NBA PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT PREDICTIONS: ODDS, PICKS FOR LAKERS-PELICANS, WARRIORS-KINGS

The long and winding NBA regular season is finally finished, but before we can feast on the playoffs as the main course, we’ll first whet our appetite with the play-in tournament.

The Western Conference starts things off on Tuesday as the seventh-seeded Pelicans host the No. 8 Lakers, with the ninth-seeded Kings hosting the No. 10 Warriors.

Let’s set the stage with a brief preview of each Western Conference matchup on Tuesday, with some key insights bettors need to know.

Lakers vs. Pelicans prediction

After thumping the Pelicans, 124-108, in New Orleans on the final day of the regular season, the Lakers could clinch the seventh seed with a win on Tuesday night. 

Los Angeles went 3-1 in the season series, with all three wins by double-digit margins.

Playing at home might not work in the Pelicans’ favor, as they’re 21-19 in this spot vs. 28-14 on the road.

If you like the Lakers, you’d want to bet them sooner rather than later because they will likely close as the favorite in this matchup.

As of this writing, only FanDuel lists them as favorites (-1). All other sportsbooks list them as 1-1.5 underdogs.

I’m leaning toward betting on the Lakers.

Recommendation: Lakers +1.5 (-120, BetMGM) Warriors vs. Kings prediction

Although the Warriors are the visiting team, they opened as one-point favorites and are now as high as -3 in the market. 

They won the first two meetings during the regular season, while the Kings won the next two matchups to earn a split in the series.

However, the last time they faced one another was on Jan. 25 when the Warriors dropped to 19-23, and the Kings were 25-18. 

Since then, Golden State has gone 27-13 compared to 21-18 for Sacramento. 

The Kings are missing two key players due to injuries. Starter Kevin Huerter (shoulder) is out for the rest of the season, and Malik Monk (knee) won’t return until mid-May, if Sacramento can make it that far.

Betting on the NBA?

The Kings finished the season just 4-6 in the final 10 games, while Golden State went 8-2.

It’s worth noting that road favorites in the play-in tournament are 2-0 against the spread.

Recommendation: Warriors -2.5 (-109, BetRivers)

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2024-04-15T22:29:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd