NBA Bets for April 8: Let's Use Parlays to Get Creative
Atlanta Hawks vs. Orlando Magic
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET at Kia Center
The Angle
The only reason to worry about Orlando is that it sometimes struggles offensively. Its defense is elite, so one can count on its opponent struggling to score.
I like Orlando in this contest because the Magic won't struggle offensively. Atlanta has a bad defense that is playing especially poorly in its most recent games.
Whereas the Hawks will fail to reach 110 points, Orlando will at least approach 120 points.
Outlook for Orlando's Defense
The Magic have one of the best defenses, ranking third in defensive rating.
Two things that they do well are protect the basket and stop teams from scoring in transition.
They allow the seventh-fewest field goals within five feet of the basket and rank seventh at limiting opposing points in transition per game.
Their outlook is strong in this game because the Hawks on offense rely heavily on scoring at the basket and at scoring in transition.
Orlando's defense will stop them from being able to rely on either means of scoring.
Atlanta's Poor Defense
The Hawks enter this game having allowed each of their last seven opponents to score at least 120 points.
Most recently, they allowed 134 points to a Utah team that ranks 24th in offensive rating,
So, one can't doubt Orlando's offense today because of its low ranking because the Hawks are giving up a lot of points to even low-ranking offenses.
In their most recent games, the Magic have always beaten teams with bad defenses by seven or more points. Such teams include the Wizards (twice), Hornets, Kings, and Spurs. They will add
Atlanta to that list tonight, leaning on their defense and not worrying about their offense.
Best Bet: Magic -4 at -115 with BetOnline
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Charlotte Hornets
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET at Spectrum Center
Only Memphis Is Righting Its Ship
The Grizzlies were a team in turmoil. They were playing poor defense, showing a bad effort in many instances. Their head coach was ultimately fired.
But now they are figuring out how to win under their new leadership.
They enter today's game having beaten a Miami team that won six in a row and the upstart Pistons.
Conversely, Charlotte is an example of a team that has not righted its ship. The Hornets enter today's game having lost each of their last three games by double digits.
Charlotte Lacks Scoring Talent
The Hornets can't be expected to keep pace with a focused Memphis team.
They miss Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball, who are their top two scorers.
As a result, they are repeatedly struggling to reach 105 points.
Memphis Will Thrive in Transition
Charlotte struggles to defend teams that rely heavily on scoring in transition.
The Hornets gave up 132 points to Memphis when these teams last played.
They gave up at least 123 points in three of their four games against Atlanta, which is another team that relies heavily on scoring in transition.
The list continues, and ultimately Charlotte's transition defense is seventh-worst based on percentile.
Memphis, which relies on scoring in transition more than any other team, will score at will in this matchup.
Parlay Leg 1: Memphis ML (-900) at BetOnline
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Brooklyn Nets
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Barclays Center
The Last Meeting
When these two teams last played, they combined for 212 points.
Brooklyn shot well beyond itself from behind the arc.
Moreover, the Nets still had current Piston Dennis Schroder playing for them and had Cam Thomas and Cameron Johnson healthy for them.
The Lack of Scoring Talent
Schroder, Thomas, and Johnson were or are Brooklyn's top three scorers who won't play for the Nets tonight.
Their fourth-leading scorer is D'Angelo Russell, who has been ruled 'out' of tonight's game.
The Nets cannot reach 107 points with so much less scoring talent when they already depended on unusually efficient three-point shooting to score as many points as they did.
In particular, the Pelicans are vulnerable to three-point shooting, but the Nets rank toward the very bottom in three-point efficiency because they lack good shooters.
But New Orleans will also lack scoring talent. Zion Williamson is injured in this game as he was for the first meeting.
Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 24 points in that game, but he is now a Raptor.
Brooklyn's Ball-Screen Defense
New Orleans' offense matches up poorly against the Nets because it relies heavily on ball-screens.
The Pelicans run the pick-and-roll for the ball-handler play type with the sixth-highest frequency.
Brooklyn has worked on its defensive connectivity and improved tremendously against this play type.
The Nets now allow, by a clear margin, the lowest point total against it.
Parlay Leg 2: Under 214 at -110 with BetOnline
Parlay: Grizzlies ML (-900) & Pelicans-Nets under 214 (-110) at +112 with BetOnline
Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 10 p.m. ET at PHX Arena
Great Spot For Golden State
The Warriors are in a great spot tonight because they are coming off a loss.
