Top NBA Betting Picks & Predictions of the Week – April 19th

Don’t look now, but the Philadelphia 76ers have pushed past Cleveland into third place in the Eastern Conference standings with just three days remaining in the NBA’s 2017-18 regular season. A 14-game winning streak has moved the Sixers just four games back of Boston for second place, and if the Sixers can hang on, they’ll have a first-round matchup with a more beatable team and likely push the Cavaliers into a second-round matchup with top-seeded Toronto. In the Western Conference, the Portland Trail Blazers are about to waste their big winning streak and slip down past Utah, and possibly way down into the bottom half of the playoff bracket. Portland currently sits in third place, and while they have clinched a postseason spot, they are just a game up on Utah and two games up on New Orleans, San Antonio and Oklahoma City, and just three games up on Minnesota and Denver — so things are coming down to the wire in the West. Check out our NBA betting picks for the last three days of the regular season.

Top NBA Betting Picks & Predictions of the Week – April 19th

As the long NBA season winds down, how does every team stack up? Find out in the last edition of our NBA Power Rankings (by @minutemandan) https://t.co/DVSlpSZbV9

— FanSided (@FanSided) April 9, 2018

Monday, April 9

Cleveland at New York (7:30pm ET, NBA TV)

After losing to Philadelphia by a 132-130 score on Friday night (after trailing by as many as 30 in the early going), Cleveland has had the rest of the weekend to think about that loss to one of the up-and-coming teams in the East. Before that, the Cavs had rattled off five wins in a row, including takedowns of Toronto and Washington at home. That loss to Philadelphia overshadowed a 44-point night from LeBron James, and now Cleveland hopes that Philadelphia will slip up in one of their last two games (against Atlanta and Milwaukee) while the Cavaliers have a pair of relatively easy games with a home-and-home against the Knicks. And how about New York? They have lost five of six, with a 24-point thrashing of Miami surrounded by losses to Charlotte, Philadelphia, Detroit, Orlando and Milwaukee. Rookie Frank Ntilikina has emerged as a defensive force for the Knicks, but this is not a team that can play with the Cavaliers on either end of the floor. If New York somehow wins or covers, that would happen as the result of another Cleveland power outage — which given that loss in Philadelphia, shouldn’t happen. NBA Betting Prediction: Cleveland 118, New York 102

Tuesday, April 10

Boston at Washington (8:00pm ET, TNT)

The Boston Celtics have dropped three of four, including a 112-106 home loss to lowly Atlanta on Sunday, in which Taurean Prince put up 33 for the visitors. Before you start betting on the Celtics to lose in the opening round of the postseason, though, it would be good to note that the Celtics did not play Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Terry Rozier or Al Horford at all in the fourth quarter. Given the fact that the Celtics won’t have Gordon Hayward or Kyrie Irving at all this year and they won’t have Marcus Smart for at least the beginning of the playoffs, Boston coach Brad Stevens is likely to get his starters rest in the remaining games of the regular season and give his bench some time on the floor. The Celtics visit a Washington team that sits in eighth place in the East and has lost four straight. They will make the playoffs, but if they can win two and see Miami and/or Milwaukee lose two, they could go as high as sixth in the conference. While two of the Wizards’ most recent losses have come against the league’s elite (at Houston and at Cleveland), they’ve also lost to lottery-bound Atlanta (at home) and Chicago (on the road). Even if Washington can’t pull off a win against Boston on Tuesday, their urgency in postseason positioning should motivate them to stay close. NBA Betting Prediction: Washington 107, Boston 105

Wednesday, April 11

Utah at Portland (10:30pm ET, ESPN)

Since January 22, Utah has gone 28-5 following a disappointing loss to Atlanta. One big difference has been the emergence of a healthy Rudy Gobert. Over that time frame, Utah ranks first in defensive efficiency (97.9) and 13th in offensive efficiency (108.5). Playing home games at altitude gives them a conditioning advantage that other teams lack, but the outstanding play of Donovan Mitchell and the rest of the Jazz crew has given the team a real jolt. The visit a Portland team that has dropped three in a row, falling in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. While the Houston and San Antonio losses aren’t all that alarming, losing to Dallas (even on the road) is a no-no for a postseason contender. Portland faces the Denver Nuggets (currently hungry and in ninth) on the road on Monday before finishing at home against the Jazz. While I don’t see Portland winning in Denver, I do see them coming home to take care of business against Utah and secure their third-place position. The scoring tandem of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum is just too much for Utah when they are firing on all cylinders. NBA Betting Prediction: Portland 119, Utah 111