It’s roughly the one-third point of the NBA season, and it’s never too early to start out the playoff picture. Nearly half of the league, arguably, is on the playoff bubble — PointsBet has 14 teams with between +500 and -500 odds to make it to the ultimate eight of their respective conference.
Rather a lot can change, but there’s value available. Here’s a have a look at just a few of our favourite NBA playoff picks.
NBA playoff picture picks and predictions
Atlanta Hawks to miss the playoffs (+300, PointsBet)
The Hawks have star power, but they haven’t played just like the likely-playoff team the oddsmakers have them as. Atlanta is 14-15, sitting within the ninth spot of the Eastern Conference, and so they’re lucky to be hovering around .500. They sit at twenty third in Net Rating (-1.8) and the underside half of the league in each Offensive and Defensive Rating.
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They’ve played even worse of late. Like certainly one of the worst teams within the NBA, actually. The Hawks rank twenty seventh within the league by way of Net Rating over their last 15 games — ahead of only the Magic, Hornets, and Spurs — teams far out of the playoff picture. It won’t get any easier any time soon, too, as DeJounte Murray is out for at the very least two weeks with an ankle injury.
The drama surrounding the team, perhaps, has something to do with their misfortune on the court recently. Head coach Nate McMillan and star point guard Trae Young reportedly had an exchange that resulted in Young not playing and never showing as much as State Farm Arena for the Hawks’ game against the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 2, resulting in questions on McMillan’s job security and Young’s leadership skills.
No less than two teams out of the Knicks, Pacers, Raptors, Heat, and Hawks are prone to miss the playoffs. I’ll be betting on the team at 3/1 odds, with query marks surrounding the locker room.
Utah Jazz to make the playoffs (+215, PointsBet)
Vegas still doesn’t consider within the Utah Jazz, but we do. Coming into the yr, Utah was expected to be an element of the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
They’ve borderline already played themselves out of it.
The Jazz have rocketed out to a 16-14 start despite trading away All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert before the season. They rank eighth within the NBA in Net Rating, largely because of a high-powered offense. The Jazz are a top-ten team by way of Effective Field Goal percentage, True Shooting percentage, three-point percentage, assist rate, and offensive efficiency. They give the impression of being for real.
They’re a team of execs, led by players like Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, Kelly Olynyk, and Collin Sexton. However the emergence of Lauri Markkanen, who’s an All-Star and most improved player candidate, has taken them to the following level. The 25-year-old is averaging 22.1 points and eight.6 rebounds on 52.7 percent shooting to date this season.
Oh, and additionally they have the second-easiest remaining schedule within the West, in line with Tankathon.com. So long as Danny Ainge and the Jazz front office don’t resolve to dump, this team will stay within the crowded playoff hunt. At +215, they’re nearly as good of a bet as anyone to sneak in at the underside of the West.
Minnesota Timberwolves to miss the playoffs (-160, PointsBet)
The Wolves are a whole mess, making this a must-bet even at negative odds.
After making it through the play-in round and taking the Memphis Grizzlies to 6 games in the course of the first round last season, and trading for three-time defensive player of the yr award winner Rudy Gobert in the course of the offseason, Minnesota had high expectations coming into the yr.
It hasn’t gone in line with plan. The Wolves are 13-14 and wouldn’t even make the play-in tournament if the season ended today. Someway, their defensive rating is definitely worse this season (112.1) in comparison with last season (111.0) despite adding top-of-the-line defenders of all time in Gobert. Injuries haven’t helped, either. Karl-Anthony Towns has been out since late November with a calf strain and is predicted to miss two-to-four more weeks.
There are only higher playoff-caliber teams within the Western Conference this season. The aforementioned Jazz and Kings have been surprisingly competitive. The Trailblazers retooled and are right within the race. Even the Lakers, who are only 1.5 games behind the Wolves, have shown signs of lifetime of late. This team just isn’t meshing, and time is running out in the event that they intend to make a run.
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Latest York Knicks to make the playoffs (+165, PointsBet)
I used to be surprised to see the Knicks at this high of odds, given the state of the Eastern Conference. As mentioned, five teams are battling for the ultimate three spots within the East in the intervening time, barring a Chicago Bulls resurgence (doubtful).
Despite an up-and-down start, the Knicks look like at the highest of that group. Currently, on a five-game winning streak, Latest York ranks thirteenth in Net Rating (1.0) because of a rather above-average offense and defense. They’re alone because the sixth seed within the East because of a current five-game winning streak.
Jalen Brunson looks like every little bit of the player he showed to be in the course of the Mavericks’ postseason run last yr. The purpose guard is averaging career-highs in each points (20.4) and assists (6.3) because the predominant driver of the team’s offense. The Knicks are also having fun with a rebound campaign from Julius Randle, who’s averaging more points and shooting at a better rate this yr while handing over distributing duties to Brunson.
The Knicks are about as average of a team because it gets, but average will get you into the playoffs in an Eastern Conference that lacks firepower in its middle-class of teams.
