Road to the NBA Finals: Predictions, Picks for Every NBA Play-In Tournament Game on Friday

Playoff spots are on the line on Friday night in the NBA’s play-in tournament!

How good has the play-in tournament been so far this season?

First, the Charlotte Hornets won in overtime on Tuesday night in a wild game against the Miami Heat, then the second game that night came down to the final possession with the Portland Trail Blazers upsetting the Phoenix Suns.

Wednesday was a great encore, as Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers held off the Orlando Magic to earn the No. 7 seed before Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors came back to upset the Los Angeles Clippers in the No. 10 vs. No. 9 game in the West.

So, we’re left with these two games for the No. 8 seed in each conference:

Charlotte Hornets vs. Orlando Magic (Eastern Conference)
Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns (Western Conference)

If you haven’t seen it already, I’m starting a fun new series this year during the NBA Playoffs. Road to the NBA Finals is a daily playoff column where I am betting on every postseason game, and the rules are pretty simple:

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!

A Philadelphia win and a Steph Curry explosion led to a 2-for-2 night in these picks on Wednesday, so why not keep the momentum going tonight?

Steph Curry 4+ 3-Pointers (-171)

Why not go back to the well with the greatest shooter in NBA history on Friday night?

Curry appears to be back to his usual role, playing over 35 minutes in the win over the Los Angeles Clippers, and he knocked down 7-of-12 shots from beyond the arc to lead Golden State.

The two-time league MVP appeared in three of the meetings with the Suns during the regular season, hitting this line twice. Phoenix does have a solid 3-point defense – fourth in the league in opponent 3s made per game – but Curry is matchup-proof.

The star guard has made four or more 3s in four of five games since returning to the lineup, and he finished the regular season averaging 4.4 3-pointers per game while shooting 39.3 percent from deep.

He’s an easy bet at this number – and could be a player to ladder in this market – on Friday night.

Charlotte Hornets Moneyline (-175) vs. Orlando Magic

I know, I know, not a ton of value with this play, but I have zero intention of laying 3.5 points with the Hornets on the road after they nearly blew Tuesday’s game against Miami in overtime.

Before the play-in tournament, I made the somewhat bold prediction that the Magic would not make it out of the play-in tournament. So, I’m not backing down now.

The Hornets recorded the second-best net rating in the NBA since the All-Star break while the Magic were just No. 15 during that stretch.

Charlotte’s offense finished as the No. 5 unit in the league, and it completely outclassed Orlando in the late March matchup between the teams. While Franz Wagner and Anthony Black have returned for Orlando, that wasn’t enough to beat a Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia team in the first play-in game.

The Hornets didn’t have their best shooting game against Miami, but they still found a way to come out with a win. Players like Kon Knueppel and Ball struggled shooting the 3, but I’d expect some positive regression in that department for a Hornets team that is 12th in the NBA in effective field goal percentage (Orlando is 25th).

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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