Thursday’s NBA Predictions and Betting Tips (April 29, 2021)

The NBA has been pretty wild over the last couple of months, but things should kick into another gear soon.

Races for playoff spots and seeding will get pretty intense in the not too distant future, which should (hopefully) put an end to countless rest days and insane blowouts.

I’m not sure bettors can brace for that on Thursday, as there seem to be some pretty hefty mismatches. Milwaukee and Dallas specifically could win by 20 points pretty easily, which tells us a rest day could come for their stars, or those could be games to stay away from.

Regardless, there is still money to be made in betting on the NBA. Join me for Thursday’s NBA predictions and picks as I detail the best ways to attempt to profit.

This might be the most obvious/easiest NBA betting slate of the year. These teams have enough wear on their tires to know what we’re dealing with as bettors, but most of the good teams also have an incentive to win.

Potentially throwing a wrench in some of these would-be gimme bets? Random inactives.

Some of these contests project to be so lopsided that it’d only make sense for teams like Dallas, Milwaukee, and New Orleans to rest some guys.

As things stand, the above NBA predictions look appealing, albeit fairly straightforward. Just make sure you’re in love with the moneyline pricing, as a lot of these NBA picks may come with some pretty thick lines.

Needless to say, you may be interested to see which NBA underdog picks stand out, as well as what ATS bets look good. Read on for my favorite plays in those regards.

Moneylines aren’t yet available for these games, so I’ll just list the point spreads and odds for now.

I will say that this isn’t the slate for betting on NBA upset picks. It’s a small slate, and nobody really stands out from a logical perspective.

That said, if you want to aim high, OKC and Minnesota do make sense here. After all, the Timberwolves have been playing better lately, and the Thunder just beat the Celtics.

Shorthanded Celtics suffer disheartening loss to Thunder, 119-115 https://t.co/SVeLuhppnD

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) April 28, 2021

OKC had lost 14 in a row before that unlikely win, but hey, crazy things happen in the NBA. On top of that, the Pelicans can’t defend anyone, and as unstoppable as Zion Williamson is, the rest of the team isn’t really to be feared.

Minnesota can’t seem to decide what they want to do, either. They’re bad, and they also don’t defend, but they have gobs of talent and are weirdly on a roll (won three straight).

Golden State needs to keep winning to make the NBA playoffs, but the Timberwolves actually could present a challenge.

As said, I don’t think this is the slate to get wacky with NBA upsets. If you want to aim high, though, I think OKC and Minnesota do stand out as solid tries.

If you don’t go the extra mile, they certainly look like appealing ATS plays.

At the very worst, I do like the Thunder and T’Wolves against the spread, so whether you bet on them as underdog winners or not, you can file those under my favorite NBA picks for today, as well.

I also like two-game totals. The Warriors and Timberwolves both have immense offensive upside and play fast, so I still like the Over while that total is certainly high.

The other total to attack is in the Pelicans vs. Thunder game. Neither team defends at all, while New Orleans plays pretty fast and can score. I like many points here, so if you don’t want to mess with who wins or by how much, just hammer the Over.

Milwaukee by 12 points feels like a gimme bet. The only cause for pause here would be that the Rockets are so bad that the Bucks could rest some guys.

To be frank, that might happen, regardless.

Denver is probably my favorite bet on the board. They’re down their top point guard and have other injury issues, but they still have Nikola Jokic.

The Joker should have zero issues against the Raptors. Denver is the better team, they’re at home, and they have more to play for. I love the Nuggets as a straight-up bet – and that’s preferred – but the 3-point margin isn’t asking a whole lot.