Filip Tomic
It promises to be a hectic night of basketball on Sunday as all 30 teams hit the NBA hardwood for the final day of the regular season. ESPN’s double-header begins at 1 pm ET with the Bucks vs Pistons clash, followed by the Clippers vs Warriors game at 3.30 pm. Visit our NBA Picks page for predictions on the side and total, I’ve picked out my 3 favorite bets and combined them into a tasty +730 odds NBA Mega Parlay. Let’s check it out!
MEM Grizzlies -2.5 (-110)
LA Clippers ML (+130)
DEN Nuggets -9.5 (-110)
NBA Parlay odds: +738
MEM Grizzlies -2.5 (-110)
The good thing about the match-up between the Mavericks and Grizzlies is the fact that both teams still have something to play for, which isn’t the case in the majority of Sunday’s slate. A win could bump Memphis up to 7th and give them home court in the first play-in game, while a win for Dallas could get them the 9th seed depending on how the Sacramento Kings play out their final game vs Phoenix. These two teams played each other about a month ago in Dallas and the Grizzlies prevailed 122-111, for their 2nd win in a row against the Mavs. Similarly to that game, Dallas is still dealing with a ton of injuries and I just cannot justify backing them against the much more stable Grizzlies team.
Memphis has come to life a bit with 3 wins in 5 games, Ja Morant in particular is playing really well. He has averaged 30 points per game in his last 10 outings, if Anthony Davis isn’t able to go here the Mavs will struggle to keep him outside the paint. Joining AD on the injury report for Dallas are also Klay Thompson and P.J. Washington, while Dereck Lively II is questionable. With the Mavs going just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall and winning just 3 times in 10 meetings with Memphis, I feel like backing the Grizzlies is the right way to go in Sunday’s affair.
LA Clippers ML (+130)
In what will be the biggest game of the final day of the regular season, the LA Clippers take on the Golden State Warriors with a direct playoff spot on the line. A Clippers loss combined with a win for Minnesota could see them drop to 7th, while if the Warriors lose and the Timberwolves beating Utah they drop into the play-in tournament. The Clippers enter the game as the more in-form team having won 7 in a row, they’ve been picked by many as the dark horse in the Western Conference, depending on the health of Kawhi Leonard.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have also won 7 of 9 games and are in good spirits, however the match-up against the Clippers just hasn’t worked in their favor with just 2 wins in the last 10 games. Ivica Zubac has caused havoc on the interior averaging 16 points and 15.3 rebounds in the 3 meetings this season. I have concerns regarding their defense against him in Sunday’s game as well, this roster just isn’t constructed to take on a player of his size and agility down low. The Clippers defense has also worked to perfection against Golden State this year, holding them to just 104, 99 and 92 points. In the 10 most recent games LA has the 4th best defense in the league, points will be hard to come by for Golden State here. Unless Stephen Curry goes nuclear, I’m expecting a strong performance and a win by the Clippers here.
DEN Nuggets -9.5 (-110)
The firing of head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth has been a major distraction for the Denver Nuggets players, but that didn’t prevent the Joker from making history in his last game. Jokic became the first center ever to average a triple-double in an NBA season and only the 3rd player ever, joining Oscar and Russell Westbrook who have done it previously. As the late great Kobe Bryant once said though, the job is not finished. Denver still needs a win in their last game in order to finish 4th in the West standings, which would secure home court advantage in the first round.
There’s really no sense of urgency for the Rockets to win here as they’ve already guaranteed themselves the number 2 spot. Head coach Ime Udoka would be foolish to risk injuries to his starters so he is likely to rest everyone, just like he did in the Rockets’ last game against the Lakers which they lost 140-109 on the road. Only one team needs to win here and that’s the Denver Nuggets. They beat the Rockets when both teams were at full strength some 3 weeks ago, so I’m expecting a much easier job on Sunday against the reserves.
