NBA Picks & Parlay of the Weekend | April 14

It’s the last day of the NBA regular season, and our last chance to make some money with a Pistons parlay. The NBA schedule Gods have a weird sense of humor, setting up the last place Pistons on the road to face the last place Spurs. But these are teams with two totally different vibes, but both with eyes on the NBA Lottery in May.

Spurs -5.5 (-110) at DraftKings

Detroit is 14-67 this season, setting a franchise record for most losses. They are one game behind the Wizards for the last spot in the Eastern Conference. It has truly been a horrible season for pro basketball in Motown.

However, the Pistons are a respectable 41-40 against the spread this season, and coming off a win over the Mavericks, but that win comes with a big asterisk. The Mavs already clinched a playoff spot and held out stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

The Spurs are 6-4 in their last 10 games (the Pistons never had a stretch like that all season). They drafted Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick this season but everyone knows they were still a rebuilding franchise. Wembanyama has had some eye-popping moments. He makes the Spurs a team to watch. The Pistons? Right now, it’s hard to find a reason for optimism.

Wembanyama is going to sit this one out, which caused the line to drop by almost four points. The Pistons are likely without Jalen Duren again and Cade Cunningham. But the Spurs want to end the season on a good note. The Pistons just want it to end.

Take the Spurs to cover.

Over 213 (-110) at DraftKings

We’ve had so much fun (and success) betting overs this season, we might as well close with an over bet here. Playoff basketball will be different though.

The Spurs are 39-39-3 over/under this season. They have averaged 112 a game this season, but give up 119. In their last five games, the Spurs have averaged 110. That’s my biggest factor I look at when considering a total bet….what’s happening right now.

The Pistons are 40-39-2 over/under this season. They are right at 100 points in their last five games, but I think with no Wembanyama to block shots, the Pistons will get plenty of open looks.

It’s worked all season, let’s stick with the over.

Spurs 10-13 (+550) at DraftKings

Who are these guys? The Spurs are likely to start Julian Champagnie (he averages seven points a game) and Sandro Mamukelashvili, four points a game. The Pistons are playing Chimezie Metu. This is a G-League game masquerading as an NBA contest.

The Spurs are coming off a surprising win over Denver, the defending NBA champs, but they beat Memphis and the Pelicans in the last two weeks. The Pistons season was defined by an NBA record 28-game losing streak.

I’ve always wanted to do a winning margin bet, and why not have a little fun in the last game? (if you aren’t betting for fun, you’re doing it wrong). The Pistons last six losses have been by 22, 18, 10, 18, 8 and two points.

A Spurs win by around 10 points sounds just right.