The NBA Play-In Tournament officially concludes tonight with a pair of winner-take-all matchups for the 8-seed in each conference, as the Miami Heat visit the Atlanta Hawks in the first game of the evening, and then the Dallas Mavericks square off against the Memphis Grizzlies in the late window.
Our betting experts have looked over the odds and made 5 NBA picks spanning both of tonight's contests. Continue below for our NBA best bets and predictions for Friday, April 18.
NBA Play-In Tournament Best Bets: Friday, April 18
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
| 7 p.m. | |
  | 10 p.m. | |
| 10 p.m. | |
| 10 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NBA Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Heat vs. Hawks
The Heat have been great in first quarters and first halves on the road as of late, covering in seven of their last 10.
Finishing has been an issue — it wasn't on Wednesday in Chicago.
Now, they've moved into being favorites after being +2.5 to open in Atlanta.
At a minimum, I'm expecting another good start for the Heat. Tyler Herro has also gone over 6.5 points in the first quarter in four of his last six, which is another early bet I like for this game.
Pick: Heat First Quarter Moneyline (-110)
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Heat vs. Hawks
By Joe Dellera
Dyson Daniels has been instrumental to the Hawks' (relative) successes this season. Daniels is averaging 14.1 points per game this season and while he has had spikes, he still is exceeding this mark in only 48% of games overall.
The interesting thing with Dyson is that more minutes does not equate to significantly more points. Even when he plays at least 35 minutes he still averages just 15.8 points per game.
This matchup with Miami is tougher with Wiggins, Bam, and Ware able to defend on the interior and he is not a strong enough shooting threat to attack a zone or a drop coverage that Miami often employs.
This season he has scored 10, 18, and 9 points against the Heat but he shot an uncharacteristic 8/10 in the game where he scored 18.
Miami slows down the pace and presents a tough matchup for Daniels. I'll grab under 13.5 points.
Pick: Dyson Daniels Under 13.5 Points (-115)
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Mavericks vs. Grizzlies
By Joe Dellera
The Grizzlies face off against the Mavericks tonight for the rights to a first class ticket to Oklahoma City.
One swing in the postseason has been the minutes for Memphis. All season they have really managed their star players minutes while playing a massive rotation on a nightly basis. In a win-or-go-home spot, their minutes have expanded.
Last game in the 7/8 Play-In, we saw Desmond Bane’s minutes expand to 39, the second-most minutes he has played in a regulation game this season. Couple this with Morant turning his ankle and him potentially not being 100%, and this sets up for a strong performance from Bane.
Bane should be able to attack a fairly thin Mavericks' backcourt. Bane scored 27 his last time out against Dallas, and I expect him to crush today.
Pick: Desmond Bane Over 21.5 Points (-125)
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Mavericks vs. Grizzlies
Some props can be misleading when you dig a bit deeper to explore a player's home-away splits. Mavericks' forward Naji Marshall is a perfect example of such a scenario, as he's averaging 3.5 assists at home vs. 2.6 when on the road.
Yet, his assists prop for this matchup is right at 3.5, which would be more palatable if the Mavericks were playing at home.
