NBA Best Odds This Week: April 28 – May 4

The Thunder completed a four-game sweep of the Grizzlies, the Nuggets evened up their series with one-tenth of a second remaining, and the Wolves and Knicks put the Lakers and Pistons on the brink of a quick first-round exit as the NBA Playoffs wrapped up a thrilling weekend of basketball.

Monday night offers the final pair of Game 4s, with the Cavs looking to wrap up a four-game sweep of their own against an overmatched Heat team, while the Warriors are expected to have Jimmy Butler back in the lineup as they look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Rockets.

Note: Odds were correct at the time of writing.

NBA Odds This Week

Following the pair of Game 4s on Monday, there will be at least six Game 5s taking place during the week. Here’s a look at the betting odds ahead of each game on the playoff schedule.

Matchup	Betting Line	Moneyline	Total
Cavaliers at Heat (Game 4)	Cavaliers -8.5	Cavaliers (-390) Heat (+310)	210.5
Rockets at Warriors (Game 4)	Warriors -3.5	Rockets (+142) Warriors (-168)	203
Bucks at Pacers (Game 5)	Pacers -7.5	Bucks (+240) Pacers (-295)	224
Pistons at Knicks (Game 5)	Knicks -6	Pistons (+190) Knicks (-230)	213
Magic at Celtics (Game 5)	Celtics -12	Magic (+480) Celtics (-650)	200
Clippers at Nuggets (Game 5)	Clippers -1.5	Clippers (-126) Nuggets (+108)	208
T’Wolves at Lakers (Game 5)	Lakers -5.5	T’Wolves (+188) Lakers (-225)	210.5

NBA Matchups to Watch

We’re coming up on the money games in the first round of the playoff series, where the fate of teams’ entire seasons comes down to a handful of games.

This week features four Game 5s where a team will have the chance to wrap up the series with a victory, with three of those teams holding a 3-1 lead and having the potential to close out the game on their home floor.

Here’s a look at the playoff games with the most at stake this week.

Rockets at Warriors (-3.5) at FanDuel – April 28

Following Jimmy Butler’s injury in Game 2, a lot of people quickly leapt off the Warriors bandwagon, predicting that the Rockets would control the series with Steph Curry left on his own to deal with the unrelenting Rockets defensive attack.

Instead, we saw vintage Steph Curry light up the Rockets for 36 points as he carried the Warriors to a 104-93 win in Game 3.

Game 4 likely sees the return of Jimmy Butler, with the Warriors having an outstanding opportunity to put a stranglehold on the series. A Dubs victory would give them a 3-1 series lead. Should the Rockets earn the road split, they would make the series a best-of-three affair.

This should be a great game in the Western Conference.

Clippers at Nuggets (+1.5) at FanDuel – April 29

Aaron Gordon waited until the literal final tenth of a second to score the biggest basket of the series, and the Nuggets suddenly have newfound life against the Clippers as they evened up their best-of-seven series at two games apiece following a thrilling Game 4 victory.

Tuesday night, the series shifts back to Denver, where the Clippers hope to lean on their superstar duo of Kawhi Leonard and James Harden to earn an opportunity to close out the series in six games on their home floor. Nikola Jokic may have other plans, however.

This series has seven games written all over it. Game 5 should be quite the watch.

T’Wolves at Lakers (-5.5) at FanDuel – April 30

Surely the Lakers’ season won’t end like this, right?

Behind 43 points, nine rebounds, and six assists from superstar Anthony Edwards, the T’Wolves rallied from a 10-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to win Game 4 and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

The series now shifts back to Los Angeles, where the Lakers must win three straight games over a Wolves team that has proven to be a very difficult draw for the Lake Show.

If there is a team equipped to steal a Game 6 on the road and force a very intriguing Game 7 on their home floor, it would be this Lakers team. However, don’t discount a hungry Wolves team looking to send Luka and LeBron to a lavish tropical resort.

NBA Best Bets This Week – April 28 – May 4

As mentioned previously, this week’s playoff action begins with the final pair of Game 4s before jumping into all the Game 5 action.

Here are our best bets for tonight’s games.

Cavaliers (-8.5) at Heat – FanDuel – April 28

As every NBA fan and bettor alike suspected, the eight seeds this season were severely overmatched by their round one opponents.

The Thunder disposed of the Grizzlies in four games in a series that featured OKC winning by 51 points and erasing a 29-point deficit to win another game.

The Cavs, while not posting 50-point victories, are treating the Heat with much of the same disrespect as the West’s No. 1 seed. Game 3 featured a 124–87 beatdown, and the Heat simply do not have the personnel to match up with this Cleveland team.

Erik Spoelstra’s team is notorious for always giving their all and showing a lot of heart even when they are outmanned. I don’t think that will be enough to keep this game under double digits, and I expect the Cavs to coast to an easy cover as they rest up for the Pacers-Bucks winner.

Betting Trend of Note: The Cavs are 5-2 ATS over their last seven games. 

Rockets at Warriors (-3.5) at FanDuel – April 28

Assuming Jimmy Butler is back in the lineup for the Warriors, I am taking the Dubs to cover the 3.5-point spread and put the young Rockets on the brink of elimination on Wednesday.

If Jimmy Butler is still out for Game 4, I would likely pass on this game, as I believe the Rockets would play closer to how they looked in Game 2 with Butler on the sidelines. I would even be somewhat tempted to sprinkle a bet on the Rockets in that instance.

But this bet is based on the assumption that Jimmy Butler will be available for the Warriors in Game 4.

Betting Trend of Note: The Rockets are just 3-17 SU against the Warriors in their last 20 matchups.