They have a great history of taking care of business against losing teams when they had lost their last game.
Most recently, they beat the Pelicans by 16 after they lost to Miami.
On March 3, they beat Charlotte by 18 after they lost to the 76ers.
Since January 23, they likewise victimized the then-slumping Bulls (twice) and the Jazz after they had lost their previous game.
Phoenix is not only a losing team, but the Suns have lost six in a row with all six of their losses coming by ten points or more.
They don't defend the perimeter well — which is obviously a problem against a Golden State team that with Steph Curry, who is going to be eager to bounce back after his last game, loves to
shoot threes — miss Kevin Durant, and seriously lack scoring talent outside of Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Parlay Leg 1: Warriors ML (-325) at BetOnline
San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 10:30 p.m. ET at Intuit Dome
The Clippers' Elite Defense
The total posted by oddsmakers does not respect how good the Clippers defense is and how well it is playing.
Ranked second in defensive rating, the Clippers are entering peak form as the postseason approaches.
They held each of their last four opponents to 104 points or fewer.
With Ivica Zubac protecting the basket and helping them rank eighth at limiting field goals made within five feet of the basket and with their surging perimeter defense most recently doing by far the best job out of any team at limiting three-point makes, they will shut down a San Antonio offense that relies heavily on scoring at the basket and shooting threes.
San Antonio's Defensive Profile
The Spurs will keep this game low-scoring because of their mid-range defense.
Los Angeles relies rather heavily on scoring 5-14 feet from the basket.
San Antonio's defense is one of the best teams at limiting field goal makes in this space.
In the one game — out of three — between these teams that exceeded 217 points, the Clippers were anomalously good from behind the arc.
We don't expect anomalies to take place, though, which is why the other two meetings between these teams saw fewer than 220 points.
It's hard in basketball for an "under" to always hit when two teams play because eventually a game will come where there will be some crazy three-point shooting. That game already happened, so now we can bet with peace of mind on what matchup details indicate will transpire.
Parlay Leg 2: Under 227 at -110 with BetOnline
Parlay: Warriors ML (-325) & Spurs-Clippers under 227 (-110) at +150 with BetOnline
Atlanta Hawks vs. Orlando Magic
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET at Kia Center
The Angle
The only reason to worry about Orlando is that it sometimes struggles offensively. Its defense is elite, so one can count on its opponent struggling to score.
I like Orlando in this contest because the Magic won't struggle offensively. Atlanta has a bad defense that is playing especially poorly in its most recent games.
Whereas the Hawks will fail to reach 110 points, Orlando will at least approach 120 points.
Outlook for Orlando's Defense
The Magic have one of the best defenses, ranking third in defensive rating.
Two things that they do well are protect the basket and stop teams from scoring in transition.
They allow the seventh-fewest field goals within five feet of the basket and rank seventh at limiting opposing points in transition per game.
Their outlook is strong in this game because the Hawks on offense rely heavily on scoring at the basket and at scoring in transition.
Orlando's defense will stop them from being able to rely on either means of scoring.
Atlanta's Poor Defense
The Hawks enter this game having allowed each of their last seven opponents to score at least 120 points.
Most recently, they allowed 134 points to a Utah team that ranks 24th in offensive rating,
So, one can't doubt Orlando's offense today because of its low ranking because the Hawks are giving up a lot of points to even low-ranking offenses.
In their most recent games, the Magic have always beaten teams with bad defenses by seven or more points. Such teams include the Wizards (twice), Hornets, Kings, and Spurs. They will add
Atlanta to that list tonight, leaning on their defense and not worrying about their offense.
Best Bet: Magic -4 at -115 with BetOnline
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Charlotte Hornets
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET at Spectrum Center
Only Memphis Is Righting Its Ship
The Grizzlies were a team in turmoil. They were playing poor defense, showing a bad effort in many instances. Their head coach was ultimately fired.
But now they are figuring out how to win under their new leadership.
They enter today's game having beaten a Miami team that won six in a row and the upstart Pistons.
Conversely, Charlotte is an example of a team that has not righted its ship. The Hornets enter today's game having lost each of their last three games by double digits.
Charlotte Lacks Scoring Talent
The Hornets can't be expected to keep pace with a focused Memphis team.
They miss Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball, who are their top two scorers.
