Wednesday, April 13th is one that will live long in NBA lore. Not only could the Golden State Warriors make league history by winning a single-season record 73rd game, but The Black Mamba will also be playing his final game.
Neither event should be overly climactic. The Warriors at worst have tied the Chicago Bulls with 72 wins, they have the #1 seed locked up in the Western Conference and they get to go for the record in front of their home crowd at the Oracle Arena. Oh, and they’re facing a Memphis Grizzlies team that is severely depleted due to injuries and is limping into the playoffs.
More than likely, we get to see Kobe Bryant play his final game at the Staples Center and an impressive record be broken. Both will be televised on two different ESPN channels at exactly the same time. Pick your viewing wisely, but for all of your NBA picks tonight, stop by our matchup breakdowns below:
Line: Bulls -11 Total: 208
The Bulls are out of the playoff picture, but they’re at home at the United Center against a very bad opponent. This one is about pure pride, even though Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose have already been shut down for the season. We will want to keep tabs on Jimmy Butler, but he played in Chicago’s last game and it sounds like he wants to end the year on a positive note. That might happen in a sense, but the Bulls haven’t been good at dominating anyone all year. Under-manned and overall disappointing, we can see the Bulls letting Philly hang around.
Pick: Bulls 101, Sixers 96
Line: Bucks -4 Total: 203
Indiana has already suggested that Paul George will rest in their final regular season game in order to be 100% for the playoffs, so we can assume he won’t be on hand in Milwaukee tonight. Indiana holds the regular season tiebreaker with the Pistons and won last night, though, so it is no longer crucial that they win this game. That should shift the focus on Milwaukee, who have played very well at the Bradley Center (23-17 at home) and will certainly want to cap the year on a high note. Taking down the rival Pacers would qualify, while a win tonight for the Bucks would also even the season series. If George indeed sits, the advantage goes to Milwaukee.
Pick: Bucks 103, Pacers 99
Line: Hornets -9 Total: 208.5
Orlando is in a tough spot tonight, as they finish their season out on the road against a very good Hornets team that may opt to close the year out strong. Charlotte can no longer win the Southeast Division or top the Hawks, but a Charlotte win and Boston loss would give them a bump in seeding. That should be enough to force the main Hornets stars out onto the floor, which is bad news for the visiting Magic. Orlando has struggled immensely on the road this year (12-28), while the Hornets are especially tough to deal with on their home court (29-11). Provided Charlotte doesn’t randomly rest their key players, they look like the safe bet in this matchup.
Pick: Hornets 107, Magic 102
Line: Suns -6 Total: 203.5
Los Angeles has nothing to play for, as they can’t move up or down in the playoff standings. They know they can beat the Suns potentially without their stars anyways, and it’s already been made known that Blake Griffin will be held out for this contest. In addition, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan, Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick will all stay in L.A. tonight.
The dismantled starting unit gives Phoenix a shot at home tonight, but even the Suns are down numerous bodies. The Clippers’ bench has shown well in recent games, and there is little reason to think it can’t step up again.
Pick: Clippers 106, Suns 101
Line: Blazers -10 Total: 215
Portland could opt to rest their guys tonight, but that may be unlikely considering the Blazers still need a win to ensure they finish above the Dallas Mavericks in the West. That should push Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum into action in Portland’s regular season finale, which is understandably bad news for the Nuggets. Denver has nothing to lose here and does pack a solid offensive punch, but they are atrocious on the road (15-25) and the Blazers will surely want to end the regular season on a high note. Expect a high-scoring and probably even close contest, but the Blazers should secure the win.
Pick: Blazers 105, Nuggets 101
Line: Celtics -5 Total: 209
Both Miami and Boston are playing for something when the two clash at TD Garden tonight, which means we should have all the stars hitting the court for a pretty big game. Miami needs to win tonight to secure the Southeast Division title, while a loss could hand it to the Atlanta Hawks. Dwyane Wade and co. will be more than motivated to pull a tough road win out, especially since a loss to the Celtics could lose them the division title and drop them below Boston in playoff seeding. That could be the difference of a #3 seed and a #5 seed, so there’s little doubt Miami will want to snag this game. Boston has gone up 2-0 in the season series, but logic suggests Miami will finally get the best of them tonight – especially with so much on the line.
