NBA Top Pick for Today
Knicks vs. Pelicans: Knicks +9 (-113) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Picks Summary
- Knicks vs. Pelicans: Knicks +9 (-113)
- Bulls vs. Mavericks: Bulls +11.5 (-110)
The vast majority of teams around the NBA have nothing to play for Friday and will be resting players either to tank or to heal up for the playoffs, but both Dallas and New Orleans have reasons to go all out. Their games are the top plays on the night with NBA odds from BetOnline.
New York Knicks vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Friday, April 07, 2023, 08:00 PM EDT at Smoothie King Center
Very different motivations here. The Knicks have absolutely zero reason to care as they are locked into the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and will face the No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers in Round 1.
There is an early series line available there with the Cavs -185 and Knicks +150 at the top-rated books. I’d definitely take Cleveland if Knicks All-Star Julius Randle isn’t available.
Teams Analysis
New York Knicks
Randle (25.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg) sprained his ankle on March 29 vs. Miami and hasn’t played since. He will not here or Sunday in the regular-season home finale vs. Indiana. It will be a race for Randle to be ready for next weekend when the full-field playoffs open.
Also out Friday but healthy is second-leading scorer Jalen Brunson (24.0 ppg). Quite sure he won’t play until next weekend, either. Third-leading scorer RJ Barrett (19.5 ppg) is questionable with a non-COVID illness.
Despite playing without those three Wednesday, the Knicks won their fifth in a row, 138-129 at Indiana. Immanuel Quickley scored 39 points, one shy of his career high, Quentin Grimes had a career-high 36 and Obi Toppin had 32 points.
Those guys might be decent prop plays tonight, but while the Pacers were tanking, the Pelicans certainly are not.
New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans is tied for seventh in the West with the LA Lakers but loses a tiebreaker. It’s ideal to finish seventh because then you host the 7 vs. 8 play-in game and even if lose that, host the 7 vs. 9-10 winner game. New Orleans could get as high as fifth (very unlikely) or fall as low as ninth.
The Pelicans got a crucial win Wednesday, 138-131 in OT over Memphis. Second-year player Herbert Jones, known for his defense, had a career-high 35 points in the 19-point comeback win. CJ McCollum added 31 points and Trey Murphy 30 – that dude is playing out of his mind. It was the first time in franchise history the Pelicans had three players with 30 points in a game.
The Pick
With one more victory, New Orleans will finish with a winning season record for the first time since 2017-18, when it went 48-34. Add in that motivation, the playoff stakes, and the home finale, and this should be a win but the spread at U.S. betting sites is too high.
- Knicks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- Pelicans are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Friday games.
NBA Pick: Knicks +9 (-113) at BetOnline
Chicago Bulls vs. Dallas Mavericks
Friday, April 07, 2023 – 08:30 PM EDT at American Airlines Center
This game is basically the same as the one above in an Eastern Conference team locked into its playoff seeding with nothing to play for and likely sitting guys in Chicago against a Western Conference team that has all the motivation and will be playing everyone healthy in Dallas.
The Bulls will be the No. 10 seed in the East and most likely visit Toronto next week in the 9 vs. 10 play-in game. I’d expect the Raptors to win that and end a hugely disappointing season in Chicago. The Bulls are listing stars DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine as well as the team’s best perimeter defender, Alex Caruso, as questionable. I can’t imagine they play.
Teams Analysis
Chicago Bulls
The Mavs would surely be fine with that as on Dec. 10 in Chicago, they were crushed 144-115. Chicago scored 82 points in the first half, setting a franchise record for most first-half points. DeRozan had 28 points and nine rebounds and is averaging 25.6 ppg in his last five meetings with Dallas.
The Bulls are averaging a whopping 121.0 ppg in their past five wins in the series. Without DeRozan and LaVine, they aren’t getting 121 here.
Dallas Mavericks
Here’s what has to happen for the Mavs to make the playoffs as the West’s 10th seed: Win this game and Sunday at home vs. San Antonio, and I fully expect both to happen, and have Oklahoma City lose Sunday at home vs. Memphis.
The Grizzlies are locked into the No. 2 seed so it’s not clear if they will play their starters in that game. In one respect, why would they? In another, the NBA probably will press them to do so because it’s playoff-relevant.
The Mavs kept their hopes alive with a 123-119 comeback won over Sacramento on Wednesday to snap a three-game skid. Kyrie Irving was great, scoring 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter. Luka Doncic had 29 points and 10 rebounds. The Mavs improved to 5-11 when both Irving and Doncic play.
That was a horrible beat for Mavericks -5.5 bettors at Texas betting sites. Why? With time running out, Doncic casually flipped a three-quarter-court shot that went in. Officials stopped long enough to confirm it was after the buzzer so no basket and no Dallas cover.
The Pick
Like the game above, no doubt the home team should win but the spread is simply too high. The Bulls still have professional players, so you can trust them for your NBA picks.
- Bulls are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 road games.
- Mavericks are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games.
NBA Pick: Bulls +11.5 (-110) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
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