Do you want five free winners for tonights action? Our NBA picks have got just what you need! We have handpicked the best five games of the night to provide our followers with winners to top up the accounts after a big weekend.
The Pacers and Wizards face off in what is a potential play-in matchup while the red hot Nuggets will look to take advantage of bruised and battered Lakers side.
We have analysed every aspect of each game and our NBA picks has founds some serious value in the markets. Read on below as you won’t want to miss this.
Indiana Pacers @ Washington Wizards – 7PM ET
The Washington Wizards host the Indiana Pacers in a matchup where, if the season ended today, they would be facing off in a sudden death, elimination 9v10 play-in game. Luckily for us as fans, this is the first of two meetings between the sides before the regular season concludes. Washington gets the upper hand in the first leg, playing at home, however Indiana is coming off one of the best performances in league history.
Playing the struggling and tanking Oklahoma City, Indiana went to work and came out on top 152-95. The 57 point margin is the biggest ever road win in NBA history, which is truly incredible. Domantas Sabonis returned from a six game absence to put up 26 points, 19 rebounds and 14 assists while Doug McDermott top scored with 31 points.
Domantas Sabonis became the third player with a first-half triple double since 1997-98! 🤯@Dsabonis11: 26p/19r/14a in @Pacers W pic.twitter.com/RKkwNxZWCK
— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2021
The worry for Indiana is they lost their previous two before that, to the Nets and Blazers, and Malcolm Brogdon is listed as questionable due to a hamstring injury. Washington on the other hand is relatively healthy and is coming in hungry after a heartbreaking loss to the Mavs on Saturday.
Washington had a two point lead with under 10 seconds remaining but gave up a three to Dorian Finney-Smith and Bradley Beal wasn’t able to answer, losing 124-125. Despite it being a loss, there are some massive positives in that they lead for most of the second half and Russell Westbrook scored 42 points on 17/30 shooting, tying his season high for points.
Both sides know the importance of this clash with just two weeks left in the regular season but we are backing the home side to come out and make a statement. With the uncertainty surrounding Brogdon’s playing status and the way Westbrook and Beal are connecting right now, it is hard to see the Pacers being able to slow down the Wizards tonight.
NBA Pick – Washington Wizards (-205)
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Golden State Warriors @ New Orleans Pelicans – 7:30PM ET
The Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans are taking part in a world first NBA x Marvel spectacle titled ‘Arena of Heroes’. The broadcast will have a fun Marvel spin on it but don’t let that distract you from the fact that this game has serious playoff implications. Both sides have eight games remaining and the Warriors hold just a three game lead over the Pelicans, who are currently out of the play-in picture.
New Orleans are coming for it too, winning three of their last four, with the loss being by just two points to the red hot Nuggets. Their most recent performance saw them snap the Timberwolves four game winning streak, winning 140-136 in overtime. Zion Williamson was a monster for the Pelicans, finishing with a statline of 37 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while Lonzo Ball’s hot form continued with 33 points, 11 boards and eight assists as well.
When looking at the Warriors recent form, they are just 2-2 from their last four and lost to the Timberwolves in that stretch. After their 12 point loss in Minnesota, Golden State got an easy bounce back game against the Rockets, winning 113-87. Steph Curry was up to his usual tricks, scoring 30 points thanks to seven threes, adding six rebounds and five assists, helping to get his team back on track as we get into the pointy end of the season.
This is the first of two games in as many nights between the sides and they will play a third time next week. With just 14 days left of the regular season, it is now or never for the Pelicans. Wins over the Warriors are almost worth double, catching up full games at a time with every win. The issue is they have to actually win them. New Orleans is just 8-12 as home favorites this season however Golden State are 5-16 as road underdogs and are coming in with slightly worse form.
Curry always gets his shots off but the main factor for New Orleans is that Ball will be all over him defensively whilst also making him work on the other end. Ball’s aggression unlocks a whole new aspect to the Pelicans offense and will help them get over the line in this spectacle.
NBA Pick – New Orleans Pelicans (-154)
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Portland Trail Blazers @ Atlanta Hawks – 8PM ET
One night after knocking off the Celtics and collecting their fourth straight road victory, the Portland Trail Blazers will be looking to add the Atlanta Hawks to their list of victims. After knocking off Indiana, Memphis, Brooklyn and Boston, Portland has thrust themselves into a three-way tie for fifth in the West. Looking at the Eastern Conference standings, Atlanta are also in a tie for fifth place, meaning wins are vital for both of these teams.
Trae Young has been back in the lineup for two games since returning from a high ankle sprain and while his first outing brought no luck to the Hawks, Saturday’s performance got them over the line. Atlanta beat the Bulls 108-97 behind 33 points and seven assists from Young, with John Collins and Clint Capela adding double doubles.
