NBA Playoffs Round 1: Free NBA Picks Today for Tuesday, April 18th, 2023

Our free NBA picks are out for Tuesday, April 18th, 2023! Make sure you check our NBA picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free NBA picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!

Atlanta Hawks @ Boston Celtics – 7pm ET

Tony Battalio

The Atlanta Hawks looked terrible and their first game of the series against the Boston Celtics and now they will be looking to bounce back and even up the series before heading home for two games. They weren’t competitive in the slightest as the Boston Celtics blew out Atlanta in route to a game one victory. Now they will be looking to bounce back here and Game number to avoid trailing two to nothing. They will need to defend Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in this one if they wanna have a legitimate shot at grabbing the victory on Tuesday night.

The Boston Celtics were cruising on all cylinders in the first game of the series against the Atlanta Hawks last weekend. Now they will be looking to pick up their second consecutive victory of the series and take a two games to zero lead on the road to Atlanta for games three and four. If Jayson, Tatum and Jaylen Brown can replicate their performance from the first game of the series, Boston should have a similar outcome, and they should win this one in blowout fashion. That is exactly what I expect as I have the Boston Celtics covering the spread in this one.

New York Knicks @ Cleveland Cavaliers – 7:30pm ET

Tony Battalio

The New York Knicks look nearly unstoppable during their game on victory as the Cleveland Cavaliers were absolutely out rebounded and out, played on their own home floor. That has been a rare site this season as Cleveland has been one of the best home teams in the entire league this season. Now the New York Knicks will be looking to replicate their game one performance with solid games from Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle to take a two to nothing lead before heading back to New York City. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be looking to bounce back in the second game of the series after their disappointing loss in game number one. The same nagging problem that they have had all season came back to haunt them in the first game of the playoffs series as their bench didn’t produce at all. They will have to find a way to get a lot better, and they will have to find a way to pull out some more key rebounds in the second game of the series. If they don’t, they will find themselves heading to Madison Square Garden for the next two games in a 2 to 0 hole, and their season could be over before it even really gets started. However, I don’t see that happening as I think Cleveland will pick up the victory in this game.

Los Angeles Clippers @ Phoenix Suns – 10pm ET

Tony Battalio

The Los Angeles Clippers are coming into this one after getting a huge win in game number one of the series. They will be looking to repeat that performance in the second game of the series against the Phoenix Suns and take a 2-0 lead before heading back to Los Angeles for the third and fourth games of the series. They found a way to get the win and hold onto the lead despite having three superstars on the Suns roster. Now they will be hoping that they can do the same in game number two of the series as well. 

The Phoenix Suns will be looking to bounce back in the second game of this series against the Los Angeles Clippers. They will have to find a way to contain Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul if they want to pick up the victory here in game number two and avoid falling behind two games before heading to Los Angeles. Devin Booker and Kevin Durant will have to perform better than they did in game one to help lead Phoenix to a much-needed victory. That’s exactly what I expect to happen as I have Phoenix evening up the series in this game.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.