Road to the NBA Finals: NBA Playoff Predictions, Picks for Every Game on Thursday

Could three teams punch a ticket to the conference semifinals on Thursday night?

The New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves all have 3-2 series leads heading into their Game 6 battles, though New York and Boston (both road teams) are the only squads that are favored. The Denver Nuggets are 5.5-point favorites on the road as they aim to force a Game 7 against the Anthony Edwards-less Timberwolves.

Here’s a quick look at the games on Thursday, with Atlanta, Philly and Denver all looking to force a Game 7:

New York Knicks @ Atlanta Hawks (Knicks lead 3-2)
Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers (Celtics lead 3-2)
Denver Nuggets @ Minnesota Timberwolves (Timberwolves lead 3-2)

This postseason, I’m betting on every playoff game and the three Game 6 matchups tonight should produce some of the best playoff action we’ve had this month.

Here’s a quick refresher on the Road to the NBA Finals rules, before I dive into the picks for Thursday’s action:

Bet on every game through the play-in tournament and playoffs
Bet can be a spread, total, moneyline, player prop or game prop
ENJOY POSTSEASON BASKETBALL!

Now, let’s talk ball!

Karl-Anthony Towns 35+ Points, Rebounds and Assists (-149)

Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why Towns should have yet another big game in this series:

New York Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns has been awesome in the playoffs, averaging 20.0 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 59.3 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from beyond the arc.

New York has run more of the offense through Towns in the last few games, including Game 5 when Jalen Brunson poured in 39 points. Towns still finished with 16 points and six dimes in that matchup, giving him 16 assists over the last two games.

The former No. 1 overall pick has put up 37, 28, 42, 40 and 36 PRA in his five games in this series. The Hawks simply don’t have a player that can match up on Towns one-on-one, and he’s found his 3-point shot after shooting under 37 percent from deep in the regular season.

I’m buying KAT to lead the way with the Knicks looking to close out this series on Thursday.

Boston Celtics -5.5 (-115) vs. Philadelphia 76ers

I’m sticking with a second play from Peter’s Points, this time on my favorite side for Thursday’s action:

How many times have we seen Boston shoot terribly in a playoff loss and then bounce back with a win?

Boston is 25-14 on the road in the playoffs since the 2020-21 season, and it covered this number in both road wins against Philly earlier in the series. Embiid is a factor – Boston doesn’t have a player that can match up with him – but the recipe for the Celtics is too simply shoot better than they did in Game 5.

The Celtics are shooting just 27.2 percent from deep in their two losses in this series and 41.6 percent from 3 in their wins. I expect a bounce-back showing from a Boston team that is 17-9 against the spread as a road favorite, posting an average scoring margin of +12.7 points in those games.

Philadelphia emptied the tank on Tuesday, playing Embiid a ton of minutes to force a Game 6. With a quick turnaround on Thursday, I think that favors Boston, which doesn’t need to play its “A” game to win this series.

Minnesota Timberwolves +5.5 (-105) vs. Denver Nuggets

The Timberwolves are facing an uphill battle – despite being up in this series – with Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo out.

Still, there is a case to be made for the Wolves to cover this number in Game 6, especially since they hung around in the first half of Game 5. The defense for the Timberwolves has been the difference in this series, ranking sixth in defensive rating amongst playoff teams while the Nuggets are 12th in effective field goal percentage.

Denver was able to get big games from both Spencer Jones and Cameron Johnson in Game 5, but will that carry over on the road? The supporting cast for the Nuggets is extremely suspect with Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson injured, and the Timberwolves are 4-4 against the spread when set as home dogs this season.

I wouldn't be shocked if the Wolves hang around in this game, especially since they won two games outright at home already in this series – including Game 4 with Edwards missing the entire second half.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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