The NBA Playoffs will resume with a pair of pivotal Game 2s tonight — Wednesday, April 22. Our staff of betting experts dug into the latest NBA odds and identified best bets for both of today's matchups, including picks for Magic vs. Pistons, Suns vs. Thunder and more.
Continue below for our NBA best bets, picks and predictions for Wednesday's playoff games.
NBA Best Bets, Picks, Predictions for Wednesday, April 22
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 9:30 p.m. | |
| 7 p.m. | |
| 9:30 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. Pistons Spread Pick
I respect the trends and usually play into them, but I am convinced this game—and this entire series—is not being priced properly. Oddsmakers are hanging a number that suggests a traditional 1-vs-8 mismatch, but this is much more like a 3-vs-6 battle when you look at who the Pistons and Magic actually are right now.
The spreads for Spurs-Blazers games are sitting around 11.5, and we’re only two or three points off that for this matchup? There’s a massive chasm between San Antonio and Portland that just doesn't exist here. This line should be closer to where the Hawks and Knicks are priced. If this were Pistons -6, I’d be all over Detroit, but 8.5 or 9.5 is simply too rich.
Orlando won the opener without even throwing their fastball. They didn't have a single outlier performance in Game 1; none of their scorers went crazy, and the three-point shooting was still a struggle.
Plus, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane were in late foul trouble, and Bane was actually playing through an illness. He should be significantly healthier for Game 2.
Despite Cade Cunningham going off for nearly 40 points, the Magic still controlled every facet of the game. I’m going to keep taking the Magic until the books adjust to reality.
Pick: Magic +8.5 (-105)
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Suns vs. Thunder Spread Prediction
This is a Thunder-or-nothing spot. Honestly, I don’t even need to tell you why. You have eyeballs, you watch basketball—the Thunder are the better team by a mile, particularly at home.
While the Thunder struggled on the road last postseason (going 5-5 with a minus-67 point differential), home court is a completely different animal. Mark Daigneault is 13-6 ATS at home, where that stifling defense and turnover-fueled run-outs tend to bury opponents.
I checked Bet Labs and found that postseason favorites of 16+ points are a perfect 3-0 ATS, covering by an average of 14 points per game. We aren't talking about sweat-it-out covers, either; those three wins were by 26, 32, and 35 points.
This game is priced so crazily that you can actually get Thunder by 42+ for a lower price than a Suns moneyline. Think about that. You can even get Thunder by 30+ for the same price as Suns +6.5.
Here is the escalator: I end up putting this game on the second screen and watching Survivor live at -1000. I'll lay the big number with the Thunder tonight.
Pick: Thunder -17 (-110)
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Magic vs. Pistons Prop Bet
Cade Cunningham went for 39 points in Game 1, and my initial thought was, "Cade, please save us. Detroit has no other hope." But that's a trap. The Pistons are just 18-20 straight up over the last two seasons when Cade scores 30 or more.
So, Cunningham scoring a bunch of points hasn't actually been a winning formula for this Detroit team—it's usually a sign that the offense has stalled.
The much better indicator for Detroit success is his playmaking. In the opener, Cade had just four assists on 17 potential assists. That is a miserable ratio—less than a quarter of his looks converted.
Before February 1, he was converting about 54% of his potential assists; after that, it jumped to nearly 11 assists a game and a 64% conversion rate. We saw the absolute floor in Game 1; now we’re betting on the positive regression.
When Detroit wins big, Cade usually gets to double-digit assists. This season, in 25 double-digit wins, he hit the 10-assist mark 76% of the time. If you narrow it down to games where he played at least 25 minutes, he had 10+ assists in 18 out of 20 wins. That is a 90% hit rate.
If Detroit is going to cover the spread in this game, it’s because Cade is creating easy looks for everyone else. I'm playing the 10 assists, but we’re also riding the escalator to 12 assists (+220). He’s cleared that number in nearly half of Detroit’s double-digit wins this season.
Pick: Cade Cunningham Over 9.5 Assists (-120)
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Suns vs. Thunder Prop Pick
Look, if you think the Suns are going to get absolutely smashed in Game 2—and I do—just pick your favorite (or least favorite) Sun and hammer their under.
There’s a real chance this bet ends up being a push because Jordan Goodwin might not even see the floor. He exited Game 1 after just five minutes with a calf injury and never returned, finishing with a measly two points. Calf injuries are notoriously tricky, and even if he's cleared to play, he’s going to be hampered against this elite Thunder defense.
But beyond the injury, this is a terrible basketball matchup for him. Goodwin is the quintessential try-hard player. That kind of energy works on random Tuesday nights in the regular season when the Suns were covering spreads simply because they were out-hustling teams who didn't care — but that stuff doesn't fly against the Thunder in their home building during the playoffs.
In the postseason, the first guys to get gobbled up are the role players who don't have the elite skill set to match the increased intensity. Goodwin is a classic case of a guy who gets completely lost on the road in this environment.
Pick: Jordan Goodwin Under 9.5 Points (-120)
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