As a result, they are repeatedly struggling to reach 105 points.
Memphis Will Thrive in Transition
Charlotte struggles to defend teams that rely heavily on scoring in transition.
The Hornets gave up 132 points to Memphis when these teams last played.
They gave up at least 123 points in three of their four games against Atlanta, which is another team that relies heavily on scoring in transition.
The list continues, and ultimately Charlotte's transition defense is seventh-worst based on percentile.
Memphis, which relies on scoring in transition more than any other team, will score at will in this matchup.
Parlay Leg 1: Memphis ML (-900) at BetOnline
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Brooklyn Nets
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Barclays Center
The Last Meeting
When these two teams last played, they combined for 212 points.
Brooklyn shot well beyond itself from behind the arc.
Moreover, the Nets still had current Piston Dennis Schroder playing for them and had Cam Thomas and Cameron Johnson healthy for them.
The Lack of Scoring Talent
Schroder, Thomas, and Johnson were or are Brooklyn's top three scorers who won't play for the Nets tonight.
Their fourth-leading scorer is D'Angelo Russell, who has been ruled 'out' of tonight's game.
The Nets cannot reach 107 points with so much less scoring talent when they already depended on unusually efficient three-point shooting to score as many points as they did.
In particular, the Pelicans are vulnerable to three-point shooting, but the Nets rank toward the very bottom in three-point efficiency because they lack good shooters.
But New Orleans will also lack scoring talent. Zion Williamson is injured in this game as he was for the first meeting.
Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 24 points in that game, but he is now a Raptor.
Brooklyn's Ball-Screen Defense
New Orleans' offense matches up poorly against the Nets because it relies heavily on ball-screens.
The Pelicans run the pick-and-roll for the ball-handler play type with the sixth-highest frequency.
Brooklyn has worked on its defensive connectivity and improved tremendously against this play type.
The Nets now allow, by a clear margin, the lowest point total against it.
Parlay Leg 2: Under 214 at -110 with BetOnline
Parlay: Grizzlies ML (-900) & Pelicans-Nets under 214 (-110) at +112 with BetOnline
Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 10 p.m. ET at PHX Arena
Great Spot For Golden State
The Warriors are in a great spot tonight because they are coming off a loss.
They have a great history of taking care of business against losing teams when they had lost their last game.
Most recently, they beat the Pelicans by 16 after they lost to Miami.
On March 3, they beat Charlotte by 18 after they lost to the 76ers.
Since January 23, they likewise victimized the then-slumping Bulls (twice) and the Jazz after they had lost their previous game.
Phoenix is not only a losing team, but the Suns have lost six in a row with all six of their losses coming by ten points or more.
They don't defend the perimeter well — which is obviously a problem against a Golden State team that with Steph Curry, who is going to be eager to bounce back after his last game, loves to
shoot threes — miss Kevin Durant, and seriously lack scoring talent outside of Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Parlay Leg 1: Warriors ML (-325) at BetOnline
San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 10:30 p.m. ET at Intuit Dome
The Clippers' Elite Defense
The total posted by oddsmakers does not respect how good the Clippers defense is and how well it is playing.
Ranked second in defensive rating, the Clippers are entering peak form as the postseason approaches.
They held each of their last four opponents to 104 points or fewer.
With Ivica Zubac protecting the basket and helping them rank eighth at limiting field goals made within five feet of the basket and with their surging perimeter defense most recently doing by far the best job out of any team at limiting three-point makes, they will shut down a San Antonio offense that relies heavily on scoring at the basket and shooting threes.
San Antonio's Defensive Profile
The Spurs will keep this game low-scoring because of their mid-range defense.
Los Angeles relies rather heavily on scoring 5-14 feet from the basket.
San Antonio's defense is one of the best teams at limiting field goal makes in this space.
In the one game — out of three — between these teams that exceeded 217 points, the Clippers were anomalously good from behind the arc.
We don't expect anomalies to take place, though, which is why the other two meetings between these teams saw fewer than 220 points.
It's hard in basketball for an "under" to always hit when two teams play because eventually a game will come where there will be some crazy three-point shooting. That game already happened, so now we can bet with peace of mind on what matchup details indicate will transpire.
Parlay Leg 2: Under 227 at -110 with BetOnline
Parlay: Warriors ML (-325) & Spurs-Clippers under 227 (-110) at +150 with BetOnline
