The dregs of March NBA basketball have met their end, as the arrival of April signals the start of the best two words in sports: playoff basketball.
With just 11 days until the conclusion of the regular season, the Eastern Conference playoff seedings are far from locked up.
As each game this late in the season carries critical implications for positioning in the play-in tournament or for who will get to host multiple playoff rounds, today’s Best Bets column hopes to have us avoid being the punchline of today’s April Fool’s NBA slate.
First Pick: Boston Celtics -4.5 over Miami Heat
Rundown: The luster of the Bam Adebayo 83-point game has quickly worn off for the Miami Heat.
Since that game, the Heat ranks 20th in the league in net rating and have gone 3-7 over that stretch, dropping them to the 9th seed in the East with an identical 40-36 record to the 10th seed Charlotte Hornets.
Now at risk of needing to win twice on the road in the play-in tournament, Miami’s path does not get any easier on Wednesday with a date with the Boston Celtics.
Despite dropping their last game with Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta out of the lineup, the Celtics are still 9-2 with Tatum starting this season.
Boston will be looking to complete the season sweep of Miami tonight, and two of their previous three victories over the Heat have been by five or more points.
With Miami also missing all-star guard Normal Powell to illness and with forward Andrew Wiggins listed as questionable, expect Boston to take care of business to maintain its grasp on the No. 2 seed.
Second Pick: Atlanta Hawks -3 over Orlando Magic
Rundown: While both the Hawks and Magic exist in the same middle tier of the Eastern Conference, they could not be moving in more different directions.
Robert Talamantes - The Sporting Tribune
Los Angeles Clippers Guard Kawhii Leonard (2) attacks the rim and dunks during a NBA game against the Orlando Magic on Sunday, February 22, 2026 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood Calif
Led by breakout star forward Jalen Johnson, the Hawks have been on a heater post-All Star break, going 16-2 outright and 14-4 against the spread in their last 18 outings.
Meanwhile, the freefalling Magic are 2-7 in their last nine games, and just lost by 52 points to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
The 8th seed Magic are just a half game up on the 9th seed Heat, but on the second night of a back-to-back, toppling the red-hot Hawks is too tall of a task.
Atlanta is 9-3 against the spread with a rest advantage, making them an easy choice to back as slight road favorites over an Orlando team that is just 17-20 against the spread at home.