The opening round of this season’s NBA playoffs gets underway this weekend, and few very intriguing matchups could go either way over the course of a best-of-seven format.
Past betting history on the best-of-seven series price in the NBA playoffs tends to go chalk. Looking at the lineup for this season’s opening round, there is a good mix of value between a few favorites and a few underdogs.
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New Orleans Pelicans (+180) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (-210)
The Pelicans won their last five games both straight-up and against the spread to secure the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The total went OVER in four of those five games with New Orleans averaging 121.2 points per game during this winning streak. Leading the way was Anthony Davis as the team’s leading scorer with an average of 29.0 PPG in his last five starts.
Portland needed a 102-93 victory against Utah as a two-point home favorite in its regular-season finale to hold onto the No. 3 seed in the West after losing five of its previous seven games. There should be some concern with the Trail Blazers’ SU 5-7 record over their last 12 games after posting a 13-game winning streak before this slide. The season series against New Orleans was tied 2-2.
Series Pick: New Orleans in 7
Milwaukee Bucks (+150) vs. Boston Celtics (-170)
The Bucks came out flat against Philadelphia in their regular season finale in a 130-95 loss as six-point road underdogs to fall to seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. If Milwaukee is going to have any chance of beating Boston four times in this best-of-seven series, it is going to need a massive effort from Giannis Antetokounmpo as the team’s leader in points (26.9) and rebounds (10.0). It is important to note that he was hampered down the stretch with an ankle injury.
Boston’s postseason plans as the No. 2 seed in the East took a turn for the worst when it lost its top scorer Kyrie Irving for the season with knee injury. He missed the final 15 games of the regular season, and the Celtics went a respectable 9-6. One of those losses was to Milwaukee on the road as part of a 2-2 tie in the season series against the Bucks. While the Celtics will be hard-pressed to go any further than the second round, there is still enough talent on the floor to win one more game than their opponent in this best-of-seven opening round series.
Series Pick: Boston in 7
Utah Jazz (+115) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (-135)
The Jazz turned their season around after a very sluggish start to earn the fifth seed in the West at 48-34. They come into this series with seven SU victories in their last nine games, but they did struggle against their division rivals this season with just one win against the Thunder in four meetings. The pressure will be dialed-up on rookie Donovan Mitchell as Utah’s leading scorer with 20.5 PPG.
When Oklahoma City added Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to its starting lineup along with Russell Westbrook, the expectation level for this team became rather high. The Thunder have underperformed at times to fall to fourth in the West, but the postseason gives them a chance to prove they belong with the other two elite teams in this conference. This trio should be enough to get past Utah, but the ride ends there with Houston waiting in the wings.
Series Pick: Thunder in 6
