The National Basketball Association has just one postseason game on the board for Saturday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder looks to keep its season alive in Game 6 of a Western Conference Semifinals matchup against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center in the Metroplex.
Let’s keep working on building that bankroll for the rest of the NBA playoffs with our top picks for Saturday’s Game 6 between the Mavericks and Thunder.
Saturday’s Best NBA Bets
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All wagers are for 1 unit
Oklahoma City Thunder (+142) @ Dallas Mavericks (-168) | O/U 210.5 (-108/-112)
Let’s go crazy here. It’s Saturday, and it’s time to make some serious cake.
The Mavs look to eliminate the pesky Thunder on Saturday night at American Airlines Center, and it won’t be easy. But laying the points, and taking Dallas to win by at least two buckets is a sound play. In addition, it’s an elimination game, so you can expect things to be tight, scoring-wise. The Mavericks are going to be careful down the stretch, and they’ll likely be playing their slow, deliberate style, to limit the opportunities for the Thunder, and namely Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to beat them, and force a decisive Game 7 back in OKC. As such, playing the Under is also a good bet.
Dallas has covered three of the past four meetings, and the Under has connected in each of the past three in the series. Going with the Mavs, and the Under, in a two-part parlay is a strong bet. The Under is 5-1 in the past six battles dating back to the final regular-season meeting in OKC on April 14, too.
Now, let’s get to the crazy part. If the two-part parlay isn’t good enough for you, let’s toss in a few player props to spice things up.
I wanted to go Over on the Shea Gilgeous-Alexander point total, as he has had 29 or more points in every game in this series, and 30 or more points in each of the past four. However, since we’re looking for an Under result, cheering the other way, and going high on the best offensive player for the Thunder seems counterproductive. Instead, let’s focus on Luguentz Dort. He was good for 12 points and six rebounds in Game 5, and the 25-year-old former Arizona State standout has gathered 14 boards in the past two games, while going for six or more rebounds in three of the past four. He is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game in this series, and he has 43 boards in nine games, or 4.8 RPG. He needs to get to five rebounds to make this SGP stay on track, and the way he is going, it’s a good bet he’ll exceed that total and get at least five rebounds.
Meanwhile, shooting guard Josh Giddey came off the pine in Game 5 and connected for 11 points on a very efficient 5-of-8 shooting night, including one 3-pointer. While Isaiah Joe started the game, he finished with just six points and a 2-of-9 shooting performance in 22 minutes, hitting a pair of triples. Giddey came alive late in the New Orleans series, too, going for 16.0 PPG in the final three games after a slow start, and he managed single digits in the first four games of this series before producing his best scoring performance in Game 5. All he needs to do is get to six points to cash, and that seems like a certainty. He has eight or more points in three of the past four games, and six of the previous eight outings.
Bet: Mavericks -3.5 (-110) & Under 210.5 (-112)
Same-Game Parlay
- Leg 1: Mavericks -3.5 (-110)
- Leg 2: Under 210.5 (-112)
- Leg 3: Luguentz Dort Over 4.5 Rebounds (-106)
- Leg 4: Josh Giddey Over 5.5 Points (-136)
If you’re building a Same-Game Parlay (SGP), in addition to taking the Mavs ML and Under, go with Dort to cash high on boards, and Giddey to come off the bench to get at least six points. It doesn’t seem like an SGP which will be too tough to cash, unless Oklahoma City spoils the party and extends the series. For a chance to multiply up by nearly 11 times, this is certainly a 4-leg SGP which is worth a roll of the dice.
And, if you’re feeling really crazy, and want to toss in SGA for his points, Shea Gilgeous-Alexander (Over 31.5) would make a 5-leg SGP worth +5665. For a $5 wager, that would pay out $283.26. Good luck!
Total Parlay Odds: +1089
Daniel E. Dobish is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Daniel, check out his archive and follow him @danieledobish.