Best bets for tonight's Miami Heat-Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers-Phoenix Suns NBA Play-In Tournament games.
The NBA Play-In Tournament, featuring the 7th-10th seeded teams in each conference, tips off tonight, to determine the final No. 7 and No. 8 playoff seeds in each conference.
The No. 10 Miami Heat (43-39, 17-24 away) are in Charlotte to take on the No. 9 Hornets (44-38, 21-20 at home), at 7:30 p.m. EST, followed by the No. 8 Portland Trail Blazers (42-40, 18-23 away) in Phoenix to play the No. 7 Suns (45-37, 25-16 home).
Tomorrow, the No. 8 Orlando Magic (45-37, 19-20 away) are in Philadelphia to play the No. 7 76ers (45-37, 23-18 at home), at 7:30 p.m. EST, followed by the No. 10 Golden State Warriors (37-45, 15-26 away) in Los Angeles to play the No. 9 Clippers (42-40, 23-18 at home) at 10 p.m. EST.
According to the NBA Play-In tournament structure, on the East side, the winner of 76ers-Magic takes the 7th seed in the East, while the winner of Heat-Hornets will play at the loser of 76ers-Magic on Friday. The winner of that game earns the eighth and final seed in the East.
On the West side, the winner of Suns-Trail Blazers secures the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, while the loser hosts the conference’s Game 3 Friday against the winner of the Clippers-Warriors game.
The NBA playoffs get going Saturday. Here are our NBA betting picks for tonight’s games.
BEST BETS
Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets, 7:30 p.m. EST, Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
I am taking the Hornets at -5.5 (-110), at Betway. Charlotte has been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since Christmas (34-18) and will have a raucous home court advantage. Charlotte went 5-2 over its last seven games and went 4-3 against the spread.
The Heat did hold a 3-1 edge in their season series, yes. And Miami did close out their season with a dominating 143-117 win at home over the Atlanta Hawks, led by their bench, including 25 points from former Raptor Norm Powell.
I also watched the Heat drop both of those key Eastern Conference games against the Raptors last week, with a shaky defence, contributing to the Heat finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte has a lot of young firepower – LaMelo Ball (30 points and 13 assists the time these two teams met, in March), Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel.
Betway also has the Hornets -225 (bet $225 to win $100) this morning on the Moneyline, the Heat +185 (bet $100 to win $185). You also might want to lean on the Over (228.5) since this one should be a high-scoring affair.
Heat guard Pelle Larsson is questionable for tonight’s game, with a leg contusion.
Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns, 10 p.m. EST, Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ
There are several reasons to take the Suns on the Moneyline (-150) at Betway – as most bettors apparently are doing (70+ per cent in bets and handle at some sportsbooks). The Suns are bullish at home (25-16), and the Trail Blazers, with a young core, are not a great road team (18-23).
Plus, go with the Suns’ star power – Devin Booker is a proven vet who can take over games in key moments. Portland won seven of their last ten games, which explains the tighter spread (Suns -3.5, -105; Blazers +3.5, -115), but they won’t overcome the Suns’ home court edge.
