NBA Tips and Predictions: April 3-10

Summary

The NBA regular season is finally in its last week of play.

Crunch time has never been more here than now, and teams will be going to the playoffs with a full head of steam.

Seeding matters for most teams, however, none more than the bottom three spots for each conference.

8-10 seeds are in a battle to find winning games, and one game or loss can be the difference in a made playoff spot or not.

Play-in games are something you want to avoid, but the eighth seed can get two opportunities to do so.

Teams like the Pelicans, Lakers, Clippers, Nets, Hornets, etc. will all be very nervous heading into this last week.

Let’s take a look at some of the key games in this last week of the regular season.

Game 1 - Los Angeles Lakers versus Phoenix Suns - Tuesday, April 5, 2022

The Lake Show, headed by star Lebron James, is in a difficult position in terms of banking for the 2022 NBA playoffs.

Lebron is having one of the best seasons, statistically, he’s had in his career at such an old age. He needs his team to pick up the slack, and this should be catalysed when Anthony Davis returns to the line-up this week.

Injury-ridden and never getting into the groove of things, Davis hopes to find form and become the MVP level player he was back in 2020.

Only the games will tell if this is a possible occurrence.

Phoenix is riding into the playoffs with the number one seed in the Western Conference locked up.

The men from Arizona have been playing stellar basketball all year, and have instilled confidence in their fans that they are ready to take the next step.

Having been a runner-up last season, this Suns team is deep and plays hard every night.

There is no weak spot, and the depth is utterly devastating. This game doesn’t matter to them, but the pride in beating the Lakers does.

Prediction: Over points, this game should be a battle between desperation and pride. I could see either of these teams winning, but the over points should be a nice play.

Game 2 - Brooklyn Nets versus New York Knicks - Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are looking to gain any sort of chemistry and the current eighth seed nets are in a spot of uncertainty.

There are clear teams ahead of them in the East, however, they will know that they have two of the most talented players in the league.

There is no doubting what this team can do, and they will have to clean it up against the Knicks on Wednesday if they want to have optimism.

New York Knick fans have been suffering for a long time now, and it looks to be extended after a promising year last year.

This game will mean nothing but pride to the Knicks, and trying to prove that they are the better team in New York.

Prediction: Brooklyn Nets Moneyline, this should be a game that BKN locks in, and makes light work.