The NBA regular season is winding down but plenty of teams still have a lot on the line as they duel for playoff seedings. There is a monster 12 game slate in the association this Thursday, the 4th of April and we are back with another round of best bets for the key games below.
NBA Betting Tips Thursday 4th April
Indiana Pacers at Detroit Pistons (10am AEDT)
The Pacers will look to bounce back after a rough few weeks in the NBA which has seem them win just three of their last 10 games. The slump has resulted in falling from fourth place in the Eastern Conference to fifth, but they still only trail the Boston Celtics by just a tiebreaker. They'll likely play the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, who gets the home court advantage is the question that will be decided over their next four games.
The Pistons currently sit in 6th place in the Eastern Conference with a 39-38 record but are still in danger of missing the playoffs completely as they sit just 0.5 games above the Orlando Magic in ninth place. With just five games to go in their season, they'll likely need to win three of them, which they'll back themselves to do with games against the Hornets, Grizzlies and Knicks to come.
The Pacers were 11 point winners over the Pistons in Indiana on Tuesday but the return leg will be in Detroit. Tough game to call here but we think the Pistons can hold firm at home with Blake Griffin likely to return from injury for the clash.
Boston Celtics at Miami Heat (10.30am AEDT)
The Celtics were impressive on Tuesday against the Heat, capturing a five point win in Boston as Al Horford racked up a triple double. The two teams will head to Miami for the return leg on Thursday as the Celtics look to push further in front of the Pacers in the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Miami currently find themselves in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, just 0.5 games above the Orlando Magic and will desperately need to win at leastthree of their five remaining games to give themselves a chance at playing in the playoffs. It'll be a tough ask considering they have games against Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia and Brooklyn to close out the season.
Another pretty close game in the betting markets. The Celtics seem to have found some form over the past few weeks, winning three of their last four games and they looked to have Miami's measure on Tuesday. We think they make it three in a row against the Heat on Thursday.
Toronto Raptors at Brooklyn Nets (10.30am AEDT)
The Raptors have won their last four games in a row and will look to continue their onslaught of the Eastern Conference on Thursday as they travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets. With just four games to play, the No.1 seed in the East is out of reach as they currently sit three games behind the Bucks, and motivation to continue playing hard could be waivering considering the 5.5 game lead they have on the 3rd placed 76ers.
On the contrary, the Nets have everything to play for here as they are yet another team fighting to stay inside the Eastern Conference playoffs. They have a one game lead on the 9th place Magic but have won just four of their last 10 games and are coming off a tough home loss to the Bucks on Tuesday.
The Nets start as home underdogs here, which we think is great value given the Raptors could start to put a few players on ice for their last four games. Patrick McCaw, OG Anunoby and Danny Green will all be out and we wouldn't be surprised if Kawhi Leonard watches this one from the sidelines as well.
