NBA Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saturday (4/4)
There are just three NBA games on Saturday, with a pair of afternoon battles at 3:00 p.m. ET, as the pro ranks cede the limelight to college basketball and the Final Four games in Indianapolis. The San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets meet on Amazon Prime Video at 3:00 p.m. at Ball Arena in Denver, while the Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers battle at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBA TV in the only pro game to go head-to-head with the Final Four. Let’s build our bankroll with our best NBA picks & predictions for Saturday, April 4th.
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Saturday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
San Antonio Spurs (-134) at Denver Nuggets (+114) | O/U 242.5 (-112/-108)
The Spurs (59-19) and Nuggets (49-28) meet at Ball Arena in Denver at 3:00 p.m. ET in a battle on Amazon Prime Video. These teams have split the first two meetings, with the road team winning and covering in each. The over has cashed in both games.
San Antonio trails the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder by two games with five contests remaining in the regular season. The Spurs have won 11 consecutive games, and have a 29-11 road record. Denver holds the No. 4 seed by one game over the Rockets in the Western Conference. They have won seven in a row.
San Antonio has managed a 4-2 against the spread (ATS) mark in the past six games, and the under is on a 4-1 run in the previous five contests.
Denver picked up a 130-117 win at Utah, its seventh consecutive victory. However, it is just 1-4 ATS in the past five games and 2-6 ATS across the previous eight outings. The under has cashed in the past two games, but the over is 4-2 across the previous six outings.
Denver leads the NBA with 121.4 points per game (PPG), while posting a 39.5% three-point field-goal rate. It is second in The Association with a 49.5% field-goal rate. On defense, Denver allows 116.6 PPG (20th), with a 46.9% field-goal rate (13th), while giving up a 34.7% three-point rate (third).
San Antonio is an offensive juggernaut, too, posting 119.6 PPG (third), while hitting 48.3% (fourth) from the field, with a 36% (14th) mark from behind the arc. On defense, the Spurs allow just 111.1 PPG (sixth), a 45% field-goal rate (fourth) and a 35.1% three-point rate (sixth).
Let’s go with the over, and we’ll side with the Nuggets, who have Peyton Watson (hamstring) out, but no other notable absences.
Picks: Nuggets Moneyline (+114) & Over 242.5 Points (-112)
Detroit Pistons (-112) at Philadelphia 76ers (-104) | O/U 227.5 (-110/-110)
The Pistons (56-21) and 76ers (43-34) meet at Xfinity Mobile Center in Philadelphia at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBA TV. The Pistons occupy the top spot in the Eastern Conference, three games clear of the Boston Celtics. The 76ers are in the sixth spot, tied with the Toronto Raptors at 43-34. That No. 6 seed is important, as it avoids having to take part in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Detroit has won all three games this season, and the average margin of victory is 11.3 PPG in those three matchups. That includes a 131-109 win as a 15.5-point favorite at Little Caesars Arena on March 12th, as the over (224.5) cashed.
The Pistons have won four of the past five games, while going 4-1 ATS in that span. The over is 4-2 in the previous six games. Detroit is also 8-2 straight up (SU) in the past 10 games, and both of those losses came in overtime.
The Pistons’ last loss in regulation was on March 15th in Toronto, a 118-109 loss. The Pistons are 7-2 ATS in the previous nine outings, Detroit has covered three in a row on the road, too, while the over has cashed in four of the past six outings on the road.
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU/ATS in the past five games, while going 6-2 ATS in the previous eight contests, and the under has hit in three of the past four outings. The Sixers are 3-1 ATS in the past four games at home, while the under is 4-1 in the past five games at home, too.
Let’s take the Pistons laying the points, and we will also bet on the over.
Picks: Pistons -1.5 (-110) & Over 227.5 Points (-110)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe