Saturday, May 4 NBA Playoff Parlay Picks

There’s nothing like a Game 7 to determine the winner of a NBA playoff series. We could potentially have two of them on Saturday, May 4 just adding another layer of excitement to our NBA parlay. Depending on how things go on Thursday night Milwaukee could be hosting Indiana and New York entertaining Philadelphia to conclude those Eastern Conference first round series. We know for sure that the second round in the Western Conference will get underway with the defending champion Denver Nuggets hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their series.

Fatigue shouldn’t be a factor for either team since they both cruised through their first round opponent. The Wolves won their first playoff series since 2004 sweeping the Phoenix Suns and covering the NBA betting line in all four games. They won the first three games by an average of 18 points closing out the No. 6 seed with a 6-point road victory where the Wolves were catching 1-point on the NBA line. For the second year in a row the Nuggets ended the Lakers’ season, beating them in five games. Denver was able to close out the tight games winning two of the last three by 2-points, including the clincher. The Nuggets cashed the UNDER on the NBA odds in four of the five games. 

There is a history between the franchises. Not only are they Northwest Division rivals, the Nuggets beat Minnesota in five games to win their first round series last year en route to the NBA championship. This season the clubs split their four-game season series with each winning once at home and on the road. Dating back to last season the Timberwolves are 5-1 as a NBA pick versus the spread against Denver.

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NBA Playoff Schedule for Saturday, May 4

Indiana at Milwaukee (If Necessary)

Philadelphia at New York (If Necessary)

Minnesota at Denver

I had more games to choose from when building last week’s NBA parlay. That doesn’t always mean you’ll have a winner, though. I split my four NBA playoff picks correctly backing Orlando and the Lakers on the NBA betting line. I thought their Game 2 upset of Boston would energize the Miami Heat and foolishly backed them. Though they were catching 9.5 points at home the Heat offered little resistance falling by 20. Losing their best player ahead of their series with top-seed Oklahoma City didn’t help the Pelicans, who failed to score more than 92 points in any of their four losses. Not that the presence of former NBA No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson would’ve made a difference, but I guess we’ll never know.

The Nuggets have arguably the best homecourt advantage in the NBA. The thin air in Denver makes things tough on opponents and the Nuggets took advantage last season going 8-0 during their run through the Western Conference. Counting their first round results, Denver is perfect in its last 12 home playoff games against West competition going 9-5 as a NBA odds pick in those games. That run includes three wins over the Timberwolves in last year’s first round while twice covering the NBA line.

This is a different Timberwolves team from the squad that went 42-40 last regular season and squeezed into the NBA playoffs by beating OKC in the eight-seed play-in tournament game. Anthony Edwards has emerged as a legitimate threat averaging 31.0 points in the sweep of Phoenix. He scored at least 33 points in three games putting an exclamation point on the series with 40 points making 7 of 13 triples in the clincher. 

Minnesota finished in the bottom half of the league averaging 113 points during the regular year. But that doesn’t mean they can’t score. The Wolves tallied at least 120 points in five of their last nine games going 7-2 as a NBA odds pick against the OVER. Six players averaged double figures in the first round sweep while the No. 1 regular season scoring defense held Phoenix to an average of 103.3 points.

It’s tough to handicap a game between teams that are so evenly matched and even tougher to win a same game NBA parlay. The clubs were separated by one game in the standings and split four regular season games. The difference will come on the defensive side with Minnesota’s tireless pursuit hampering Denver’s chances. Nikola Jokic will put up numbers like he’s done all season, but he’ll have to work against former DPOY Rudy Gobert meaning points will be more difficult and the making the UNDER the NBA best pick of the day.

NBA Playoff Parlay Picks for Saturday, May 4

Minnesota ATS

Minnesota / Denver UNDER

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