A massive full day of action to round out the week and our NBA picks have the best five games from across the day and provided you with the winners of all of them.
There is no better way to finish the weekend with some winners and our in-depth analysis for each of the five games should provide you with the confidence to back our tips and see the accounts fill up.
Can the Knicks continue their winning ways and get a sixth straight? Will the Heat bounce back after being publicly called out by Jimmy Butler? We have all of the answers and all of the winners in our NBA picks below.
Indiana Pacers @ Atlanta Hawks – 1PM ET
The Indiana Pacers will look to round out their three game road trip with a win when they face the Atlanta Hawks this afternoon. After sticking within eight of the league-leading Jazz on Friday, the Pacers will take some confidence from that close loss into a game with an Atlanta side that just had their three game winning streak broken.
The Hawks were really no match for the Bucks on Thursday night, losing 109-120 despite welcoming back Trae Young from a two game absence. Young had 15 points and nine assists in his return, which had no impact on Bogdan Bogdanovic’s hot form. The Hawks big offseason acquisition finished with a game high 28 points while adding seven assists and six rebounds.
On the other side of the ball, the Pacers have been extremely inconsistent of late, most recently falling 111-119 in Utah. Caris LeVert led the team in scoring, once again, with 24 points while Domantas Sabonis had another spectacular game with 22, 15 and seven assists.
.@solohill caught 🔥 on Thursday, going 6-8 from deep!
This earned him the @scanaenergy Hot Shot of the Week. pic.twitter.com/03l9t3wj3V
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 17, 2021
Both sides lost the rebound battle in their most recent game and also shot worse from the field, two key indicators that determine the outcomes of games. Myles Turner, who has missed the last six games, being upgraded to questionable is a massive boost for the Pacers on the inside and could allow them to control the game better and lock down on defense. On the other hand, if he doesn’t return to the lineup then Clint Capela, the league leader for rebounds, will have his way and help the Hawks get over the line.
Atlanta are the home side in this one, a big boost for them, and with the Pacers playing tomorrow night again we think they may rest players or hold Turner back. The Hawks should one this, but keep an eye on the injury report before the game.
NBA Pick – Atlanta Hawks (-194)
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New Orleans Pelicans @ New York Knicks – 1PM ET
The New York Knicks have now won five straight games, their longest winning streak in the last seven years, and return home looking to extend it. They host the New Orleans Pelicans, a team they beat, in their building, just four nights ago.
Following that 116-106 win in New Orleans, the Knicks travelled to Dallas and picked up the 117-109 win, led by the Most Improved Player favorite, Julius Randle. The break-out All Star was dominant in the win, putting up 44 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to guide his team to victory.
The was after a 32 point, eight rebound and five assist performance against the Pelicans on Wednesday night while both Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson scored 25+ and seven assists for the home side.
New Orleans have come out since then and suffered a 115-117 overtime defeat in Washington, managing just 16 points in the decisive fourth quarter before crumbling late in the extra period. Ingram led the way for the Pelicans, putting up 34 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals but he and Williamson combined for 10 turnovers and that is far too many from the pair.
While the Pelicans will want to prevent a third straight loss in this clash, it is hard to see how they can turn things around in such a short period of time. The Knicks beat them convincingly during the week and are obviously the form team across the league, something that should continue here.
NBA Pick – New York Knicks (-136)
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Brooklyn Nets @ Miami Heat – 3:30PM ET
The Miami Heat host the Brooklyn Nets in an All Star showdown with the likes of Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving and Bam Adebayo headlining the action. Brooklyn heads down south following a massive home win over Charlotte while the Heat ended their road trip on a three game losing streak and their play has been raising eyebrows.
Butler called his team out, saying that they are playing soft after their 111-119 loss in Minnesota, their 10th loss from their last 16 games. The loss was at no fault of his own as the Heat’s leader had a spectacular performance with 30 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals, all team highs.
Joey got 𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 last night
📼 26 PTS | 6 3PM 📼 pic.twitter.com/OajmRsGkBL
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 17, 2021
He will need a bit more help in this afternoon’s contest, a clash with the superteam Nets. With the likes of Durant and Irving in uniform, Joe Harris finds himself with more time to get off shots and that is exactly what happened in this one. The sharpshooter finished with a team high 26 points thanks to 6/9 shooting from deep.
Performances like that allow the Nets to still put up 130 points despite Irving finishing with just 12 points on 5/11 shooting. We are expecting a much better performance from him in this one and that is even without mentioning Durant’s 28 points per game too. Miami should show more effort after being called out publicly from their star player, but the Nets should just be too powerful in this one.
NBA Pick – Brooklyn Nets (-240)
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Portland Trail Blazers @ Charlotte Hornets – 7PM ET
The Charlotte Hornets return home in an attempt to snap their four game losing streak, hosting the Portland Trail Blazers this evening. Both sides have been playing some pretty average basketball of late, but the Blazers won their most recent game and are the better overall team.
With Damian Lillard on the sidelines, CJ McCollum stepped up with a game high 29 points on 50% shooting. Portland were boosted by three different bench players scoring in double figures and they will need the same again tonight with Lillard still sidelined with his hamstring injury.
Charlotte have had their fair share of injury issues as well with Devonte’ Graham missing the last game with a quad contusion, joining PJ Washington (three games) and the pair of longer term injuries in LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward on the sidelines.
Both Graham and Washington are just questionable for this clash meaning that Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier will need to continue doing the heavy lifting for the Hornets. In their 115-130 loss in Brooklyn, Bridges had a game high 33 points while Rozier added 27 points and 10 assists but ultimately they weren’t good enough defensively to pick up the win.
Portland are rightly favorites in this clash, having slightly better form and a better lineup for this one, even without Lillard. Charlotte have definitely shown that they can be competitive, being 8-7 as home underdogs, but most of those wins came before their glut of injuries and that will prove costly here again.
NBA Pick – Portland Trail Blazers (-210)
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Sacramento Kings @ Dallas Mavericks – 7:30PM ET
The Dallas Mavericks seem to have found themselves in a bit of poor form of late, losing three of their last four games and being a lucky Luka Doncic shot away from losing the fourth too. They now have a bit more luck, hosting the struggling Sacramento Kings tonight, who have lost an equal league worst nine straight games.
Most recently the Kings lost 114-122 in Phoenix, a slightly more competitive performance but still another loss. Sacramento trailed for most of the night despite 27 points and eight assists from De’Aaron Fox and 24 points from Buddy Hield.
Luka is averaging 28.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 8.8 APG, 18.2 PIE. Currently ranked 3rd on KIA MVP Ladder from 6th last week.#lukadoncic #thedon #dallasmavericks #kiamvp pic.twitter.com/b7uJvTq4tG
— Luka Doncic Philippines🇵🇭 (@lukadoncicph) April 18, 2021
The Kings seem to be the perfect opponent for the Mavs to play themselves back into some form and start getting their season back on track for a late push. Dallas has been stuck in seventh in the West, unable to jump Portland in sixth, who have been playing poorly themselves.
Luka Doncic had 22 points and an incredible 19 assists while Kristaps Porzingis had team highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds but the Mavs couldn’t keep up with New York on Friday, losing 109-117. The shooting was a low point, managing just 44% from the field and 33.3% from deep for the game.
Sacramento has the worst defense in basketball, ranking last for points allowed as well as defensive rating, something Dallas should be looking to take advantage of. Dallas to win seems a pretty nice way to round out a massive night of action and a massive week for our NBA picks.
NBA Pick – Dallas Mavericks (-340)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
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