The 2025 NBA Playoffs continue tonight with a pair of Game 2s in the East and West.
The Detroit Pistons will be looking to even up their series with the New York Knicks, while the Denver Nuggets host the Los Angeles Clippers once again, currently holding a 1-0 lead in the conference quarterfinals.
Below, find my NBA picks for Monday, April 21, and my three-leg parlay for the action.
Today's best NBA Playoff parlays: April 21
Pistons/Knicks Over 220.5
Pistons +6.5
Nuggets moneyline
The Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks have had numerous entertaining encounters this season, and Jalen Brunson’s squad got the better of Detroit in Game 1 with an 11-point win. The total tonight is set at just 220.5, and the Over easily cashed in the series opener.
In fact, the Over has hit in four of the last five meetings between these two teams. The Pistons average 115.5 ppg, while the Knicks are scoring 115.8 points per night. Both squads also allow just over 110 ppg.
There’s never any shortage of points when these two meet, and with so many talented players on each side, I have no question the Over should be cashed again tonight, one way or another.
Now we’ll shift over to Detroit, which had a 12-11-2 record as an ATS underdog in the regular season. More importantly, it has covered the 6.5-point spread in three of the previous four meetings with New York. All of those games ended in victory for the Pistons.
Detroit blew a big lead in the fourth quarter of Game 1 when it appeared to have the contest in hand. I expect the Pistons to respond here and make Game 2 much closer. This is a resilient group, as we saw throughout the entire season.
As for the West, the Denver Nuggets were pushed to the brink by the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, needing overtime to beat Ty Lue’s team. Denver heads into tonight’s affair as a slim 1-point favorite while sitting at -105 on the moneyline. That will be our focus here.
While it doesn’t offer the most value on its own, as part of this SGP, the bet is worth a look. Nikola Jokic & Co. have won three in a row against Los Angeles as moneyline favorites, and all of the victories came at Ball Arena. Denver is at home again tonight before heading out to Southern California.
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