We are counting down the days until the NBA playoffs kick off, with most teams having around seven or eight games left in their respective regular seasons. There is a great six game slate on the cards this Saturday, the 30th of March and we are back with another round of betting tips for the key games below.
NBA Betting Tips Saturday 30th March
Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics (10am AEDT)
The Pacers and Celtics are currently separated by just one game in the fourth and fifth positions in the Eastern Conference respectively. A home win here for Boston will level them with the Pacers at 45-31 and leave them odds on to claim home court advantage in the first round matchup.
The Pacers have lost five of their last 10 games and were disappointing on against the Thunder in OKC on Thursday. The game was a stark contrast to the 36-point win they captured over the Nuggets at home on Monday, and they’ll be hoping to get back on the winners list Saturday.
The Celtics start as 6.5 point favourites here which seems about right given the Pacers have lost their last nine away games in a row. Those nine losses have come at an average of 10.66 points while the Celtics have a 26-12 record at home this season. Back the home team here.
Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves (11am AEDT)
After the Denver Nuggets cut their lead in the Western Conference to just one game, the Warriors seem to have flicked the switch over the past few weeks. They have won their last two games in a row and seven of their last 10 overall to maintain their position atop the West. They were dominant over the Grizzlies in Memphis on Thursday, claiming a 15 point win as Steph Curry and Kevin Durant combined for 58 points.
On the other end of the spectrum sits the Minnesota Timberwolves. They have lost seven of their last 10 games and suffered a 11 point defeat at the hands of the Clippers on Wednesday. With no chance of making the playoffs, the Timberwolves won’t be taking any risks on a host of injured key players in Robert Covington, Derrick Rose, Jeff Teague, Luol Deng and Taj Gibson, who will all be out of action on Saturday.
The Warriors, on the other hand, are full strength and have new starting centre Andrew Bogut playing a handy role amongst the star-studded line-up. The Wolves start as 9.5 point underdogs here and we can’t see them covering given the depleted line-up they have at the moment and the motivation the Warriors have to stay on top of the West.
Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder (11am AEDT)
The Thunder have lost six of their last 10 games but bounced back with a good home win over the Pacers on Thursday. Paul George was back to his dominant best in the win, racking up 31 points while point guard Russel Westbrook notched up yet another triple double.
The Nuggets continue to go about their business at home but have really struggled on the road throughout their last few games. They were trounced by 36 points in Indiana on Monday before suffering another road loss to the Rockets by 27 points on Friday.
The Nuggets be on the second night of a back to back and on the road again on Saturday and the line currently sits at just 4.5 points in favour of OKC. Given Denver have lost their last two road games by an average of 31.5 points, we have to side with the Thunder here.
