NBA picks, best bets: Warriors-Kings should hit over without Draymond; home court won't help Nets, Clippers

Now that we're in the thick of the NBA playoffs, the basketball betting market is hotter than ever. CBS Sports will be providing daily picks for the duration of the postseason. Sam Quinn will make at least one pick for every game between now and the NBA Finals. All lines courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.

Featured Game| Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Teams gain two major advantages in home games. The first is that the road team is typically entering a hostile environment. The second is that the road team had to travel to get to the arena. Well, on the first point, Brooklyn is home to plenty of 76ers fans. When Ben Simmons made his preseason debut against the 76ers in October, he was booed at the Barclays Center. The Nets turned over most of their roster in February. This is hardly a group of players that the fans are especially attached to. And as far as travel goes, the 76ers won't even need to fly to get to Brooklyn. That cuts back on the travel issue significantly. The Nets were 8-10 at home after Kyrie Irving's trade request. The 76ers are 12-7 on the road in that span. This is still a mismatch regardless of venue. The pick: 76ers -4.5

Featured Game| Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings

Draymond Green was suspended for Game 3 of this series, and yet the projected point total somehow went down from 240 in Game 2 to 239 in Game 3. Green is Golden State's only defensive hope in this series. The Warriors are allowing 107.8 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor and 127.5 with him off of it. Yes, Domantas Sabonis is questionable, but he's not exactly lighting up the box score in this series. The real reason Sacramento is beating Golden State so far is that the aging Warrior guards can't defend Sacramento's speed. That isn't going to change even if Sabonis is out, and the Splash Brothers are going to want to put on a show in their home building. Lean on the offenses in this one. The pick: Over 239

Featured Game| Los Angeles Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns

Home-court advantage isn't quite as muted for the Clippers as it is for the Suns, but that doesn't mean they should be treated as a typical home team in this one. The Clippers went just 23-18 at home this season, and their plus-2 home net rating ranked 18th in the NBA. More importantly, the Suns seemed to find a few strategic wrinkles that will make an enormous difference as this series progresses. For starters, they cleaned up a major rotation misstep in Game 2 by ensuring that at least two of Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant were on the floor at all times. By staggering them one at a time, the Suns didn't give the Clippers a single ball-handler to swarm. The result was a Game 2 win and a tied series. Expect the Suns to take the series lead on Thursday. The pick: Suns -2.5