The NBA regular season has reached its final night, with a few seeding questions still waiting to be answered. The biggest drama comes in the Eastern Conference, where the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat will await the news of which teams they’ll face over the next few weeks.
Chicago Bulls @ Charlotte Bobcats
Wednesday, 7:05 PM ET
NBA Basketball Betting Odds: Charlotte -1
This is one of three games on Wednesday night with profound playoff implications. Every Eastern Conference playoff team has been determined, but the matchups are what have not yet been decided. One of two dramas concerns the race between the Chicago Bulls and the Toronto Raptors to see which team will be third in the East, and which team will be fourth. The race for third place is important because that team will avoid the fifth-seeded Brooklyn Nets in the first round and instead get to play the Charlotte Bobcats or the Washington Wizards, whichever team gets the sixth spot. That race has not yet been decided. Charlotte and Washington both want the sixth spot, not the seventh one, because being seventh would mean a date with the Miami Heat in the first round.
Chicago is a better team, so if both teams have something to play for, take the Bulls here.
NBA Betting Pick: Chicago
Washington Wizards @ Boston Celtics
Wednesday, 8:05 PM ET
NBA Basketball Betting Odds: Wizards -7.5
The Wizards are competing with the Charlotte Bobcats for the sixth seed in the East. If the Wizards win, they are going to be that team. If they lose and Charlotte beats Chicago, then the Bobcats would step into the sixth spot. The Wizards know that if they could face Toronto (or even Chicago), they would have a much better chance of advancing one playoff round compared to a situation in which they had to play Miami. Washington is going to go all-out in an attempt to win this game, so the Wizards should definitely be the pick against a Boston team that is not only playing out the string, but appears to be tanking in the hopes of landing a top-five pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. You definitely want to take Washington here.
NBA Betting Pick: Washington
Toronto Raptors @ New York Knicks
Wednesday, 8:05 PM ET
NBA Basketball Betting Odds: Raptors -5.5
The battle between Chicago and Toronto for the third seed goes like this: The Raptors and Bulls are tied for the third spot, but since Toronto is a division champion, it would win a tiebreaker if the teams finish 48-34 or 49-33. If they both win or both lose on Wednesday, Toronto gets the third seed, avoids Brooklyn, and has a better chance of making it out of the first round. On the other hand, the loser of this race, while having to play Brooklyn in the first round, would also play Indiana in the second round if it can get past the Nets. That’s a better matchup than Miami in round two. In the short term, Chicago and Toronto want the third seed, but they’d probably rather play Indiana than Miami in the second round. It’s a complicated situation, and we’ll see if Toronto has the focus needed to beat the Knicks, who looked great on Sunday when they beat Chicago by 11 points. Take New York in its home finale.
NBA Betting Pick: New York
