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The silly season is over, and no more playing make-believe. The powers that be at NBA headquarters would like everyone to believe the regular season is meaningful, because that is their cover story and they are sticking with it.

But in reality, the regular season is 82 games worth of tickets sales, telecasts and t-shirt selling opportunities, and the players go along with it because their sizable paychecks depend on it. In terms of effort and egos, however, it ain’t nothing like the real thing. And that real thing begins tonight with a pair of prelims before the do-or-die No. 9 vs. No. 10 games on Wednesday night.

Most NBA players have not played win-or-go-home games since high school or college, so these are not to be missed. And after tonight, there will be four of them Wednesday and Friday before the best-of-7 first round begins.

"This is real basketball," Denver’s DeMarcus Cousins said. "This is when talent has to come out. The regular season is one thing, you kind of go through the motions to get through it and be successful."

So there you have it.

The Phoenix Suns (+260) and the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks (+500) are the favorites from each conference to win the championship. But we are a long way from crowning a titlist, and a ton of things along the way can derail any of the remaining 20 teams.

Your faithful correspondent believes the two teams two are heading into the postseason with two of the strongest heads of steam, the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets, provide very decent wagering opportunities for Finals MVP, with Betway offering nice odds on Jayson Tatum (+1500) and superb odds on Nikola Jokic (+3000).

But we have to get there first, and we begin tonight with No. 8 Cleveland visiting No. 7 Brooklyn and the No. 8 Los Angeles Clippers visiting the No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves.

So let’s take a closer look and perhaps help you decide where you should put your dinero.

The Cavs are 8.5 point underdogs against a Nets team that went an abysmal 9-31-1 against the spread at home, by far the worst ATS record at home in the NBA. Brooklyn went under in seven of its final nine games, with one of the exceptions being their silly season finale against the Indiana Pacers that they won 134-126 to go over a high line of 245.

Tuesday night’s over/under is 228.5, a number Brooklyn last saw nearly a month ago when their line against Portland was 228.

Cleveland went over in only 36 of 82 games, including an 11-16-0 O/U record as a road underdog. One big question was whether e-Net Jarrett Allen will be playing his first game since fracturing his middle finger and missing every game played since March 6, and news came out Monday that he is out.

The Nets won the season series 3-1, but three of the games were played before James Harden was traded. Brooklyn won 118-107 at home against Cleveland last Friday night as Kevin Durant scored 36.

The plays we like on a parlay are Cleveland and the points (-110), Bruce Brown (Steve Nash’s go-to playoff performer) over 2.5 assists (-155), 6.5 rebounds (+110) and 0.5 3-pointers (-155), and Caris LeVert over 0.5 blocks (a nifty +180 bet-booster). As a side bet, we would not counsel Kevin Durant “yes” on a triple-double at the low odds of +650, so that one is your call at that price. He had two in the season’s final three games.

The nightcap is a treat because of the Clippers, the kings of the huge comeback both last postseason and this regular season.

Last year against Utah in the conference semifinals they had the biggest series-clinching postseason comeback in NBA history, rallying from a 25-point third quarter deficit in Game 6 to eliminate the Jazz in six games. So if they are down by a couple dozen tonight and that pillow beckons, hold steady. These guys rallied from deficits of 25, 24 and 35 in January against the Nuggets, Sixers and Wizards and won all three of those games.

Over the last four seasons, including the postseason, the Clippers have eight wins when trailing by at least 24 points, five more wins than any other NBA team over that span. So, needless to say, take the Clips on the money line early in the third quarter if you see the same thing happening.

The Clippers won the season series 3-1, winning three times in November when the teams faced each other three times in the season’s first 12 games. In the last matchup on January 3 in Los Angeles, Anthony Edwards had five 3s and Jaden McDaniels and Tayshaun Prince combined to shoot 14-for-20 off the bench for Minnesota as Karl-Anthony Towns sat out

The betting history of both teams shows that the Clippers, who are 3-point underdogs, were 15-14-0 against the spread as a road ‘dog, while the Wolves were 15-12-2 ATS as a home favorite. So no trend there to work off of. Also, Minnesota was 14-15-0 on over/unders as a home favorite, and the Clippers were 14-13-2 on over/unders as a road ‘dog. Again, nothing trendworthy to wager on.

Because of their greater postseason experience, we like the Clippers and the points (-110). And as far as what to parlay, the picks are Patrick Beverley over 4.5 assists (-110), Paul George under 27.5 points (-115) and Ivica Zubac under 9.5 rebounds (-105). For those out there needing a longshot, the odds on this one going overtime are +1100. The Clips were 0-4 in overtime games, for what it is worth. L.A. will likely be without Luke Kennard (hamstring), one of their best 3-point shooters.

We shall be back tomorrow with a wagering preview of the Hornets-Hawks game in the East and the Spurs-Pelicans game in the West. Both are winner-take-all because they are 9-10 games.