The NBA regular season continues on Thursday with a big 10-game slate. We’ve been on a heater for a couple of weeks now, so you’ll want to check out our best bets for the day right here!
NBA Betting Tips: Thursday, 29th of April
Los Angeles Lakers at Washington Wizards
Capital One Arena, 9:30am AEST
The Lakers welcomed back Anthony Davis back from injury a couple of games ago and are edging closer to getting back to full strength. They’ve been on a tough run over the past couple of weeks with just six wins from their past 13 games and are now at risk of slipping outside the top six.
The Wizards were so very close to matching a franchise record nine straight wins when they hosted the Spurs on Tuesday, but it wasn’t to be as they went down by three points in overtime. Despite the loss, it’s been a fantastic couple of weeks for the Wizards who are now 10th in the East.
These teams met for the only other time this season back in February when the Wizards upset the Lakers in overtime. With both teams needing wins for different reasons this time around, we’re expecting another hard-fought game on Thursday. It’s difficult to split these teams at the moment, but form and home court advantage should give the Wizards the slight edge.
Bradley Beal’s red-hot form cooled off after the All-Star break, but he’s been back to his blistering best over the past couple of weeks. Beal dropped 45 points last time out and has now scored 30+ points in eight of his past nine games. He looks like great value to continue on his ways here.
Prop: Beal 30+ Points ($1.83)
Washington Wizards H2H
$2.20
Chicago Bulls at New York Knicks
Madison Square Garden, 9:30am AEST
The Bulls were able to overcome the Heat in the second game of a back-to-back against them on Tuesday, doing so without Zach LaVine who’s still sidelined with injury. Wins have never been so important for the Bulls this season who have slipped out of a top 10 spot in the East despite winning four of their past six games.
The Knicks finally had their winning streak snapped at nine when they lost at home to the Suns on Tuesday. Despite being up by double-figures for much of the game, the Suns were just too good in the clutch. Regardless, the Knicks are playing some fantastic basketball this season and will be making the playoffs for the first time in years.
Both of these teams have been enjoying plenty of wins in recent weeks, but the Knicks on their home deck should have the clear edge here. They’ve won seven of their last eight at MSG and haven’t lost to the Bulls there in a couple of years now, which makes this a very solid play in our opinion.
Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns
PHX Arena, 12pm AEST
The Clippers have had an underrated regular season and have been one of the best teams in the league since the All-Star break. With that said, they are coming off a disappointing loss away to the Pelicans where they never really got going and went down easily by 17 points.
The Suns looked like they were on their way to their third loss in a row when they were down big against the Knicks last time out; however, led by Chris Paul and Devin Booker, the Suns managed to escape the Garden with a clutch win to go to within just one game of the Jazz at the top of the West.
These teams have played in some fiery games against each other this season and with how they’re currently sitting in the standings, we expect this one to be no different. The Clippers have come out on top narrowly in their first two meetings, but on their home deck and with a near full strength team, we expect the Suns to get some revenge in this one.
Mikal Bridges is having a breakout season and has become a prototypical 3-and-D guy for the Suns. He’s scoring the ball really well in April in particular, having put up 15+ points in 4/5 and 8/14 games, with four 20+ point games among those. At $3 for 15+ and $9 for 20+, there are certainly worst player prop bets to have a crack at on Thursday.
Prop: Bridges 15+ Points ($3)
