The first round of the NBA Playoffs resumes with another fully loaded slate this Tuesday, with a total of 4 matchups on the docket scheduled for today.
Our staff of basketball betting experts dug into the latest odds and identified 6 NBA picks for tonight's contests. Continue below for our NBA best bets and predictions for Tuesday, April 29.
NBA Best Bets for First Round Playoff Games: Tuesday, April 29
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 6 p.m. | |
  | 8:30 p.m. | |
| 6 p.m. | |
  | 10 p.m. | |
| 6 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. | ||
Magic vs. Celtics
By Joe Dellera
The Celtics look to close out the Orlando Magic tonight, and one player who I’m expecting a swing for is Kristaps Porzingis.
KP got into foul trouble in Game 4 and was limited to just 22 minutes, but he still scored 19 points.
The Celtics used him as both a roller and a pick and pop threat and this helped to open up his offense. I expect more of that tonight and he’s cleared this mark in 72% of games this season while averaging 18.9 ppg.
Pick: Kristaps Porzingis Over 16.5 Points (-120)
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Clippers vs. Nuggets
The pricing of the game and series speaks volumes here, and the Clippers are the only way to approach this game.
Prior to the series starting, the Clippers opened as underdogs and moved all the way to -120 favorites before Game 1. Now, we are at 2-2, and usually that would bring the pricing closer together, maybe Clippers -115 and Nuggets -105. However, the Clippers are a -160 on the series line, despite having two road games left to play.
The market thinks they will win, its obvious from the pricing abnormality. The Clippers are road favorites in this game, and I will still play it at the best available price.
Expect Kawhi and Harden to have vintage games, because that's what the betting market is pricing in.
Pick: Clippers -1.5 (-110)
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Clippers vs. Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets will host the Los Angeles Clippers for Game 5 of their first round playoff series on Tuesday night.
We will ride with the road team in Game 5. Despite Denver being the home team, the Clippers are slight favorites tonight.
The Clippers could have easily won all four games in this series. Los Angeles has been the much better team in this series, and Denver is lucky the series is 2-2 right now.
Ty Lue's team should control the pace of this contest, and take a 3-2 lead in this series.
Pick: Clippers Moneyline (-125)
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Bucks vs. Pacers
By Joe Dellera
The Pacers are set to close out this series against the Bucks at home in Game 5, and I’m expecting another big game from Tyrese Haliburton.
Haliburton has been awesome this series, particularly on the glass. He’s contributed 7, 5, 7, and 8 rebounds in these four games which is a significant departure from his 3.7 rebounds per game average this season. He’s officially on (near) triple double watch now.
As for the assists, he has sliced and diced this Milwaukee defense. He has double digit assists in each game this series, but he has seen his potentials climb to 19 and 21 over the last two. He has fully taken advantage of Bobby Portis trying to play at the level.
I’ll grab the combo prop here, and sprinkle 10+ Assists/7+ Rebounds (+575) and 10/10/10 (+2842).
Pick: Tyrese Haliburton Over 15.5 Rebounds + Assists (+100)
Bucks vs. Pacers
The Indiana Pacers have the Milwaukee Bucks on the ropes. And the Bucks don't want to quit. But they're looking at the referee in between rounds to see if they're going to stop the fight.
Thankfully for them, it's almost over.
The Pacers have covered the spread in all their wins in this series, and are just too much for Milwaukee to handle, who now is without Damian Lillard. This should end tonight.
Pick: Pacers -7.5 (-120)
Bucks vs. Pacers
This game is a clear under-spot, so I am looking for correlated props. The line for the game total opened at 228.5 and has plunged all the way to 222.5, a 6-point move towards the under is extreme.
The absence of Lillard may also mean a few less minutes for Nembhard, who is often a defense anchor at the point of attack.
I think the Pacers may blow out the Bucks tonight, Pacers -8 is steep, the total has cratered, and the Nembhard is a perfectly correlated under.
If any of the above factors happen, it will be hard for him to reach his prop line tonight.
