NBA Picks & Predictions: Tuesday (4/28)
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has three more playoff games on tap for Tuesday night, including a doubleheader on ESPN. The Philadelphia 76ers meet the Boston Celtics in Game 5 at TD Garden, and the Celtics can eliminate the 76ers with a victory. In Game 5 in the middle game of the slate, the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks play a pivotal Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on NBC and Peacock at 8:00 p.m. ET. Then, at 9:30 p.m. ET in the second end of the ESPN double dip, the San Antonio Spurs can put the final nail in the coffin of the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 5. Let’s build our bankroll with our best NBA picks & predictions for Tuesday, April 28th.
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Tuesday’s Best NBA Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Philadelphia 76ers (+380) at Boston Celtics (-490) | O/U 213.5 (-106/-114)
The 76ers picked up a 111-97 victory in Game 2 in Boston, and that raised a lot of eyebrows. Were the Celtics on the ropes? They were headed to Philadelphia, and the Sixers had home-court advantage. That was seized back with a 108-100 win in Game 3, although the 76ers were able to grab the cover as 8.5-point underdogs. In Game 4, though, the Celtics stopped fooling around, and pounded the 76ers, 128-96 ,as 5.5-point favorites while the Over (213.5) cashed.
Boston is on the verge of advancing to the second round, and the Game 2 loss was more of a wake-up call than any kind of threat to its playoff survival. The Over cashed in Game 4 for the first time in the series after defense ruled the day in the first three games.
We appeared to be on track for another Under result in Game 4, with Boston leading 56-38 at halftime, just 94 combined points. However, a 75-point third quarter ruined that nice little trend.
We’ll back the Celtics to roll to a Game 5 win at home, and we’ll go back to the Under, as Boston plays suffocating defense while showing Philly the door.
Picks: Celtics -11.5 (-108) & Under 213.5 Points (-114)
Atlanta Hawks (+215) at New York Knicks (-260) | O/U 213.5 (-114/-106)
The Hawks and Knicks have had a tug-of-war in their first-round series, and the road team has each won once in this series. In Game 4, with the Knicks facing a 2-1 series deficit, New York came up with a huge 114-98 victory as 1.5-point favorites as the Under (215.5) cashed on Saturday.
Karl-Anthony Towns took the team on his back, posting his first-career NBA playoff triple-double 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists with two steals in 29 minutes. The Knicks hit 49% (41-of-83) from the field, while the Hawks were just 41% (34-of-83). From distance, New York hit 45% (14-of-31) from behind the 3-point line, and Atlanta was just 24% (10-of-41). New York was plus-5 on rebounds, plus-3 on assists, and plus-4 in the turnover department, as it was truly a dominant effort. The Knicks were also plus-6 in points in the paint.
So far, both teams are 2-2 against the spread (ATS), so there isn’t a lot to glean there. However, you have to go with a gut feeling, and going back to MSG, the Knicks aren’t going to let the Hawks get them again, right? Let’s back New York laying the points.
As far as the total is concerned, the winning team has 114 or fewer points. New York is good for just 110.3 PPG, while Atlanta has 104.0 PPG in this series. Let’s lean low, but don’t get too carried away with the total play.
Picks: Knicks -6.5 (-108) & Under 213.5 Points (-106)
Portland Trail Blazers (+460) at San Antonio Spurs (-620) | O/U 216.5 (-110/-110)
Like Boston, the Spurs suffered a Game 2 loss at home. Instead of being in actual trouble, the game served as a wake-up call for San Antonio, too. It came back from Portland with a pair of double-digit victories and covers, and the Spurs are well on their way.
In Game 3, San Antonio picked up a 120-108 win in Portland as a 1.5-point favorite while the Over (219.5) cashed. They then posted a 114-93 victory as a 5.5-point favorite while the Under (216.5) cashed on Sunday. Victor Wembanyama was good for 27 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks, and four steals in a truly dominant effort. De’Aaron Fox was good for 28 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and two blocks with four triples in a complementary effort.
The Under is 5-2 in the past seven home games for the Spurs, and they’ll rely on defense to suck the life out of the Blazers in what should be their final game of the season. It’s Game 5, San Antonio is at home, and you can trust that the Spurs will win. Still, Portland catching 12.5 points is a lot with their season on the line. Let’s take the Blazers to keep it within 10, as Portland puts up a good fight on the way out the door.
Picks: Trail Blazers +12.5 (-115) & Under 216.5 Points (-110)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe