Free NBA Picks Today: Best Bets for Thursday, May 9

Free NBA Picks Today: Best Bets for Thursday, May 9

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

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Best Bets

Josh Green over 1.5 made threes (+200) at Thunder

BetMGM, 3:21 PM CT

Alex Barutha: Green launched eight threes in Game 1 -- all of which were classified as "wide open" -- hitting three. He's been relatively unreliable throughout the postseason, but if he's going to launch open threes at this volume, I'll bet on them to start falling.

Kyrie Irving O23.5 points at Thunder (-130)

DraftKings Sportsbook, 2pm CT

Nick Whalen: While the Mavs struggled as a team offensively in Game 1, Irving, himself, didn't necessarily have a poor game – he was simply quiet, taking only 14 shots in a game that was competitive well into the fourth quarter. The Mavs will need Irving to up his volume in Game 2, and I expect both he and Luka Doncic to come out with more urgency and limit the early turnovers that hamstrung the Mavs in Game 1.

Daniel Gafford double-double at Thunder (+260)

DraftKings Sportsbook, 2pm CT

Nick Whalen: This is +260 for a reason, but Gafford was one of the lone bright spots for the Mavs in Game 1, so I'd be surprised if they go away from him. The big man gradually worked his way into a larger role in Round 1 against the Clips, and the Mavs were just minus-2 in Gafford's 27 minutes in Tuesday's Game 1 – by far the best plus/minus of any Dallas starter. In the 29 games this season in which Gafford has played at least 27 minutes, he's averaging 13.0 points and 10.2 boards per game. At +260, and against an OKC team that ranked 31st in DREB% during the regular season, it's a risk I'm willing to take.

I'm taking the OVER on Luke Kornet grabbing 5.5 rebounds

(BetMGM, -105, 1:45pm ET)

Ken Crites: The Green Kornet is coming off a stellar 10-rebound, 2-block Game 1 versus Cleveland.  The absence of Kristaps Porzingis (calf) and Boston's reluctance to give Xavier Tillman big minutes has led to a two-game uptick in production from the Vanderbilt product. I expect that trend to continue tonight in Game 2. The Celtics love Al Horford's veteran savvy, but remember he's 37 years old.  Big Al needs rest. In Game 1, Horford saw 27 minutes to Kornet's 21. That's a somewhat even split. Horford ain't getting younger.  I doubt Kornet sees double-digit boards again, but six certainly seems attainable.  Cleveland ranked 20th in rebounds per game over the season, and that was with a healthy Jarrett Allen. I doubt Allen plays tonight (ribs). The K-Train is a not-so-bad 34-26 on the season, so feel free to fade, I'm due for some regression. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Ken
An early RotoWire contributor from the 90's, K-Train returns with the grace of Gheorghe Muresan and the wisdom of Joe Gibbs. Ken is a two-time FSWA award winner and a co-host on the RW NBA Podcast. Championships incude: 2016 RW Staff NBA Keeper, 2019 RW Staff NFL Ottoneu Keeper, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Experts, 2022-23 SiriusXM NBA Kamla Keeper and 2023-24 FSGA NBA Expert Champions. Ken still owns a RotoNews shirt.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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