NBA Playoffs Best Bets Today: Odds, predictions and picks for Monday, April 24th

April 24, 2023

Best Bets for Sunday’s NBA Playoff Games

We’re up to Game 4 of most of the series in this year’s NBA Playoffs, so things are really starting to heat up in the Association. With that in mind, keep reading for our NBA best bets for the two games you’ll see on Monday, April 24th. And make sure you stop back in for VSiN’s coverage of the NBA Playoffs. You can find everything you’ll possibly need in our NBA Playoffs Hub. We’ll hopefully have at least one pick for you on every game the rest of the way.

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MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on April 24

Here are our favorite NBA bets for Monday, April 24th (odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook):

Milwaukee Bucks (-5.5, 216) at Miami Heat – Game 4

Nobody expected the Bucks to run into trouble with this Heat team, but nobody thought Giannis Antetokounmpo would get injured either. The Greek Freak, who injured his back after 11 minutes of Game 1 action, is listed as questionable on the NBA Injury Report for Game 4 after having essentially missed this whole series. However, it does seem like there’s a decent shot that Giannis plays on Monday.

There were some reports that made it sound like Giannis could have played in Game 3, so it’s hard to envision him sitting out Game 4. Either way, the Bucks are a good play at -5.5. They’re fully capable of covering without him — which they proved in a 138-122 win in Game 2 — and this number would be too low if he does end up playing.

Milwaukee is 63-35 against the spread when coming off an upset loss under head coach Mike Budenholzer. This team just doesn’t lose two bad games in a row very often, and it’s highly unlikely that a Heat team that is miserable offensively finds a way to shoot 53.6% from the floor and 48.5% from 3 again. Cold shooting days are ahead for Miami, and Milwaukee should put together a championship performance with the season on the line. The Bucks know they can’t afford to go down 3-1, and the Heat are now without Victor Oladipo. Oladipo tore his patella and is out for the season, so Miami is now missing him and Tyler Herro. Outside of Jimmy Butler, who is creating their own offense?

Bet: Bucks -5.5 (-110)

UPDATE: Giannis Antetokounmpo is now set to return for the Bucks. The line is on the move, so make sure you grab Milwaukee while you can. I’d suggest playing it up to -7.

Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers (-4.5, 220.5) – Game 4

The last two games in this series have been lower in scoring, with Game 2 seeing these teams combine to score 196 and Game 3 only having a combined total of 212. Los Angeles has now gone under in three of the four postseason games it has played, if you count the Play-In Tournament meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves. And overall, it really isn’t that surprising.

The Lakers slowed down considerably in pace of play towards the end of the season. While they were fourth in the league in pace during the regular season, they were just 14th in that regard over the final 14 games of the regular season. And this matchup happens to be one that makes LeBron James and Co. want to play even slower. One of the only ways the Lakers can really gift the Grizzlies wins in this series is by allowing the team to use its youth in transition. So, Los Angeles is slowing the game down and making this a half-court battle.

The under has also just been a profitable bet with the Grizzlies all season. The reality is that this team’s offense isn’t nearly as good as its public perception, and that’s especially true without Steven Adams out there to give Memphis extra possessions with his elite offensive rebounding.

Bet: Under 221 (-110)