Included in this betting preview:
- Best Money Line Choice
- The best bet against the spread
- Over/Under Bet
- Highest value player accessory
- Complete odds board for the day.
- Updated NBA playoff bracket
The 2024 NBA Playoffs have started to heat up and Wednesday’s doubleheader should draw plenty of fans and betting interest.
The Celtics can close things out at home against the Cavaliers tonight (7:00 p.m. ET, TNT) after Donovan Mitchell missed Game 4 with a calf injury. Cleveland has already missed All-Star center Jarrett Allen, but the loss of leading scorer Mitchell could have served as a death knell against the NBA’s No. 1 seed.
Things are much more interesting in the West. The Thunder managed to come back in Game 4 and tie their series with the Mavericks at two games apiece, giving them momentum back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 (9:30, TNT).
Updated Championship Odds, Best Bets:
NBA Finals | Eastern Conference | Western Conference
Let’s get to Wednesday night’s stock highlights. BetMGM offers including best moneyline bets, spread, over/under and player prop.
Best NBA Playoffs Odds and Picks – Best Moneyline Bet
Mavericks (1Q) at Thunder (+115)
An interesting trend has taken shape in the Mavericks-Thunder series, now 2-2: OKC hasn’t won a single first quarter. The score was tied at the end of the first frame of Game 1, and the Mavs won the first quarter in each of the next three games by an average of 5.6 points.
Two different factors could influence this four-party phenomenon:
- Luka, Kyrie and Mavs have fresher legs early in games and look to take early advantage
- The Thunder are the youngest team in the league and many players are experiencing their first playoff run.
It’s entirely possible that Dallas simply has a better engine early in the game, and his experience advantage allows him to build a quick lead more easily. The Mavs also have good size, so bigs like Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington and Dereck Lively II worked early to make things difficult for lanky Chet Holmgren and OKC’s undersized forwards.
Regardless of the real reason behind it, it is a trend. And with OKC surprising the Mavs with a late win in Game 4, the trend is expected to continue as Jason Kidd and his team will be eager to bounce back with some fire.
FIRST QUARTER PREDICTION: Mavericks 27Thunder 25 – Dallas wins the first quarter again (+115) and covers the differential of +1.5 (-115), and the first quarter total finishes BELOW the projected total of 54.5 (-110).
LOOK: NBA Playoffs 2024 live on Sling
Best NBA Playoff Odds and Picks – ATS Top Pick
Cavaliers +15.5 against Celtics
Say what you want about Darius Garland and the Cavaliers: They have heart. Even without Mitchell and Allen in Game 4, Cleveland stayed in the game until the final minutes and covered the +8.5 deficit. Now the Cavs will receive almost double that in Boston for Game 5? Easy crush.
JB Bickerstaff’s team isn’t going to suddenly give up and accept defeat, especially with multiple key rotation players looking for a raise or a new contract this offseason. And even if Boston does build a big lead, have the Celtics given us any reason to trust they can maintain it? Do Garland and Caris LeVert seem like guys who like to get beat in Boston?
There’s also the possibility of garbage time, which almost always rears its ugly head with bent differentials. If Boston maintains a double-digit lead heading into the final half of the fourth frame, the benchwarmers will replace Joe Mazzulla’s team and Cleveland will have yet another opportunity to reduce coverage. There are too many reasons to back Cleveland and too few to back Boston winning by 16.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Celts 108Cavaliers 96 – Boston wins (-1600) but Cleveland covers the +15.5 differential (-110)while the final score falls just BELOW the projected total of 205.5 (-110).
BUY NOW: Get tickets to the 2024 NBA Playoffs on StubHub
Best NBA Playoffs Odds and Picks: Over/Under Bet
Thunder team total UNDER 110.5 vs. Mavericks (-155)
The Mavericks have been playing very physical defense, and it seems like they have good competition on every OKC shot near the rim. Gafford and Derrick Jones Jr. in particular have been huge for Dallas, setting up pick-and-roll games, whether in half-court defensive sets or in transition.
The Thunder have scored 101 points or fewer in two consecutive games and have been held under 110.5 in six of their eight games this postseason. You take some juice with this alternate team total, sure, but he sure feels like a lock.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Thunder 107Mavericks 104 – OKC wins (-175) but Dallas narrowly covers the +3.5 spread (-105). The Thunder finish BELOW their alternate team total of 110.5 (-155), while the final score ends UNDER the combined total of 213.5 (-115).
