NBA Playoff Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (4/25)
The NBA playoffs have arrived. With a lot of teams in contention for most of the season and fighting for playoff spots, this could be an exciting postseason. We'll highlight the matchups and give you the same game parlays. Let's examine the games and dive into our best NBA bets for Friday, April 25.
Friday’s Best NBA Playoff Picks
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Boston Celtics (-3.5) at Orlando Magic| O/U 196.5 (-110/-110)
Once again, the Celtics will likely have to go without Jayson Tatum, who is listed as doubtful. The Magic kept it close for the second straight game, but the second half was all Celtics, and they now have a 2-0 lead.
What makes the Celtics so good and why they are champions is the next man up mentality. Last year's NBA Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown, dropped 36 points, and Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and a bloody nose, and only needed an eight-man rotation.
The Magic are one of the best defensive teams in the league, but they don't have as many offensive options outside of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner that can take over a game and push them to win.
Pick: Celtics -3.5 (-110)
Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves (-3) | O/U 207.5 (-110/-110)
The Lakers showed up in Game 2 with a win and tied this series at one. Two things they did made a big difference: they spread the ball around and played defense. They only had 15 assists in Game 1 compared to 23 in Game 2, and the Timberwolves shot 38% compared to 51% in Game 1.
In order for them to continue making this push, they need to run the ball through Luka and LeBron. They were great at putting points on the board, and they were able to spread the ball around; they had four assists between them in Game 1, which moved up to 16 in Game 2.
Minnesota needs to get back to pressuring the ball handler, as the defense suffered a major regression in Game 2. It will be tough to stop LeBron and Luka from scoring, but four Los Angeles starters finished with double-digit points. They also cannot get beaten on the boards like that when they have Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle.
The Lakers have found their momentum and could produce an equally excellent performance as in Game 2.
Indiana Pacers at Milwaukee Bucks (-5) | O/U 230.5 (-108/-112)
Giannis Antetokounmpo had another dominant performance in Game 2 with 34 points and 18 rebounds. Unfortunately for the Bucks, he's the only one contributing to this series. Hopefully, with Damian Lillard getting his feet wet in his return will help. He had a decent return with 14 points and seven assists, but it is clear they need Dame Time for the Bucks to make this into a series.
Milwaukee needs to figure out how to contain Pascal Siakam. They have had difficulty stopping him for some time, and he's coming off scoring 24 points, which is his average against the Bucks this season. Haliburton has back-to-back double-doubles and is averaging a double-double (17 pts, 10 reb) against Milwaukee this year.
The Bucks have beaten the Pacers in both home games during the regular season. This could be a bounce-back game with Lillard getting a game under his belt and the crowd behind them.