It’s roughly the one-third point of the NBA season, and it’s never too early to start out the playoff picture. Nearly half of the league, arguably, is on the playoff bubble — PointsBet has 14 teams with between +500 and -500 odds to make it to the ultimate eight of their respective conference.
Rather a lot can change, but there’s value available. Here’s a have a look at just a few of our favourite NBA playoff picks.
NBA playoff picture picks and predictions
Atlanta Hawks to miss the playoffs (+300, PointsBet)
The Hawks have star power, but they haven’t played just like the likely-playoff team the oddsmakers have them as. Atlanta is 14-15, sitting within the ninth spot of the Eastern Conference, and so they’re lucky to be hovering around .500. They sit at twenty third in Net Rating (-1.8) and the underside half of the league in each Offensive and Defensive Rating.
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They’ve played even worse of late. Like certainly one of the worst teams within the NBA, actually. The Hawks rank twenty seventh within the league by way of Net Rating over their last 15 games — ahead of only the Magic, Hornets, and Spurs — teams far out of the playoff picture. It won’t get any easier any time soon, too, as DeJounte Murray is out for at the very least two weeks with an ankle injury.
The drama surrounding the team, perhaps, has something to do with their misfortune on the court recently. Head coach Nate McMillan and star point guard Trae Young reportedly had an exchange that resulted in Young not playing and never showing as much as State Farm Arena for the Hawks’ game against the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 2, resulting in questions on McMillan’s job security and Young’s leadership skills.
No less than two teams out of the Knicks, Pacers, Raptors, Heat, and Hawks are prone to miss the playoffs. I’ll be betting on the team at 3/1 odds, with query marks surrounding the locker room.
Utah Jazz to make the playoffs (+215, PointsBet)
Vegas still doesn’t consider within the Utah Jazz, but we do. Coming into the yr, Utah was expected to be an element of the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
They’ve borderline already played themselves out of it.
The Jazz have rocketed out to a 16-14 start despite trading away All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert before the season. They rank eighth within the NBA in Net Rating, largely because of a high-powered offense. The Jazz are a top-ten team by way of Effective Field Goal percentage, True Shooting percentage, three-point percentage, assist rate, and offensive efficiency. They give the impression of being for real.
They’re a team of execs, led by players like Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, Kelly Olynyk, and Collin Sexton. However the emergence of Lauri Markkanen, who’s an All-Star and most improved player candidate, has taken them to the following level. The 25-year-old is averaging 22.1 points and eight.6 rebounds on 52.7 percent shooting to date this season.
Oh, and additionally they have the second-easiest remaining schedule within the West, in line with Tankathon.com. So long as Danny Ainge and the Jazz front office don’t resolve to dump, this team will stay within the crowded playoff hunt. At +215, they’re nearly as good of a bet as anyone to sneak in at the underside of the West.
Minnesota Timberwolves to miss the playoffs (-160, PointsBet)
The Wolves are a whole mess, making this a must-bet even at negative odds.
After making it through the play-in round and taking the Memphis Grizzlies to 6 games in the course of the first round last season, and trading for three-time defensive player of the yr award winner Rudy Gobert in the course of the offseason, Minnesota had high expectations coming into the yr.
It hasn’t gone in line with plan. The Wolves are 13-14 and wouldn’t even make the play-in tournament if the season ended today. Someway, their defensive rating is definitely worse this season (112.1) in comparison with last season (111.0) despite adding top-of-the-line defenders of all time in Gobert. Injuries haven’t helped, either. Karl-Anthony Towns has been out since late November with a calf strain and is predicted to miss two-to-four more weeks.
There are only higher playoff-caliber teams within the Western Conference this season. The aforementioned Jazz and Kings have been surprisingly competitive. The Trailblazers retooled and are right within the race. Even the Lakers, who are only 1.5 games behind the Wolves, have shown signs of lifetime of late. This team just isn’t meshing, and time is running out in the event that they intend to make a run.
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Latest York Knicks to make the playoffs (+165, PointsBet)
I used to be surprised to see the Knicks at this high of odds, given the state of the Eastern Conference. As mentioned, five teams are battling for the ultimate three spots within the East in the intervening time, barring a Chicago Bulls resurgence (doubtful).
Despite an up-and-down start, the Knicks look like at the highest of that group. Currently, on a five-game winning streak, Latest York ranks thirteenth in Net Rating (1.0) because of a rather above-average offense and defense. They’re alone because the sixth seed within the East because of a current five-game winning streak.
Jalen Brunson looks like every little bit of the player he showed to be in the course of the Mavericks’ postseason run last yr. The purpose guard is averaging career-highs in each points (20.4) and assists (6.3) because the predominant driver of the team’s offense. The Knicks are also having fun with a rebound campaign from Julius Randle, who’s averaging more points and shooting at a better rate this yr while handing over distributing duties to Brunson.
The Knicks are about as average of a team because it gets, but average will get you into the playoffs in an Eastern Conference that lacks firepower in its middle-class of teams.
