other teams won’t risk injuries in a meaningless game to end the regular season.

For Denver this game is anything but meaningless as they are still not safe in the 3rd seed. The Lakers are exactly one game behind them, but they hold the tie-breaker having won the regular season series 2-1. LA plays the Jazz on the final day of the season, I think it’s safe to say they are coming out of that game with a win regardless who they put out there to play. That means the Nuggets will be motivated to get a result on Sunday, it makes sense for them to stay 3rd and play a banged-up Timberwolves team in the 1st round, a team against whom they have some unfinished business with.

The Nuggets have won 11 games in a row, it makes way more sense to back them to get the win here as this game actually means something to them. These two teams have played each other 3 times this season and all 3 games were high scoring ones. That could be the case on Sunday as well, but I’m more in favor of backing Denver to secure the 3rd seed and to also go up over their pre-season win total.

San Antonio Spurs vs Denver Nuggets Predictions: Nuggets +4.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

The final day of the NBA’s regular season will play out this Sunday night, as the league has it set where all 30 NBA teams play their final game on the same evening to create as much drama as possible. While the league is a bit limited on dramatic finishes this season, this final game between the Sacramento Kings and the Portland Trail Blazers does have some slight playoff implications. While the Kings are well out of the postseason picture, the Trail Blazers find themselves sitting tied for the #8 seed in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Clippers. Portland owns the tiebreaker, so a win would mean the Trail Blazers stay in that position and avoid having to play an additional play-in game.

Portland has gone on a solid run to end the season, winning 9 of their last 13 games. Deni Avdija will cap off his best season of his career, averaging 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists. Portland should be near full health with the exception of Damian Lillard and potentially Jerami Grant for this season finale and for the start of the postseason.

The Kings are tied for the 4th-worst record in the NBA with the Utah Jazz. Spots #4 and #5 have equal odds of 45% to draw a top-4 pick in the draft, but still, the Kings would benefit more from losing this game then they would be winning it. Numerous players have been sitting for Sacramento, including DeMar DeRozan, Russell Westbrook, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis. The most recognizable player that participated in the Kings’ last game against the Warriors was Malik Monk, who only logged 10 minutes. It is worth mentioning though the Kings won that game 124-118. Even so, I don’t think we see any key players for Sacramento, and I see the Trail Blazers trying to jump ahead early to avoid a crucial late season slip-up.

Kings vs Trail Blazers prediction: Portland Trail Blazers -16.5 (-110) is available at the time of publishing. Playable to that number.

If you’re looking for a new sportsbook, we recommend checking out Fanatics Sportsbook. New users can get $200 in FanCash INSTANTLY after making their first $20 bet, no matter what! Join Fanatics Sportsbook, where you can bet on our Kings vs Trail Blazers predictions.

The late season injury to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves drained a level of hope from the Los Angeles Lakers, but with one game remaining, the Lakers have a chance to win against the Utah Jazz and move into the third seed in the Western Conference. Los Angeles is currently one game behind the Denver Nuggets, but the Lakers own the tiebreaker. A Lakers win and a Nuggets loss would result in the Lakers leapfrogging the Nuggets in the standings. Denver plays San Antonio Sunday night, so the scenario is not entirely impossible. The Lakers have won their last two games without Doncic and Reaves, including a 119-103 win over the Warriors, and a 101-73 win over the Suns. Los Angeles has played at a slower pace and relied on their defense with two of their main playmakers sidelined. The Jazz appear to be blatantly losing games down the stretch. They have lost 10 of their last 11 games, but they are coming off a 147-101 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in their last game. Nearly the entire Jazz roster was out for this game, as the Jazz played Ace Bailey and six other players trying to find a place in the NBA. Blake Hinson led the Jazz in scoring with 30 points in the win. The Jazz will want to lose this final game of the season. They are currently tied with the Sacramento Kings for the fourth worst record in the league. Utah owns the tanking tiebreaker, so a loss Sunday would lock them into that spot with the NBA lottery around the corner. We have seen this scenario of a team that is motivated to win taking on a team seemingly motivated to lose numerous times since the All Star break. The average margin of victory in the NBA this season is 13.1, the highest it has ever been, and it has likely been due to all the teams that have tanked down the stretch. As fans, we only have to endure it one more day.

Lakers -16.5 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.