James Harden ran into a roadblock with his injury, the Lakers get one of their star players back from an injury, and the NBA released specifics regarding their play-in tournament. Check out the latest pro hoops news in our weekly NBA update so you can continue betting against their NBA odds.
NBA COVID-19 Update – April 22nd Edition
2020-2021 NBA Season
- When: Dec. 22, 2020 – May 16, 2021
2021 NBA Championship Odds
- L.A. Lakers +340
- L.A. Clippers +500
- Milwaukee Bucks +900
- Golden State Warriors +15000
- Boston Celtics +4500
- Brooklyn Nets +220
- Miami Heat +3000
- Toronto Raptors +20000
- Denver Nuggets +1900
- Houston Rockets +400000
- Philadelphia 76ers +1000
- Dallas Mavericks +5500
- Portland Trail Blazers +6000
- New Orleans Pelicans +30000
- Utah Jazz +800
- Phoenix Suns +1500
- Oklahoma City Thunder +200000
- Atlanta Hawks +10000
- Chicago Bulls +45000
- Indiana Pacers +20000
- Memphis Grizzlies +20000
- Washington Wizards +40000
- Minnesota Timberwolves +400000
- Orlando Magic +200000
- Sacramento Kings +200000
- San Antonio Spurs +35000
- Cleveland Cavaliers +300000
- Detroit Pistons +200000
- New York Knicks +15000
- Charlotte Hornets +28000
Quiet on the COVID front but James Harden has a setback
The Beard was supposed to take the bench for 7-to-10 days. But a set back has forced the Brooklyn Nets to change Harden’s status from out up to 10 days to out indefinitely.
Per Nets’ coach Steve Nash, “Back to square one. We’ll rehabilitate him and get him back whenever we can, and who knows when that will be. We’ll support James and our performance team in getting him back in as best condition as possible. And hopefully that comes sooner than later, but there’s no guarantee.”
Harden’s injury is at a bad time. The Nets are in a dogfight for home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers are the other two squads looking to secure the 1-seed.
Both Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Sixers’ and Bucks’ best players, are healthy. Brooklyn star Kevin Durant has also taken time off this season due to an injury.
If the Nets don’t have Harden, Durant, and Kyrie Irving on the court at the same time during the playoffs, Philadelphia and Milwaukee become the two teams to beat. The problem with Harden’s injury is that it’s to his hamstring.
The Beard must rehab the hamstring before he can start playing serious minutes. Even if Harden is cleared to play, it could take a week or two before he can play more than 20 minutes a game.
Lakers’ Anthony Davis to return Thursday versus the Mavericks
While James Harden’s status is up in the air, Anthony Davis’ isn’t. The Lakers said Davis will return on Thursday when LAL heads to Dallas to take on the Mavericks.
AD won’t play more than 10 to 15 minutes, but that’s okay. The goal is to get Davis on the court and playing with center Andre Drummond. AD appears excited about the prospect of playing next to one of the best rebounders in the game.
Davis said, “I think it’s going to be fairly quick for us to really adapt to each other because we both are guys who want to learn from each other and who want to win at the end of the day. And when you’ve got two guys who want to win, you find ways to make it happen.”
Everything to know about the NBA play-in tournament
The league recently released a FAQ sheet about the upcoming play-in tournament. Seventh to tenth place teams in each conference will participate.
As of April 21, the 7 to 10 seeds for each conference are:
Eastern Conference
- Miami Heat
- Charlotte Hornets
- Indiana Pacers
- Washington Wizards
Western Conference
- Dallas Mavericks
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Golden State Warriors
- San Antonio Spurs
Although plenty of players, owners, and coaches aren’t happy about the play-in tournament, it’s going to happen. Teams who don’t wish to have to play in the tournament are fighting hard to grab the sixth seed. Other teams, like the Golden State Warriors, are fighting to stay out of eleventh place.
Because of the play-in tournament, the final stretch of the NBA Regular Season figures to be as exciting as any in history.
NBA Betting News
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- NBA Playoffs Betting Predictions for Eastern and Western Conferences
