As the NBA playoff races continue to heat up down the stretch, my NBA parlay picks have gone cold. I hit just one of three wagers last week and as we know that just aint good enough. The good news is that there’s still time and as we know from a few weeks ago winning tickets are out there. With just a few weeks remaining in the regular season I’ll attempt to get back on a heater with a good slate of games on the Wednesday, March 29 schedule to pick from.
Finishing in the top six of your conference means you avoid the dreaded play-in tournament. While it may be good for fans and the game with two additional teams in each conference getting a chance to play beyond the regular season, it can cause some anxious moments in the standings. Just three wins separate No. 4 Phoenix from No. 11 Dallas in the West and several of the teams involved are competing. The top team in the entire league is also scheduled with the Milwaukee Bucks looking to solidify their spot and further distance themselves in the East.
Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers
There’s a reason why the Bucks are the best team in the NBA and high on the list of teams to win the O’Brien Trophy. You might think that reason is Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the real reason why is the team’s depth. Bouncing back from a loss at Denver in the second of a back to back, the Bucks throttled Detroit 126-117 playing without Giannis and Jrue Holiday. So Bobby Portis goes for 21 and 14 boards in place of the Freak and Jevon Carter adds 22 points as four players score at least 20. Sure it was the Pistons, owners of the worst record in the Association, but still it was an impressive outburst. The Bucks and Pacers have played three wild games this season with plenty of points allowing the OVER to cash in every contest. And we saw Indiana win on the road in the previous meeting. With the Bucks playing Boston on Thursday and likely sitting a few guys, the Pacers are primed to cover the spread.
NBA Parlay Pick: Indiana ATS / OVER
Minnesota Timberwolves at Phoenix Suns
Finishing off what has so far been a successful road trip, the Wolves head to the desert for a showdown with the Suns. Minnesota opened the trip beating Golden State and followed the next night with a win in Sacramento. Two hard fought games on consecutive nights can take a lot out of a team and the Suns are pretty damn good beating Philadelphia and Utah by a combined 34 points. Phoenix also has wins and payout in each of its last three home games with the Wolves while going 6-1 SU and ATS in the last seven meetings overall. The Suns’ defense is a big reason for their winning streak holding the Sixers to 105 and the Jazz to 103 after allowing at least 113 points in the previous seven games when they went 1-6 SU and 0-7 ATS. While Kevin Durant remains sidelined, the Suns have gotten all their injured players back with a full roster for the first time in a while. Currently fourth in the West the Suns are just two game from falling into a playoff spot putting added emphasis on winning at home.
NBA Parlay Pick: Phoenix ATS
Sacramento Kings at Portland Trail Blazers
While mathematically still alive for a play-in spot, the Blazers have apparently waved the white flag losing their last three games, all at home, with two of them by at least 28 points. Recent injuries to Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic haven’t helped, and other players have been hobbled missing time as well. Even before those guys went down the Blazers were struggling with just win in their last 10 games while going 3-7 ATS. This is a great opportunity for the Kings to clinch their first playoff berth in 16 years, the longest current drought in any of the four major pro sports leagues. They failed to do it on Monday falling at home to Minnesota, but the Kings manhandled Portland 133-116 in the last meeting and won’t have the pressure of clinching at home, which was certainly the case against the Wolves.
NBA Parlay Pick: Sacramento ATS
