TST Best Bets April 8, 2026: Blazers vs. Spurs & Nuggets vs. Grizzlies Over

The start of the NBA Playoffs is now just 10 days away. 

With only a handful of contests remaining, play-in tournament seeding in the Western Conference still hangs in the balance, as the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers race for the eight seed to avoid falling into the No. 9 seed vs. No. 10 seed play-in game. 

Meanwhile, the third of the league that is tanking is desperate to reach the conclusion of the season, making it enticing to bet the over in games they’re involved in, as defensive intensity often becomes an afterthought. 

First Pick: Denver Nuggets vs. Memphis Grizzlies – Over 246.5

Rundown: It may be hard to believe, but the Denver Nuggets have never had a 10-game win streak during Nikola Jokic’s career. 

That’s what is on the line Wednesday night at Ball Arena, as the scorching red-hot Nuggets are peaking heading into the postseason with a nine-game win streak. 

Led by the star duo of Jokic and Jamal Murray, the Denver offense that leads the league in offensive rating is the biggest reason for this hot stretch, scoring 125 points or more in seven of their last nine. 

Due to their elite offense and subpar defense, the Nuggets have been the best team to bet the over on all season, as the over is 49-30 for their season. 

That buzzsaw of an offense will be running into a Memphis Grizzlies team that is not at all interested in playing defense this late in the season. 

Memphis has allowed 128 points or more in five consecutive contests, and the over has hit in six of their last seven games. 

With a gargantuan point spread of -23, expect a Nuggets blowout, but a high-scoring affair with the over hitting. 

Second Pick: Portland Trail Blazers +3.5 over San Antonio Spurs

After briefly leaping the Clippers for the eight seed, Portland has now fallen back to the ninth seed, as one game separates which team will need to win two road games just to make the playoffs. 

After being on the heels of Oklahoma City for the No. 1 seed for the majority of the season, the Spurs are now essentially clinched into the second seed after the Thunder has extended their lead to three games with three games remaining in the season. 

While Portland is relatively short-handed going into Wednesday as they’ll be without Shaedon Sharpe and Jerami Grant, the Spurs’ injuries are worse, as they will be without both MVP candidate Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle. 

Portland, which is 8-3 in its last 11, is tied 1-1 in the season series with San Antonio, which is 1-3 in its last four games as a favorite. 

The Trail Blazers are 24-20 against the spread as an underdog, and will likely cover or win outright against the shorthanded Spurs.