NBA Playoff Picks for Sunday, April 23, 2023

The NBA is giving fans another back-to-back quadruple header this weekend, and it will be the last one of the season considering some of these first-round series are close to ending. The Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets are both up 2-0 and are heavy favorites by the NBA futures odds when it comes to winning their series against the Atlanta Hawks and the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, there are a few series that look like they could go the full seven games, including the most exciting series to this point.

The Golden State Warriors are the defending NBA champions and have won four of the last eight titles. However, they are being given all they can handle by the upstart Sacramento Kings. Less than 100 miles separate Golden State from Sacramento, so we are seeing a lot of excitement from both fanbases too. While Golden State won by 17 points without Draymond Green in Game 3, don’t be surprised if Sacramento plays them a lot tougher in Game 4 on Sunday.

NBA Betting Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook

Sacramento Kings +7.5 at Golden State Warriors

Neither Golden State nor Sacramento shot the ball particularly well in Game 3, but the Kings were ice cold from beyond the arc as a team. After thriving in Sacramento over the first two games of this series, the Kings hit just 23.4% of their threes on Thursday night. Malik Monk was the embodiment of the Kings’ shooting woes as he finished with just four points on 1 of 9 shooting from the floor after scoring 32 points in Game 1 and 18 points in Game 2.

De’Aaron Fox continued to play well though, finishing with a team-high 26 points and nine assists. Domantas Sabonis had a nice game too, but he wasn’t at his best and finished with 15 points, 16 rebounds, and six turnovers.

Meanwhile, Steph Curry showed the resiliency we have come to expect from Golden State. He led all scorers with 36 points on 12 of 25 shooting and had a game-high plus/minus of +24 too. Andrew Wiggins finally came alive too, while Jordan Poole continued to struggle from the floor.

The Warriors will be hyped up with the return of Draymond Green, but don’t expect Sacramento to have another terrible shooting performance. Golden State should not be this much of a favorite on Sunday, and I will happily take Sacramento and the 7.5 points on the NBA betting line.

Denver Nuggets (TBD) at Minnesota Timberwolves

We have yet to see basketball betting odds released for Game 4 between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves, but I expect Denver to be a slight favorite on the road once more since the Nuggets are a -134 moneyline favorite at BetRivers Sportsbook in Game 3 on Friday night. Denver is the No. 1 overall seed in the Western Conference, and this team has lived up to the billing. The Nuggets dismantled the Timberwolves by 29 points in Game 1 and bested their opponent by nine points in Game 2.

It will be interesting to see how Minnesota responds in Game 4 with their season effectively on the line. While Nikola Jokic hasn’t put up huge numbers, Jokic continues to play well, and he is the type of center that isn’t bothered a bit by Rudy Gobert. To make matters worse for the Timberwolves, Gobert is dealing with a back issue and is seen as questionable for Game 3 on Friday night.

Minnesota’s hope in this series is that Anthony Edwards takes his game to the next level. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft has shined at times, but he has been somewhat inconsistent in big games. That’s really the only way they can pull off the upset, as Gobert has not been the additive defensive force the front office had hoped for when acquiring him from Utah.

This is a great chance for Denver to get some rest. There’s a pretty good chance that the other three first-round series in the Western Conference go at least six games, but the Nuggets can put away the T-Wolves early and enjoy some time off before welcoming another opponent to the Mile High City.