The NBA regular season continues on Thursday with nine more games on the cards. Catch our best spread and player prop bets for the day right here!
NBA Betting Tips: Thursday, 6th of May
Portland Trail Blazers at Cleveland Cavaliers
Quicken Loans Arena, 9:30am AEST
The Trail Blazers come into this off a loss against the Hawks, but that snapped what was a really strong four-game winning streak on this current road trip. It’s been a tough season for the Blazers due to injuries and chemistry issues, but they now look to be hitting their straps and are a good chance of a top six finish in the West.
The Cavaliers put up a really good fight against the Suns in the first leg of their home back-to-back, forcing the #1 team in the NBA to overtime before getting blown out by 16 points. The Cavs have now lost seven on the spin and 10 of their last 11 games.
We expect the home side to be bummed out after throwing away the game against the Suns on Wednesday, which will open the door for the hungry Trail Blazers to get the jump on them here. We foresee a one-sided affair that will finish with the Blazers winning by double-digits.
The Blazers have both scored and conceded 100+ points in each of their last 12 games, so they’re obviously no strangers to high-scoring affairs. Further, the Cavaliers are coming off an overtime loss on a back-to-back, so their energy levels on the defensive end certainly won’t be at an elite level. Both of these points combined should lead to the total points going over in this one.
Bonus Tip: Over 227.5 Points ($1.90)
Portland Trail Blazers 11+
$1.83
Sacramento Kings at Indiana Pacers
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 10am AEST
The Kings did their best to throw away a huge fourth-quarter lead against the undermanned and inexperienced Thunder on the first leg of their road back-to-back, but somehow escaped with a four-point win. Interestingly, that was the Kings third win in a row, which is probably the opposite of what’s ideal for them now that they’re realistically out of the playoff race.
The Pacers played their part in an absolute score fest against the Wizards last time out, eventually losing 141-154 in a game that didn’t go to overtime like that score would suggest. Defence has been a huge concern for the Pacers all season long, especially over the past week where they’ve conceded 130+ points in three of their last four games.
The Pacers absolutely must win this game, it’s as simple as that. They’re at home against a non-playoff team that has little to play for, so this should be a one-sided affair if it follows the script. We’re prepared to back the Pacers in to get the job done and cover the small -5.5 spread.
Indiana Pacers -5.5
$1.90
New York Knicks at Denver Nuggets
Pepsi Center, 11am AEST
The Knicks have been one of the big improvers this season and will get a taste of playoff basketball in a couple of weeks as a result. Importantly, they’re playing their best basketball leading into the end of the regular season, as they’ve now won an incredible 12 of their past 13 games.
The Nuggets come into this off a tough away loss against the Lakers last time out. It was the first time since Jamal Murray went down with injury that the Nuggets have really missed him on the offensive end, as they managed just 89 points on a really tough shooting night. Despite that loss, the Nuggets have been in some strong form of late and will be finishing with a high seed in the West.
The Nuggets are in good form at the moment, but the Knicks are absolutely flying. Julius Randle is playing himself into some potential MVP votes and was recently named Player of the Month for April. With how him and his team are playing at the moment, we give them the edge in this particular matchup.
Another key Knicks player that’s been in really good touch over their current winning stretch is RJ Barrett. He’s put up 21+ points in five of his past nine outings and has tallied at least 15 points in all of them. There’s no reason why he can’t continue to put points on the board in this one.
Prop: Barrett 20+ Points ($2.30)
New York Knicks H2H
$2.31
