Wednesday NBA Betting Picks: Our Best Bets For Magic vs. Bucks, Trail Blazers vs. Lakers (Aug. 26)

Editors note: The NBA has postponed all NBA playoff games for Aug. 26 after several teams decided to boycott.

Wednesday’s NBA playoff action features two teams fighting for their postseason lives in Game 5s against the respective No. 1 seeds in each conference. The Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers’ seasons are on the brink and we can expect desperation to take over in both series.

So, where’s the value today? Our staff is here to break down their favorite NBA bets for Wednesday’s slate and has found angles in two matchups:

• 4 p.m. ET: Orlando Magic vs. Milwaukee Bucks
• 9 p.m. ET: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles lakers

Wednesday NBA Betting Picks

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Matt Moore: Trail Blazers vs. Lakers

Letdown effect! No Damian Lillard in this one after news that his sprained right knee would reportedly keep him sidelined beyond Game 5 regardless of tonight’s result — this series is a wrap.

But the entire Lakers game plan was to focus in on Lillard in pick-and-roll and cut the head off the snake. Without him, all the rotations change. Throw in the lack of a motivational effort for the Lakers given that this series is firmly in hand and this double-digit spread looks a bit too high.

CJ McCollum, even with a bad back, will have a game. Carmelo Anthony will probably make some shots, too. Blazers head coach Terry Stotts will get Anfernee Simons or Gary Trent Jr. some good opportunities. And the Lakers offense is unlikely to go full bore tonight. It’s too high of a spread for a game the Lakers don’t have to take seriously. 

The Pick: Trail Blazers +13

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Brandon Anderson: Magic vs. Bucks

It’s been a long month of basketball and sometimes you just need an easy one.

The Bucks and Lakers will win their games today and should do so with relative comfort. I know that. You know that. All four teams know that. It’s just a matter of that final score.

The Magic have kept the final score close the past few games, but the Bucks have run up the score early and opened up big, comfortable leads. They blew Game 1 when they weren’t ready, but the Magic have their attention now.

The Blazers are short Lillard, as Moore noted, and weren’t scoring enough even when he was out there. Expect a whole lot of contested McCollum and Anthony jumpers (and you already know how that will turn out).

The problem, though, is both games are around -14 right now, and I’m just not that interested in watching the guys at the end of the bench try to protect my 20 point lead in the final meaningless minutes of the season for these No. 8 seeds.

I’m going to tease the favorites down five points each so I just need an easy double-digit win in each game and coast to victory. As long as both lines stay below -15, I’m in the clear.

The Pick: Bucks + Lakers 5-point teaser

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