NBA Play-In Picks: Best Bets for Warriors vs Clippers and Magic vs 76ers

Either Stephen Curry or Kawhi Leonard will miss the playoff this season while a whole team of Portland Trail Blazers will be part of the festivities.

That tells the story of what underachievers the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are entering their Western Conference play-in game on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. The season is over for the losing team while the winner gets another chance to make the playoffs on Friday.

The Eastern Conference play-in game between the Orlando Magic and host Philadelphia 76ers is also on tap. Absentee-prone Joel Embiid (38 games) and Paul George (37) reminded us exactly who they are as neither player participated in half of Philadelphia’s regular-season games.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS AT LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

Golden State likes to point to only having Curry for 43 games due to injuries as the reason for its decline but the franchise has been crumbling in the ruins even when he’s on the floor. We hate to see dynasty teams turn into the New Orleans Pelicans but this team is on pace to be that way next season.

Curry can still bomb away with the best of them, so expect him to launch plenty of 3-point aerials. The confidence is always on high from outside and a big night from behind the arc would elevate the Warriors’ chances of winning.

Stephen Curry to make the most 3-pointers in this game, +116 (DraftKings)

Leonard has been carrying the Clippers most of the season and for all the time since James Harden was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 34-year-old averaged a career-best 27.9 points per game and has scored 20 or more points in 57 straight games.

In the loser-goes-home contest, you can expect Leonard to continue being the man and perhaps turning in a 40-point performance. The Clippers surely aren’t going to be looking for Brook Lopez or Kris Dunn to double their averages, they are going to fully revolve around their best player like any other night.

Kawhi Leonard to score 31-plus points, -111 (DraftKings)

ORLANDO MAGIC AT PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Embiid and George were expected to team up with Tyrese Maxey to give Philadelphia a nice three-player attack that would easily land a top-six playoff spot. Oops, that didn’t happen and Maxey was mostly a one-gang team while averaging a career-best 28.3 points per game.

Embiid will miss the contest due to undergoing an appendectomy – OK, so this is more of a bad-luck thing so we’re not going to pick on him. His absence, though, just makes it even clearer that Philadelphia needs another big-time effort from Maxey to beat the Magic.

Tyrese Maxey to score the most points in this game, -115 (DraftKings)

Paolo Banchero was all-everything in the regular-season finale against the Boston Celtics with 23 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his fifth career triple-double. You know he will be primed for another solid game but the scoring line for Banchero (24-plus points, -109) is troublesome since he has scored fewer than 24 in eight of the past nine games.

There’s also this – Desmond Bane has scored 10 total points over the past two games. Repeat – 10. He often scores that many in a single quarter. Yet earlier this month, he went 27, 27, 25 over a three-game stretch. It reasons that the good Bane will be back on display Wednesday.

Desmond Bane to score 20-plus points, -112