Kyle Cash

The Thunder head to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers in Game 1 of their opening round playoff series. Oklahoma City took all four matches this season straight up and against the spread and will now get points this afternoon. Will the “Cash man” be playing the dog or will he be laying the points with his opening game pick.

After 176 days, 1312 games, and more than 63,000 minutes played, we’ve finally reached our destination. The NBA playoffs are the cherry on top of the best sports week of the calendar year. Let’s take a look at this year’s best in the Warriors who sportsbooks opened at -12.5.

The Sixers and Nets were 2-2 in the regular season but don’t let that fool you into thinking this matchup is near even. In the first game, one of the Sixers’ starters was some dude named Markelle Fultz. Playing in Estonia now, we think. Game 2 had Brooklyn’s bench score 48 points on 26 shots. Possible? Yes. Sustainable? Not likely. That explains why NBA bookmakers have the Sixers opened as 8 point favorites.

There have been two championships won in Minnesota’s stadiums over the last 15 months, but neither one of them were by a Minnesota sports team. With Andrew Wiggins’ contract dragging Minnesota down like an anchor, a path to success for the Timberwolves seems more unclear than ever. The Timberwolves are big underdogs tonight against a team that sits where they hoped to be, KC has your Nuggets vs. Timberwolves pick.

In order to avoid a Round One matchup with the Warriors, OKC is going to need to take care of business here in the last two days. The 8-spot is considered the death spot, and it’s not the match-up that OKC is looking for to start the playoffs. How much is this motivation factor worth here when betting this game against the spread? KC gives his NBA pick.

The 76ers head to the Windy City to take on the Bulls on Saturday night. The big -9.5 line thrown on the 76ers reflects not only who is the better quality team but also who has the motivation. Does that mean they’ll win in blowout fashion or will they shut it down when they have a safe lead? Get Predictem NBA handicapper Kyle Cash’s take on the game and his free point spread pick.

Despite Portland being down to one solo gunman in Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers have still managed to wrap up their 50-win season with a neat little bow. They’re in the midst of an 11-2 stretch over their last 13 games, and they’ve lost as many starting players as they have games during that time frame. However Denver is arguably the best team they will see in the last 14 games and the sportsbooks have backed that notion up making the blazing hot Blazers 6.5 underdogs.

We knew that at the end of the season the Warriors would be a better California team. We knew it before and after the day LBJ said he would join the Lakers… but 13.5 points better? In LA? That spread alone would have told us the wheels have come off in LA which is exactly what happened. So how do you bet on games featuring the remaining Lakers players? KC has your NBA prediction!

Since the second “half” of the season began post All-Star break, the Houston Rockets have played 20 games and won 16 of them. James Harden has played in 19 of those games, has led the team in scoring in 17, and has scored 40 or more 6 different times. One bookmakers has told us that Harden’s gaudy numbers are skewing the odds. Have the Rockets been over valued?