These sides actually match up quite well on each other but it will be interesting to see how Young goes defensively, having to guard Damian Lillard all night whilst being the main provider of offense for the Hawks. Atlanta can’t hide Young on defense either because if Lillard isn’t doing it then CJ McCollum will.
Carmelo Anthony last 11 games:
16.0 PPG
2.8 3PG
50.0 3P%The Blazers have outscored opponents by 64 points with Melo on the floor in that span, the second highest +/- on the team. pic.twitter.com/3p92p2EyUa
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 3, 2021
Last night, both of them had it going. Lillard ended with 26 points and 13 assists while McCollum had a team high 33 points. One of the more underrated, yet nearly most important contests of the night will be the bigs. Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 11 boards last night and his defense against the pick and roll could very well help determine the outcome.
Portland’s offense is what has gotten them going over this four game streak, averaging 130 points per game and going no lower than 128. That will be put to the test against an Atlanta defense that gives up an average of just 111.4 points per game and is even better on their home floor.
In saying that, when looking at the sides’ offensive and defensive ratings, Portland’s offense ranks fifth while Atlanta’s defense is just 21st. That isn’t the only disparity with the Hawks ranking 10th for offensive rating while the Blazers are second last defensively. With Portland playing last night, many may think that the lack of rest could work against them but they are 8-6 on the second night of back to backs so far this season and will carry over momentum from last night’s big win.
NBA Pick – Portland Trail Blazers (+102)
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Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers – 10PM ET
The Denver Nuggets are the hottest team in the league, winners of a current league high five straight games and going 9-1 in their last 10, all since losing Jamal Murray. They now roll into LA to take on the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that is seriously struggling right now and could be an easy kill for the road side.
Despite LeBron James returning to the lineup for the last two games, the Lakers have lost to the Kings and Raptors, both at home. Last night the Lakers saw a 21-40 second period put the game out of their reach and matters only got worse when James went back to the locker room and did not return. His night finished after 27 minutes with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists with Kyle Kuzma scoring a team high 24 points off the bench.
LA have now lost three straight and six of their last seven, dropping into the three way tie for fifth with Portland and Dallas. The Lakers may be 5-4 when playing with no rest, the eighth best record in the league under such situations, but they haven’t played a team in as good of form as Denver, which is worrying.
This stretch has all but locked up the MVP for Nikola Jokic as he put in another incredible performance over the Clippers on Saturday night. With the season series and the third seed in the conference on the line, Jokic put up 30 points on 53% shooting with 14 boards and seven assists, all without turning the ball over once! Michael Porter Jr continued to thrive as second fiddle with an efficient 25 point, seven rebound and five assist night.
Denver’s play over the last few weeks has been spectacular and we see no reason why they can’t go on and win again here. With James leaving early last night and the Lakers being on the quick turnaround, we are expecting some key outs for this clash and that is even more beneficial for the Nuggets. We can’t see any reason why the odds are so close in this contest and would suggest taking Denver in the spread for better value.
NBA Pick – Denver Nuggets (-126)
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San Antonio Spurs @ Utah Jazz – 10PM ET
The depleted San Antonio Spurs took the Sixers to overtime last night and now have to back it up, on the road, against the Utah Jazz tonight. With DeMar DeRozan, Dejounte Murray, Derrick White and Jakob Poeltl all in street clothes, the Spurs nearly stole one from Philly, losing on a buzzer beating tip in, but they get another opportunity to knock off one of the top teams in the league again tonight.
With so many outs, all of whom except White are expected back for this one, San Antonio needed greater contributions across the board. Lonnie Walker IV top scored with 23 points off the bench while Keldon Johnson made multiple clutch plays to keep the Spurs in it.
Jordan Clarkson, my goodness. 😳💥
(🎥: @utahjazz)
pic.twitter.com/VgD4dZdvpl— theScore (@theScore) May 2, 2021
Ultimately, they were too undermanned and just fell short but their opponents for tonight have been far from impressive over the last week or so of action. Utah has lost three of their last five games and Saturday saw them just scrape by Toronto.
With both Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley sidelined again, Bojan Bogdanovic stepped up to take charge. He ended with a game high 34 points with both Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson chipping in 15. The big plus for the Jazz, who will still be without their two main guards, is that they stay at home for this clash. They still own the league’s best home record, 27-4, and come in with an extra night’s rest to prepare.
While Utah may be more rested, three of the Spurs starters got last night off to prepare for this clash and the Jazz have never been more vulnerable. San Antonio’s road record, 18-12, is far better than their home record, 13-20, and with the Jazz missing their two best players we are liking the value with the Spurs.
NBA Pick – San Antonio Spurs (+240)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
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