NBA Picks & Parlay of the Weekend | April 27

Saturday looks like it’ll be another great day in the NBA playoffs. There are four games on the schedule with all four series having a different score. If you haven’t noticed, there are several betting apps with daily promos related to the NBA playoffs, not to mention welcome bonuses for new customers. Meanwhile, after the USA Legal Betting team went 3 for 3 with our picks on Thursday, we wanted to do something special for Saturday’s games. Here is a three-pick NBA parlay for Saturday with odds from BetMGM.

Thunder -1.5 | +100 at BetMGM

This is the first time the Pelicans have played a home playoff game since Louisiana sports betting became legal. However, nothing seems to be going right for the home team heading into Game 3. After losing Zion Williamson to injury in Game 1, the Pelicans were blown out by 32 points in Game 2. Coming home should give New Orleans a boost, but that will only do so much with Williamson still sidelined. That might be too much for the Pelicans to overcome.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City has looked great over the first two games of this series. Even players without much playoff experience like Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams have performed at a high level. Even though the Thunder hasn’t been a dominant team on the road this season, they should be able to handle an undermanned New Orleans team and cover a small spread.

Heat +9.5 | -115 at BetMGM

Miami sent a message in Game 2 with a road win over the Celtics as double-digit underdogs. After the Heat made a run in last year’s postseason, we shouldn’t be that surprised. Even if Miami doesn’t have as much talent as Boston, the Heat isn't going to make this easy. That’s enough to make us think that Miami can at least keep this game to single digits at home.

Of course, the Celtics are bound to respond with a little more effort after losing in Game 2. But the Celtics are rather average against the spread as road favorites during the regular season. Plus, it's not as if stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were the problem in the Game 2 loss. It’s possible that this series won’t be as one-sided as expected, which is why we’ll take our chances with Miami at home.

Nuggets -2.5 | -115 at BetMGM

Sentimentally, it’s easy to hope that LeBron James and the Lakers can get at least one win in this series. That way, LeBron’s time in Los Angeles won’t end with him getting swept. On the other hand, the Lakers haven’t beaten the Nuggets since December 2022. Most of Denver’s wins during that stretch have come by comfortable margins. At this point, it’s hard to go against that trend.

After blowing another early lead in Game 3, it’s hard to envision the Lakers having much left in the tank. A Game 3 win was their only path back into the series. If they fall behind in Game 4, they might not have the motivation or energy to fight back. That makes us lean toward another comfortable Denver win in Game 4 to close out the series, making Saturday a good day for fans back in Denver using Colorado sportsbooks.