Time is ticking away for those NBA teams still fighting for a postseason ticket or trying to improve their playoff standing.
Fourteen teams play their final seeding schedule contests inside the bubble Thursday and that means some added angles and edges for NBA betting.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Memphis Grizzlies
It’s all about who you know. And for Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins, it’s also about who you play.
Jenkins’ squad faces the Milwaukee Bucks with its play-in series hopes hanging in the balance. But the Grizzlies may have a friend on the other end of the sideline: Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Jenkins was an assistant under Budenholzer from 2013 (with Atlanta) through the 2018-19 season. With the Bucks locked into the No. 1 spot in the East and star Giannis Antetokounmpo suspended for this game due to pulling a Zidane on Mo Wagner, Milwaukee could lay down and give its former assistant coach the “friends and family discount” on a play-in spot,
Dallas Mavericks vs Phoenix Suns
The Suns are one of those teams fighting for their lives on Thursday and take on a Mavericks team parked in the seventh spot in the West.
Dallas will likely keep things light in this seeding finale, coming off an intense game with Portland last time out and wanting to give their postseason opponent as little intel as possible. That means light action for Luka Doncic, Trey Burke and other key members of the Mavs backcourt.
That decision opens the door for a big game from Phoenix veteran point guard Ricky Rubio. He amassed 20 points, seven assists and nine rebounds when the Suns beat Dallas on August 2 and just hung 16, 10 and five on a depleted Philadelphia backcourt Tuesday. Rubio averages 15.7 points, 7.7 assists, and 5.3 rebounds over his past three matchups with the Mavericks.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Brooklyn Nets
The Blazers can win the No. 8 seed and the edge in the play-in series (only need to win once) if it can take down Brooklyn tonight.
Knowing it has an intense play-in matchup coming if it takes care of business, Portland’s ideal situation would be to come out firing and put the Nets away early, allowing head coach Terry Stotts to pull his starters, avoid any injuries, and get some downtime in the second half before Saturday’s opening play-in game.
Brooklyn has put up a fight in its most recent games, winning and covering in three straight outings. The Nets have jumped out of the gates with strong efforts in those victories, averaging 65.7 first-half points over that winning streak.
The only team scoring more first-half buckets in that three-game stretch is Portland, at 69.3 points per opening frame in its last three seeding contests. That includes 66 points in the first two quarters in Tuesday’s thrilling win over Dallas.
This will make for a very exciting opening 24 minutes tonight.
