Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – April 10th, 2023

By Hank Blaine • April 10, 2023

There could be major changes with the Dallas Mavericks next season after the All-Star tandem of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving shockingly missed the playoffs. Irving is set for free agency and might just walk now. Here’s a look at the two win-and-you-are-in play-in tournament games on Tuesday around the NBA. Check back for NBA odds.

Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week (April 10th, 2023)

At the end of the 2022-23 regular season, @talkhoops has five teams in his “Contenders” tier.

Do you agree?

End-of-season NBA Power Rankings: https://t.co/CVr3zlTlIq pic.twitter.com/UWd5Y98qmJ
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) April 10, 2023

Atlanta Hawks vs. Miami Heat

When: Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 7:00 PM ET
Where: Kaseya Center, Miami, FL
TV: TNT
Radio: 92.9 “The Game” WZGC FM (Hawks) // 560 The Joe WQAM (Heat)
Live Stream: NBA League Pass
NBA Betting Odds: TBA

The winner of this Eastern Conference matchup at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT faces the East No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in Round 1 of the playoffs. The loser hosts the Bulls-Raptors on Friday for the right to face No. 1 Milwaukee in the first round. Atlanta appeared as the No. 9 seed in the 2022 NBA Play-In Tournament, taking down Charlotte (No. 10) and Cleveland (No. 8), en route to the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

Atlanta’s Trae Young led the NBA in total assists, dishing out 741 helpers this season (fourth-most in a single season in franchise history). Young is averaging 26.2 points, a career-high 10.2 assists, 3.0 rebounds and a career-best 1.10 steals.

Young and Dejounte Murray (20.5 points, 6.1 assists) are on pace to become just the second set of teammates in NBA history to average at least 20.0 PPG and 6.0 APG in a single season (min. 70 games played), joining Michael Jordan (30.1 points, 6.1 assists, 80 games played) and Scottie Pippen (21.0 points, 7.0 assists, 82 games played) of the 1991-92 Chicago Bulls.

In 19 career regular-season games against the Heat, Young has averaged 21.4 points on .402 shooting, as compared to his career marks of 25.5 points on .437 shooting. The 21.4 average is second lowest against any opponent, ahead of only the 20.2 he has averaged in 10 career games against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Hawks fired coach Nate McMillan in late February and immediately targeted former Jazz coach Quin Snyder. Since he took over on Feb. 28, the Hawks are averaging 123.3 points per game — only the Bucks (123.4) have averaged more since then.

Miami captured the Southeast Division title this season, marking their 16th divisional title in franchise history. Since their first division crown in 1996-97, no team in the NBA has more over that span. The Heat won 24 games this season by five points or less, the most such victories during a single-season in team history, and tying for the most such games in NBA history.

Miami has held opponents to under 100 points 13 times this season, posting a 12-1 record over that span. Jimmy Butler (43 times), Bam Adebayo (37 times) and Tyler Herro (35 times) have each scored at least 20 points 35 times this season, becoming the only trio to accomplish the feat during a single season in team history.

The Heat were 3-1 vs. the Hawks this season.

NBA Betting Pick: Hawks

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers

When: Wednesday, April 12, 2023, 8:30 PM ET

Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

TV: TNT

Radio: WCCO-AM 830 (Timberwolves) // 710 ESPNLA (Lakers)

The winner of this Western Conference matchup at 10 p.m. ET on TNT faces the East No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies in Round 1 of the playoffs. The loser hosts the Thunder-Pelicans winner on Friday for the right to face No. 1 Denver in the first round.

Minnesota finished eighth in the West thanks to a third straight win Sunday, 113-108 over New Orleans. Anthony Edwards had 26 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and four blocks. However, the big news was that three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson late in the second quarter and was sent home for the day, after ace defender Jaden McDaniels hurt his right hand by hitting a wall in frustration.

“We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home after the incident in the second quarter. His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will handle the situation internally,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in a statement. Neither Connelly nor coach Chris Finch would give any indication on possible further discipline that Gobert could face.

McDaniels broke his hand so he’s out for this game and obviously a while should the Wolves advance. That will really hurt defensively as McDaniels was one of six players to defend 2022-23 All-Stars at least 1,000 times this season. The Wolves are already without backup center Naz Reid — who had been having his most productive NBA season — with a fractured wrist that he suffered March 29.

James had 25 games this season scoring 30+ points and his 80th such game since turning 35 years old, tying Karl Malone for the most all-time in NBA history. The Timberwolves earlier this season traded guard D’Angelo Russell in a three-way deal to Los Angeles so that will be one storyline in this game. The Timberwolves won the season series, 2-1, against the Lakers, but Los Angeles won the most recent meeting on March 31.

The Lakers and Timberwolves have met twice in the postseason (2003 First Round, 2004 Conference Finals), where the Lakers defeated the Wolves 4-2 both times despite Minnesota holding homecourt advantage in each series.

NBA Betting Pick: Timberwolves

Where to Bet on the 2022-23 NBA season with Bitcoin

Nitrobetting offers a solid channel for those who want to bet on the 2022-23 NBA Season with bitcoin. The power of crypto and its lightning-fast transactions make the entire NBA Season betting more enjoyable.

This is just one of the many sports betting guides that you can read here at Nitrobetting news. Stay tuned for more 2022-23 NBA season previews and articles and don’t forget to check out the latest basketball betting odds on our online bitcoin sportsbook.

*All odds stated are subject to change without prior notice.