Masters Picks
April 4, 2023
Masters Matchup Picks
April 4, 2023
There were no games on Monday night as the NBA ceded center stage to college basketball. The Connecticut Huskies capped off a dominant run in the NCAA Tournament, winning all six of their games by 12 points or more on their way to winning their fifth national championship in the last 24 years. UConn cruised to a 17-point victory over the San Diego State Aztecs, putting the cap on the college basketball season.
Only six days are left in the NBA regular season. Every team has either three or four games remaining in this final week of action, and we still have much to determine before the play-in tournament gets underway next Tuesday. Every game between a team with something to play for and a team that has been eliminated from playoff contention has massively inflated NBA betting odds, but that backfired in a big way for bettors on Sunday. Two underdogs of 16 points or more won outright on the same day for the first time in over 30 years. That is something to keep in the back of your head as it seems like bettors haven’t learned their lesson as six teams are currently double digit underdogs by the NBA betting line at BetRivers Sportsbook on Tuesday night.
NBA Betting Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook
Brooklyn Nets at Detroit Pistons
This might seem like a puzzling pick as the Detroit Pistons have lost 20 of their last 21 games. However, Detroit is pretty much guaranteed to have the worst record in the league now that they have three less wins than the Houston Rockets, so we should see them end the season on a relative high note. Detroit has been somewhat competitive recently, losing three of its last four games by single digits, and the Pistons should be a double-digit underdog by the basketball betting odds since they are an 11.5-point underdog to the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. A loss in that game pretty much seals their fate, and they will play the Brooklyn Nets the following night in the Motor City.
Detroit’s young players are starting to come along given the amount of playing time they have received over the last couple months. Rookie Jaden Ivey averaged 18.3 PPG and 7.1 APG in March, while James Wiseman is averaging 13.1 PPG and 8.5 RPG in 20 games with Detroit since coming over in a trade with the Golden State Warriors.
Brooklyn has won three straight games and is two games ahead of Miami in the battle for the No. 6 seed. The Nets lost six of seven games before their recent win streak though, and they will be at a disadvantage since they have to play on Tuesday night before traveling to Detroit. The good news is that they are healthy, but they don’t have a lot of talent that they can just lean on in a game like this against the Pistons. That should lead to Detroit covering the number.
New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers
The New York Knicks have won four straight games to essentially lock up the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. New York is three games behind Cleveland and 2.5 games ahead of Brooklyn, so it would be hard for the Knicks to move up or move down in their final three games.
Still, the New York Knicks will be a big road favorite by the basketball betting lines against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. The Knicks will have had two days off before this game, and the Pacers have nothing to play for with a record of 34-45. Indiana has lost five of its last six games, but this team has still been competitive recently with road wins over Toronto and Milwaukee in the last few weeks.
Tyrese Haliburton, Chris Duarte, and Myles Turner will probably sit out the rest of the season for the Pacers at this point, but the Knicks are going to start resting guys with an eye towards the postseason too. That could lead to this game being much closer than the experts think, especially with Julius Randle already out and R.J. Barrett likely out for the visitors.
