NBA weekend betting preview: Bucks worth backing without Giannis
Both of our NBA picks against the spread were for naught Thursday, but we love the value on some of the mismatches over the next few days. Here are our favorite bets entering the weekend.
Hawks @ 76ers (-9, 220.5)
April 30, 7 p.m. ET
Only two teams have had a higher net rating during April than the 76ers (+6.0), who are finding their groove with a healthy starting lineup. They've won their last two games by a combined 75 points, including Wednesday's 44-point win over the Hawks.
That win extended Philadelphia's record to 21-4 straight up and 15-10 ATS when playing Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Danny Green, and Seth Curry - none of whom played more than 25 minutes in that blowout win, setting them up for a well-rested rematch Friday.
Conversely, the Hawks will likely be without Trae Young, De'Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and Kevin Huerter for the second straight game, while Clint Capela and Bogdan Bogdanovic are questionable. Atlanta, which has posted its two lowest-scoring outputs in its last two games, doesn't have the offensive firepower to keep pace in this one.
Pick: 76ers -9
Bucks (-1, 220) @ Bulls
April 30, 9 p.m.
What are the Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo? It's a question we haven't had to ask all that often, but the team has answered the call when its star player has been sidelined.
Milwaukee is 3-5-1 ATS in games without Antetokounmpo but has outscored opponents by 7.8 points in those nine contests, including a 37-point win over the Magic and a 25-point victory over the Timberwolves in its last two tries. Compare that to the Bulls, who've been outscored by 1.3 points per game even with a healthy roster.
The Bucks still have two former All-Stars in Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, which should be enough to sneak a win on the road against an inferior foe.
Pick: Bucks -1
Raptors @ Jazz (TBD)
May 1, 10 p.m.
The Jazz haven't looked like the same team since losing Donovan Mitchell to an ankle injury, winning just three of their last six games. One of those wins, though, was Wednesday's 49-point drubbing of the Kings - tied for the third-largest margin of victory by any team this season.
Can they carry that momentum into Saturday's matchup with the Raptors, who are coming off consecutive double-digit losses to the Nets and Nuggets and have been outscored by 24 points in their last four games? We don't know who might play in this one, given Nick Nurse's unpredictable lineup tendencies, but the Jazz are a much safer bet given how these teams have looked as of late.
Pick: Jazz (TBD)
Suns @ Thunder (TBD)
May 2, 8 p.m.
No team has been worse over the last month than the Thunder, who are 3-11-2 ATS in April with just one outright win over that stretch. They've been outscored by nearly 20 points per game in those 16 contests and have looked lost without rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's still nursing a foot injury he suffered in late March.
Meanwhile, the Suns have won 11 of 15 games in April and are 7-4 ATS this season as double-digit favorites, as they likely will be in this one. OKC is 6-12-1 ATS as a double-digit 'dog and doesn't have the horses to keep up with Phoenix on Sunday.
Pick: Suns (TBD)
C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.