NBA Best Bets Today: Top Sports Betting Picks, Predictions April 8, 2025

Congratulations if your bracket ended with the Florida Gators winning the NCAA Tournament.

Condolences to those who backed the Houston Cougars to win the national championship.

But no matter who you picked to win the title, it’s time to shift focus to the next one. We’ll get you comfortable with the best NBA bets for Tuesday, April 8.

Timberwolves (-5.5) vs. Bucks (+180), o/u 223

Time: 8 p.m. EDT

Golden State has a favorable matchup with the Suns, so the Timberwolves will go into this game knowing they need a win to keep pace with the Warriors and have a shot at moving into the West bracket rather than the play-in tournament.

Playing well with wins in their last five games—including an epic double-overtime win over the Nuggets, 140–139—the Wolves have momentum. Milwaukee won by two when these teams met in Minneapolis back in February, 103–101.

As for the Bucks, they’ve won four in a row. They’re currently the No. 5 seed, but with just a 1.5-game lead over Detroit, they still have something to play for. In fact, with two games against Detroit to end the regular season, the Bucks can’t afford to drop this one.

Our Pick: Timberwolves -5.5

I’m a big fan of Giannis Antetokounmpo and believe he could get the job done himself with Damian Lillard still out. But Minnesota has been playing a higher caliber of opponent and winning games, which has me leaning in their direction on this one.

Lakers (+625) vs. Thunder (-14.5), o/u 226.5

Time: 8 p.m. EDT

In the broad scheme of things, neither team absolutely needs to win this game. But the Thunder will likely want revenge for the whipping they took at the hands of the Lakers just a couple of days ago—126–99 in Oklahoma City on Sunday, April 6.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could use a big performance or two to boost his case for MVP over Nikola Jokic. While the Thunder won’t want to risk injury to anyone, they also won’t want to take losses like Sunday’s without a bounce-back effort.

Of course, the Lakers probably won’t shoot 55% from three-point range again. However, L.A. is playing well, winning four of their last five games—including three against playoff or play-in tournament teams.

Our Pick: Lakers +14.5

I fully expect the Thunder to win this game, but the Lakers have been playing well and won’t get blown out. At most, they’ll lose by 10.

Warriors (-9.5) vs. Suns (+330), o/u 227

Time: 10 p.m. EDT

With four games to go, Golden State can’t afford to lose if it wants to stay out of the play-in tournament. The Warriors’ five-game winning streak ended on Sunday with a 106–96 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Phoenix hasn’t been eliminated yet, but with the Mavericks holding a 2.5-game lead for the final spot in the play-in, there’s no room for error. The Suns lost two games before Kevin Durant’s latest injury, and four more since. That losing streak is now up to six.

Most of the losses have been pretty rough.

Our Pick: Warriors -9.5

Durant is out again, but even if he were playing, Phoenix has struggled mightily on defense this season. After getting shut down by Houston on Sunday, expect Steph Curry to come out guns blazing in this one as the Warriors crush the Suns.