Looking for the best bets for Saturday's NBA slate? RotoWire has you covered with several picks for this set of games.
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Best NBA Bets Today (Saturday, April 18)
Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks: Karl-Anthony Towns over 32.5 points + rebounds, -114 @ DraftKings
The Knicks will open their 2026 NBA Playoffs run at home against the Hawks, and the best path to come away with a victory in Game 1 of the series will be winning the battles down low, where Towns should have a huge edge against the Hawks' frontcourt, headlined by Onyeka Okongwu. Towns averaged 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds per game during the regular season, but he posted at least 33 points + rebounds in the two head-to-head meetings he had against Atlanta in the regular season, including a 21-point, 12-rebound performance earlier this month.
Towns should operate as the Knicks' second-best offensive option, but considering Jalen Brunson will have tough matchups in the backcourt, it wouldn't be surprising if the Knicks rely on Towns more often than not. The big man is certainly a player to watch this afternoon, because his contributions on both ends of the court could be pivotal for the Knicks' chances of having success. At least Towns ended the regular season on a strong note, averaging 20.2 points and 11.9 rebounds per game while shooting 56.3 percent from the floor in his last 10 regular-season contests.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets: Anthony Edwards over 26.5 points, +100 @ FanDuel
Edwards is listed as questionable for the series opener against the Nuggets due to what the team has described as right knee injury maintenance, but since he was spotted doing on-court workouts Friday, all signs point to Edwards suiting up in Game 1. The star guard has been limited to just three appearances since March 15 due to a nagging knee problem, and he averaged just 15.7 points per game in those contests, but those were far below the usual standard of Edwards throughout the campaign, especially when he was healthy.
The star guard averaged a career-best 28.8 points per game in 61 regular-season appearances, and he scored at least 26 points in 39 of those 61 games. Furthermore, Edwards also averaged 30.3 points per game in three head-to-head meetings against Denver in the regular season. Expect the star guard to carry a massive usage rate in this series opener, because if the Timberwolves want to have a shot at winning this game, they need Edwards to be at his best.
Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Luke Kennard over 2.5 three-pointers, +130 @ BetMGM
The Lakers will have to rely heavily on LeBron James if they're going to open their series against the Rockets with a win, as they won't have either Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique), possibly for the entire first-round series. However, one player who often gets overlooked in the Lakers' offensive scheme is Kennard. The sharpshooting wing has proven he can embrace a bigger role on offense if needed, and he should be in line for a big game as long as he gets enough chances to let it fly from three-point range.
Kennard started the final five games of the regular season for the Lakers, averaging 12.2 points per game and shooting 30.8 percent from deep, but that might have been a bump on the road and not much else. Kennard hit a career-best 47.8 percent of his threes on 3.1 attempts per game in the regular season, and he also made 44.8 percent of his three-pointers on 3.0 attempts per game since joining the Lakers after the trade deadline. The Lakers need him to be sharp to have a shot in this game, because his outside shooting will be key in a game where most of the attention from the Rockets will be on slowing James down.
