The NBA regular season continues on Easter Sunday with eight games on the cards. Catch our best spread and player prop bets from three of the value games below and good luck if following!
NBA Betting Tips: Sunday, 4th of April
New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons
Little Caesars Arena, 10am AEST
New York Knicks are going through a lean patch in form having lost each of their past three games. Defensively they’ve been as solid as always, but offensively they’ve really been struggling. They come into this one game below .500 and sitting seventh in the East standings.
Detroit Pistons have had a couple of wins in their past three games, knocking off both the Wizards and the Raptors in Detroit. Jerami Grant hasn’t been at his best during their recent wins, but they’ve gotten big performances out of a couple of their other young pieces which will excite their fans about their future.
This certainly isn’t the juiciest of matchups on Easter Sunday but it’s one where we’ve seen some value in by taking the Knicks to cover the small spread. They’re clearly the better team and will be desperate to bounce back after a couple of disappointing losses.
Jerami Grant has had a breakout season with the Pistons but is going through a tough time at the moment and just might be burning out a touch after such a hot first half of the season. He’s failed to score 20 points in four of his past five games and in two of those he didn’t even reach double-figures. We expect him to find it tough again on Sunday when he comes up against one of the stingiest defences in the NBA.
Prop: Grant U20.5 Points ($1.95)
New York Knicks -2.5
$1.90
Minnesota Timberwolves at Philadelphia 76ers
Wells Fargo Center, 10am AEST
Minnesota Timberwolves pulled off a surprise win two starts back against the Knicks but weren’t able to back it up against the Grizzlies. They lost that game by double-figures, which was their fifth 10+ point loss from their last 10 games. They’re clear bottom in the West and have a lot of work to do to become relevant again.
Philadelphia 76ers suffered a mini two-game losing streak in games four and five of their recent six-game road trip, which resulted in them relinquishing top spot in the East for the time being. They bounced back with a win in their recent game against the Cavaliers and will be buoyed by the potential return of Joel Embiid.
The 76ers have been incredibly hard to beat on their home floor for a number of years now and get the easy kill against the Timberwolves on Sunday. With Embiid potentially returning, expect the 76ers to blow the lowly Timberwolves out of the park here.
Philadelphia 76ers -10.5
$1.90
OKC Thunder at Portland Trail Blazers
Moda Center, 12pm AEST
OKC Thunder were absolutely demolished by the red-hot Suns on Saturday where they were down by 30 points at quarter time and were never able to recover. Injuries are starting to take a real toll on this Thunder side that has battled away admirably this season. They’ve lost four of their past five games and three of those defeats have been by 15+ points.
Portland Trail Blazers weren’t able to match it with one of the powerhouses in the competition in the Bucks last time out, but prior to that they had put together a nice little four-game winning streak. Their injury list looks a lot better now and they loom as a team that can push for a top four spot in the West should they get a fair run at it. As it stands, the Trail Blazers are in sixth spot and 1.5 games behind fourth.
The Trail Blazers will start this game as the overwhelming favourites and for good reason. They’re playing really well at the moment and come up against a young Thunder team on the second night of a road back-to-back. All signs lean towards a big blowout win for the home side.
There’s plenty of opportunity for some of the young guys on the Thunder to prove themselves at the moment and one that’s taking advantage of it is Theo Maledon. He broke out four games ago with a then career-high 22 points against the Celtics and went even bigger on Saturday with 33 points against the Suns. He’s scored in double figures in nine of his past 11 games and should be able to eclipse his overs here.
Prop: Maledon O14.5 Points ($1.81)
Portland Trail Blazers -11.5
$1.90