Pick: Heat 101, Celtics 97
Line: Cavs -3 Total: 195.5
Neither the Pistons or Cavs have anything to play for tonight, as Cleveland has secured the #1 seed in the East and Detroit is locked into the 8th spot. That means we get this exact matchup in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, and it’s pretty unlikely either side will want to show their hand. Bank on a lot of key players sitting this one out, and give a minor edge to the home team (Cavs are 33-7 at Quicken Loans Arena).
Pick: Cavs 104, Pistons 96
Line: Mavs -9 Total: 187.5
More rest is to come in this one, as the Spurs have nowhere to go in their seeding and just won their 40th home game last night. They will surely be resting a lot of their key players as they anticipate taking on the 7th seed in the first round of the playoffs. There has been talk of Dallas resting Dirk Nowitzki and others now that they’ve clinched a playoff spot, but with the #5 seed within reach, it’s possible Dallas goes hard at home to close out the regular season. The combination of a higher seed and the Spurs resting players should give Dallas enough to get the win.
Pick: Mavs 99, Spurs 96
Line: Rockets -15 Total: 222.5
This should be the easiest call of the night, as the Rockets know they are in the playoffs if they can just take down the Kings. That doesn’t look like a tall order considering DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo are done for the year. Sacramento isn’t always scary even when healthy, while their road woes (15-25) are well documented. Houston has been infamous this year for being extremely inconsistent, though, so it’s very likely they don’t put the Kings away until late. Because of that, we give Sacramento a real chance to beat the spread and keep this one interesting until the end.
Pick: Rockets 106, Kings 102
Line: Wolves -9 Total: 213.5
The Pelicans are extremely banged up and both teams are very young, so this one actually could be a bit of a toss-up, despite Minnesota entering with a strong -9 spread advantage. Minnesota has more of an edge, too, as they’re at home, are healthy and have more talent across the board. New Orleans has also been awful (9-31) away from home this year, and there’s probably not a whole lot that Tim Frazier and Luke Babbitt can do to change that. New Orleans built a 2-1 season series lead when they were healthier, but in their current state, they’re likely to drop another one on the road to close out the year.
Pick: Wolves 107, Pelicans 101
Line: Raptors -5 Total: 206
Toronto is locked into the two-seed in the East and will surely be sitting their key players tonight, while the Nets host one more home game at the Barclays Center, trying to nix a 9-game losing streak. Brooklyn is down to spare parts and hasn’t even found much solace at home (14-26), so it’s easy to roll with Toronto here, regardless of who suits up. Toronto’s bench is actually solid, too, with Norman Powell and Jason Thompson giving them two guys to lean on if guys like Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan in fact sit out.
Pick: Raptors 106, Nets 89
Line: Hawks -8 Total: 207
Washington is out of the playoff conversation and has already ended the seasons of John Wall and Brad Beal prematurely, so they can’t be expected to put up much of a fight against the Hawks tonight. Atlanta’s only real concern is that they’re on the road, but they’ve got a chance at winning a division title if Miami loses tonight, as well. Atlanta leads this series 2-1 and with the Wiz playing for nothing at less than full strength, the Hawks look like the easy pick.
Pick: Hawks 104, Wizards 94
Line: Warriors -18.5 Total: 212
It was the Grizzlies who almost kept this potential record-setting night from happenings just a few days ago, and they’ll once again get a crack at taking the Dubs down. Giving Golden State that big of a fight twice in a row doesn’t feel overly likely, though, especially with the finish line so close. The Warriors know they are one complete game away from making league history, so we can fully expect big games out of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Memphis can be feisty and probably won’t be keen on letting the Dubs walk all over them en route to history, so an 18.5 point spread seems a bit high.
Pick: Warriors 111, Grizz 102
Line: Jazz -5.5 Total: 193
Kobe Bryant’s last game comes in front of the Lake Show faithful, and while it won’t be a meaningful playoff game, everyone on hand will certainly find some meaning in it. The Jazz might, too, since they could be playing for a trip to the playoffs. They’ll know their fate ahead of the game, but if Houston loses, Utah will be put everything it has into making The Black Mamba’s swan song an ugly one. What happens in that Rockets game could dramatically shift this outcome, so pay attention to see if Utah is playing for anything once this game rolls around. For now, we see Utah being focused and taking down a lesser opponent. Does that mean Bryant can’t drop a cool 35 points in his career finale? We hope not.
Pick: Jazz 104, Lakers 97
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