Free NBA Playoff Picks - Best Bets for Thursday, April 20

Free NBA Playoff Picks - Best Bets for Thursday, April 20

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

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Best Bets

Royce O'Neale over 1.5 threes (-110) vs. 76ers

DraftKings, 4:19 PM CT

Alex Barutha: The 76ers had little concern in Game 2 about letting O'Neale fire away from deep, and he went 2-for-9. Brooklyn has no chance to win this series unless they go small with him and Dorian Finney-Smith, double Embiid, push in transition and launch open threes. I don't mind the team prop of over 12.5 total makes (-130), either.

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Torrey Craig over 0.5 steals (-135) at Clippers and/or Devin Booker over 1.5 steals (+125)

DraftKings, 4:22 PM CT

Alex Barutha: In Clippers lineups this season with Westbrook at the helm and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George off the floor, they have an 18.9 TOV% -- in the first percentile for five-man lineups. Booker has five steals in the series, and Craig has three.

Philadelphia 76ers -4.5 at Brooklyn Nets

DraftKings Sportsbook, 1pm CT

Nick Whalen: The Nets haven't been completely bowled over from start to finish in Games 1 and 2, but there's clearly a significant talent gap between these two teams. The series shifting to Brooklyn helps the Nets, but I still think this number is a bit too short. Philly has a 121.4 offensive rating for the series (the Nets are at 103.5), and Brooklyn has very few pivots, defensively, to slow down this Sixers' attack.

Stephen Curry O29.5 points vs. Sacramento Kings

DraftKings Sportsbook, 1pm CT

Nick Whalen: While the Warriors haven't had their backs against the wall too often over the years, Curry tends to play well in these situations. Most recently, in the Finals last year, after the Warriors fell behind 2-1 to Boston, Curry came out with 43 points and seven three-pointers in Game 4 to even the series. Golden State will need another monster Curry game to stay afloat against the fast-paced Kings, who for the most part have done a good job of defending Curry 1-on-1 and keeping him away from the basket. Curry is an elite three-point shooter at any venue, of course, but he's shooting the three at a 45.3 percent clip at Chase Center this season, compared to 40.6 percent on the road.

Norman Powell O1.5 made three-pointers (+115) vs. Phoenix Suns 

DraftKings Sportsbook, 1pm CT

Editor's note: This bet was made BEFORE the news of Kawhi Leonard's injury. The line has since moved to 1.5 at -180 to the over and +145 to the under as of 4:31 PM CT

Nick Whalen: Dating back to the end of the regular season, Powell has been mired in a slump that's seen him hit only two of his last 20 attempts from deep. His misfires killed the Clippers in Game 2, but this presents a value opportunity for tonight. Powell drilled 2.5 threes per game during the regular season and should continue to see big minutes – and plenty of shot opportunities – with Paul George sidelined. The recent track record is concerning, but Powell hit multiple threes in 35 of 60 regular season games – most of which came with George in the lineup.

Deandre Ayton Under 16.5 points (-120) at Clippers

BetMGM, 11:30 AM CT

Chris Benzine: While Ayton surpassed the 16.5-point mark in Game 1, that came on an inordinate 16 shot attempts from the field and resulted in an opening-game loss. Ayton is averaging just 10.4 field-goal attempts per 36 minutes when Durant is also out there, representing a sizable drop in his usage. The two should see plenty of minutes together during the postseason run, and Ayton typically logs minutes in the low 30s, so it seems more likely the Game 1 output is the outlier, while the Game 2 showing (14 points on 7-of-10 shooting) could be more the norm and even represents a more efficient night from the field than usual.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Chris Benzine
Chris is the college football editor and the Kansas City Chiefs beat writer. He's a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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