Top NBA Pick: Los Angeles Lakers -4 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
The NBA regular season is in its final week but that doesn’t mean we don’t have plenty of dramatic matchups. That is the case tonight when Luka Doncic makes his return to Dallas with the Los Angeles Lakers to take on his former team, the Mavericks. Will Luka put up a huge performance in this revenge game?
Also, the surging Sacramento Kings take on the Denver Nuggets. Can the Kings build upon their three game win streak against one of the league’s best teams? When these exciting games tip off, who should you back to make winning NBA picks?
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks
Wednesday, April 09, 2025 – 07:30 PM EDT at American Airlines Center
Luka’s Back in Dallas
When ESPN analyst Shams Charania announced the trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, everybody assumed that he had been hacked. There is no way that the Mavericks would do something so foolish, right? Well, it turns out that the Mavericks really did make this fatal mistake, and now Mavericks GM Nico Harrison has earned the ire of his fan base.
He took a promising franchise built around one of the most dynamic players in league history and jettisoned him for an injury prone player that was 7 years older in Anthony Davis. Davis proved how injury prone he was when he became injured in his Mavericks debut. Now the Mavericks will try to pick up the pieces, but there is not much hope amongst their fans after making one of the biggest mistakes in league history.
The Los Angeles Lakers were gifted an MVP candidate in the prime of his career and are going to do their best to take advantage of this gift. The Lakers went from a fringe contender to one of the top teams in the West. The Lakers have won four of their last five games and are sitting 11 games ahead of the Mavericks in the standings.
The Mavericks have been destroyed by injuries this season but are hoping that Daniel Gafford and Jaden Hardy make their returns to the lineup tonight. This should be an emotional game with the return of their former teammate who led them to the NBA Finals last year.
Fade the Mavs
The only way to look at this game is to bet on the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks have become one of the biggest jokes in the league after this trade, and their recent play has done nothing to dispel that notion. Dallas has lost three of their last four games, and none of them have been particularly close.
Last Saturday night, the Mavericks lost to the Clippers by 31 points. A stronger commissioner would have stepped in and stopped a trade from ruining a franchise and disheartening the fan base, but we know that Adam Silver is just a puppet for LeBron James and his Klutch Sports group. This trade cements the notion that the league is highly dependent on its superstars being in big cities in order to generate fan interest. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of the smaller franchises.
This game is easy to pick. Take the Lakers. You can also take Luka Doncic’s props as you know he’s going to have a huge night against his former team. Feel bad for the Mavericks fans, but do so with money in your pocket. Take the Los Angeles Lakers -5.
NBA Pick: Los Angeles Lakers -4 (-110) at BetOnline
Denver Nuggets vs. Sacramento Kings
Wednesday, April 09, 2025 – 10:00 PM EDT at Golden 1 Center
Kings Keep Chasing Relevance
Another hopeless franchise will take the court when the Sacramento Kings have another year of their futile attempts at playoff success. Rather than rebuild the team properly, the Kings are constantly making “win now” moves even though they do not have the roster, talent, or star players to justify such moves. As a result, the Kings are mired in mediocrity, fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament only to eventually be throttled on the big stage. The Kings are proof that if you have a clueless owner, it is impossible to compete in the National Basketball Association.
The Denver Nuggets are the opposite. They have the proper superstar to build around, yet they are not making “win now” moves. The Nuggets jettisoned key role players such as Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and are running with a very thin roster. As a result, the Nuggets are good enough to beat anybody but do not have the depth to be a true championship contender this year. The Nuggets need some of that Kings’ desperation because they are wasting the prime of the best player in the league, Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets come into this game on a four-game losing streak. The Nuggets are in danger of falling out of a top slot in the West and might have to hit the road for the first round of the playoffs. The Nuggets could potentially fall as far as the play-in tournament, which will put them in a one game, winner take-all situation. The Nuggets will be desperate to avoid that and build some momentum this week. However, due to their lack of depth, the Nuggets can be beaten by anybody on any night.
Malone Out, Now What?
At least the Kings are building some momentum coming into the playoffs. On Monday night, the Kings defeated the Detroit Pistons 127-117. This is coming off the heels of a 120-113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Kings will be looking for their fourth straight win to move up in the standings.
This game should be high scoring. The Nuggets are third in the league, averaging 120.7 points per game, and the Kings are 10th in the league, averaging 116 points per game. The Nuggets average 117.1 points per game allowed, which is 25th in the league. The Kings are 20th in points against at 115.5. These teams play fast and shoot well. We should be in for a high scoring affair tonight.
During the writing of this article, massive news came out that the Denver Nuggets fired their head coach Michael Malone, and their GM Calvin Booth. This is shocking due to the fact that the Nuggets are fighting for a championship, and a change in coach this time of year does not seem like it will yield great results.
However, the new coach bump cannot be ignored. Regardless of the team, regardless of the situation, bet on teams the first game after their coach gets fired. The players wanted to prove that the coach was the problem and not the players. Take the Denver Nuggets.
NBA Pick: Denver Nuggets -3.5 (-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.
