NBA Tuesday Slate Preview: Odds, Trends for Top Matchups

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It’s the final week of the NBA regular season, and several teams are still jockeying for playoff position ahead of the play-in tournament. The most important race is potentially between the No. 6 and No. 7 seeds, as the No. 6 seed is firmly in the postseason field while the No. 7 seed has to participate in the play-in tournament.

The Eastern Conference’s No. 6 and No. 7 seeds square off tonight, while the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed looks to get back on track in a marquee clash.

The first leg of tonight’s TNT doubleheader is a battle between the Heat and Celtics in Boston. The sixth-place Heat are two games ahead of the seventh-place Celtics. Miami has surged recently with an 8-3 record in its past 10 games, including a 130-124 victory over Boston on Sunday.

The Heat (-125 on the moneyline) are 1.5-point road favorites at William Hill over the Celtics (+105 ML) and the total is residing at 225.

The majority of William Hill bettors are rolling with the short favorite here. The Heat have drawn 67% of the total number of tickets and 76% of the total dollars wagered among all spread bets vs. the Celtics, as well as 63% of the total number of tickets and 96% of the total dollars wagered for all moneyline bets.

The largest wager from that game comes from a Nevada bettor who placed $10,000 on Heat -125 moneyline for a total potential payout of $18,000.

Later on TNT, the Knicks travel across the country to face the Lakers in Los Angeles at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Both teams have compiled a 38-30 record, though the Lakers are +400 to win the title at William Hill Nevada and the Knicks are 75/1. The seventh-place Lakers are now 1.5 games behind the sixth-place Blazers after losing eight of their past 11 games.

The Lakers were 5.5-point favorites before the news that LeBron James would not return tonight and will miss his fifth straight game while dealing with a sore ankle. Los Angeles was first brought down to -4 and is now -3 (-150 ML) against New York (+130 ML), with the total at 211.5.

The underdog is getting major love against the number, as the Knicks have seized 78% of the total number of tickets and 85% of the total dollars wagered among all spread bets against the Lakers. For the moneyline, Los Angeles has gotten 59% of the total number of tickets and 52% of the total dollars wagered.

One spot below the Lakers in the Western Conference are the Warriors. Golden State is fending off the Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed by half a game. The Warriors picked up a massive win last night at home over the No. 1 seed Jazz, and now get to host the No. 2 seed Suns tonight at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Phoenix (-190 ML) is a 4.5-point road favorite over Golden State (+170 ML), while the total of 231.5 is one of three on the board of 230 or higher (76ers-Pacers at 234, Nets-Bulls at 233.5).

William Hill bettors are divided on which team will cover the spread. The Warriors have the edge with 53% of the total number of tickets, however the Suns have received 75% of the total dollars wagered.

Check out William Hill’s odds for all 11 NBA games tonight below.

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