The Buckets podcast crew has locked in their top five NBA bets for Friday, April 5 — including a prop, two spreads, a total and a moneyline play.
Find the full episode below as we dive into their NBA picks and predictions for Friday's slate of basketball.
NBA Picks & Predictions for Friday, April 5
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | Chet Holmgren Under Points+Assists |
  | 7:30 p.m. | Celtics -8.5 |
  | 8 p.m. | Bulls ML |
  | 8 p.m. | Spurs +11.5 |
  | 8:30 p.m. | Under 228.5 |
Chet Holmgren Under Points+Assists at Pacers
7 p.m. ET ⋅ NBA League Pass
By Jim Turvey
This is a little bit of a zag spot.
Everybody sees the Pacers and thinks high-pace and a lot of scoring, but they actually have a good 3-point defense. Holmgren has slowed down a lot in March and I think he has hit a bit of a wall. His numbers are down to 14.5 ppg and 1.8 apg.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out and Jaylin Williams is doubtful. I don't think Holmgren will get a huge usage bump with them out. I think these minutes could get funky tonight and we just saw the Celtics rock the Thunder without those two guys.
I am just not doing too much on sides at this point in time and if Williams does play, I feel even better about his Holmgren's unders.
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Celtics -8.5 vs. Kings
7:30 p.m. ET ⋅ NBA TV
By Matt Moore
Let me start with both Derrick White and Jaylen Brown being questionable, which are obviously important players, but they do have a lot of redundancy and have managed to win these games anyway.
Sacramento is in a terrible spot. The Kings are 4-9 against the spread on the second night of a back-to-back. Certain teams take it out of you and this year that is the New York Knicks. Over .500 teams that just played the Knicks are 15-26 against the spread in that next game.
I think Boston is a little annoyed when the Celtics went through that downswing and I think this is a spot where they absolutely smash the Kings.
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ML vs. Knicks
8 p.m. ET ⋅ NBA League Pass
The Knicks are on a back-to-back, which in the past has been a good spot for Tom Thibodeau, but this year has not been the same.
The Knicks are 4-7 against the spread this season on the second night of a back-to-back. The Knicks also have three guys in the top-10 of minutes per game in the entire league: Deuce McBride, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo.
We saw the Bulls lose their last game against the Knicks in the Garden and recently lost to the Hawks, so I expect them to come out fired up. It is a bad spot for the Knicks, who just picked up a big win over the Kings.
I will take the Bulls as short favorites on the moneyline.
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Spurs +11.5 at Pelicans
8:00 p.m. ET ⋅ NBA League Pass
By Jim Turvey
Both Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan are out for the Spurs, and both Jose Alvarado and Brandon Ingram are out for the Pelicans.
Zion Williamson is questionable for the Pelicans as well tonight. The Spurs have become one of my favorite teams to bet since the All-Star break and they have been a quiet wagon. They are 15-6 against the spread since then and have covered their last five. Meanwhile, the Pelicans have covered just one of their last six.
The Spurs aren't winning a ton of games, but they keep it close. I really think this team is going to be a good futures bet heading into next season.
This spread is too high for me regardless of the Pelicans being at home. The Spurs have had no motivation to play well since the All-Star break, but they have, and face a Pelicans team in a slump.
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Under 228.5 vs. Warriors
8:30 p.m. ET ⋅ NBA League Pass
Both of these teams are playing a fourth game in six nights.
The under is 55-47 in that spot when both teams are on that short of rest. I think both teams will want to slow down the pace and we know the Mavericks are one of the best half-court offenses in the league so they will want to play at their own pace. I think it will be low-scoring and I have this a lot closer to low 220s.
Given that spot, I am happy to take the Warriors, who are third in defensive rating in the past five games against the Mavs, who are fifth.
The last five games is my favorite sample size and this will be a playoff-type atmosphere, so I think 228.5 is way too high.
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