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The NBA Playoffs has no shortage of important games on Saturday across four matchups, including the Oklahoma City Thunder looking to take a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Phoenix Suns. Additionally, the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets find themselves staring down 2-1 series deficits to the Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively, and the difference between a tied 2-2 series and a 3-1 deficit is absolutely massive. 

The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, has shared its top picks for each of these matchups. The SportsLine model entered the first full week of the 2026 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 24-9 roll (73%) on top-rated NBA spread picks this season and has returned well over $10,000 in NBA betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past eight-plus seasons. 

If you're interested in betting on the NBA Playoffs and placing money line bets, spread bets, Over/Under bets or player prop bets, check out what the model has to say for Saturday's slate. Those interested in parlay betting could even combine two or more of these picks into a potentially more profitable play at FanDuel.

Check out the FanDuel promo code for a new-user offer before placing any NBA Playoffs bets on Saturday.

NBA Playoffs picks, best bets for Saturday, April 25

  • Suns ML
  • Knicks -2.5
  • Timberwolves ML
  • Nikola Jokic Under 54.5 points + rebounds + assists

Suns ML

The Suns were dominated in Game 1, losing by 35 points to the defending-champion Thunder. Phoenix made things a bit more respectable in Game 2 with a 13-point defeat, but the Suns now return home down 2-0 and needing a win to jumpstart any sort of upset effort. The Thunder owned the best record in the NBA this year, and while they were still excellent on the road at 30-10, they were far better at home at 34-7. The Suns went 25-16 at home this year and were under .500 on the road. The odds are certainly stacked against Phoenix, but the Suns win in 34% of model simulations to return value at the current money line odds of +320 at FanDuel.

Knicks -2.5

The Knicks have to be frustrated with how their series against the Hawks has gone. After winning Game 1, the Knicks dropped Games 2 and 3 by a combined two points. Rather than holding a 2-1 or even 3-0 lead heading into Saturday, New York now finds itself facing a 2-1 deficit and needing a win to avoid an elimination game in Game 5. The model likes the Knicks winning and covering here, with New York covering in 53% of sims.

Timberwolves ML

The Nuggets jumped out to a 1-0 series lead, but it's been all Timberwolves since, with Minnesota winning Game 2 in Denver by five points before returning home and winning by 17 in Game 3. The Nuggets now need to secure a road win in Game 4 in order to avoid a large 3-1 deficit. The model likes the home side, though, with Minnesota winning in nearly 60% of simulations at plus money, good for an 'A' grade.

Nikola Jokic Under 54.5 points + rebounds + assists

Jokic is the unquestioned PRA king of the NBA, averaging a triple-double and 51.5 total PRA per game in the regular season. He's been held a bit more in check this series with an average of 47.0 PRA per contest. The model is backing the Under on Jokic's PRA prop for Saturday with a projection of 49.0 for the three-time MVP.

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