With less than a week left to go in the NBA regular season, things are getting tight in seeding races, playoff races, and tanking matchups. But there’s still plenty of value on the board to be found.
Continue below for my NBA picks and predictions for Wednesday, April 9.
NBA Picks Tonight, Predictions, Expert Bets for Wednesday, April 9
Celtics vs. Magic
| Celtics Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+6 -110 | 206.5 -110o / -110u | +190 |
| Magic Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-6 -110 | 206.5 -110o / -110u | -230 |
The Celtics want to shoot threes. This will not surprise you; it’s their whole thing. They are an extremely talented, precise, athletic team that just happens to have one trick they rely on: “We make more 3-pointers than you.”
The Orlando Magic allow the lowest opponent three-point attempt rate in the NBA. They’ve held Boston to two of their five lowest three-point attempt games of the season.
After beating the Knicks last night, the Celtics are on a back-to-back, having locked the 2-seed and having nothing left to play for. You should expect at least some of the Celtics to rest in this spot.
Boston’s defense is much better on the road. They’re 6th in opponent points in the paint and 2nd in road defense. They’ve just been a lot more locked in on the road this season for whatever reason.
Boston is 3-2 SU and ATS against the Magic the last two seasons. In those games, they’ve gone under their team total in three of the five games while Orlando has gone over on theirs in three of five. Orlando just hasn’t been able to have a good offensive game while having a good defensive game at the same time.
I think this is it, with Boston likely resting multiple players and how the Magic match up with them.
Celtics vs. Magic Same Game Parlay
- Magic -6.5 (-110)
- Under 206 (-110)
Parlay Payout: +230
Nuggets vs. Kings
| Nuggets Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-4 -110 | 234.5 -110o / -110u | -180 |
| Kings Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+4 -110 | 234.5 -110o / -110u | +150 |
The good ole’ fired coach spot. This isn’t actually a spot; teams are roughly .500 in the last 10 years when they fire a coach midseason.
Tobias Funke Voice: But it might just work for the Nuggets.
Talking to sources inside Denver, they’re expecting a full-on resurgence with the team finding a spark after the firing of Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth Tuesday. The team still loved Malone but wasn’t responding to him, and it was an open secret for the last few months.
I’m not expecting a spiteful revenge game, but you should look for players Malone preferred not to play because they were “Booth’s Guys” after he and the GM feuded over rotation decisions. Expect a longer leash for guys like Jalen Pickett and Julian Strawther, in particular.
I make this total in the 240’s and I have this line at Nuggets -3.2 with an added boost after the firing. So I’ll lay the points with Denver (no more, don’t want it at 4), play the over, and grab Jalen Pickett over 14.5 points rebounds and assists in a same game parlay.
Nuggets vs. Kings Same Game Parlay
- Nuggets -3.5 (-110)
- Over 234.5 (-110)
- Jalen Pickett Over 14.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-115)
Parlay Payout: +450
