NBA Picks Today: Best NBA Bets 5/4

NBA Picks Today: Best NBA Bets 5/4

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

Mavericks at Suns under 216.5 (-110)

FanDuel, 2:08 PM CT

Alex Barutha: Game 1 of this series was played at an extremely slow pace (93.9 possessions) -- slower than any team's average pace during the regular season. The final score ended up being a somewhat bloated 121-114, but both teams shot quite well. The Mavericks' splits were 47/41/72, while the Suns' splits were 51/39/100. I'm expecting things to normalize in Game 2 after each team makes defensive adjustments.

Miami Heat -8.0 vs. Philadelphia 76ers

DraftKings Sportsbook, 2:15 PM CT

Nick Whalen: Game 1 closed at around the same line, but given how that game played out, I see little reason to believe Philadelphia will put forth a better effort tonight. Meanwhile, Miami had a sloppy, inefficient Game 1 in which Jimmy Butler struggled and Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Caleb Martin and Victor Oladipo combined to go 2-of-22 from downtown, and the Heat were still able to win by 14. With even a marginally better effort from Miami, it should be another cruise-control victory.

Deandre Ayton over 19.5 points (+100) vs. Mavericks

BetMGM, 1:45 PM CT

Ken Crites: Through seven playoff games, the big center is averaging 21.1 points per game for Phoenix.  That includes 25 points in Monday's Game 1 clash versus the Mavs. Dallas' defense is focused on preventing three-pointers -- they ranked number one in opponent made three-pointers per game (8.6) during the regular season.  All that activity at the perimeter creates a lot of space inside for Ayton. The young center is also shooting a hot 68% from the field in the playoffs.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Ken
An early RotoWire contributor from the 90's, K-Train returns with the grace of Gheorghe Muresan and the wisdom of Joe Gibbs. Ken is a two-time FSWA award winner and a co-host on the RW NBA Podcast. Championships incude: 2016 RW Staff NBA Keeper, 2019 RW Staff NFL Ottoneu Keeper, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Experts, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Kamla Keeper and 2023-24 FSGA NBA Expert Champions. Ken still owns a RotoNews shirt.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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