Boston looks to eliminate Toronto while the Clippers shoot for a 3-1 series lead on Denver as NBA playoffs betting action rolls along Wednesday night. How are we playing these games with our free NBA playoff picks?
Celtics -3/210 vs. Raptors, 6:40 pm ET, ESPN
Boston leads this series three games to two, following its 111-89 Game 5 victory Monday. The Celtics held Toronto to just 11 first-quarter points, led by 25 at the half and later pushed that advantage to 30, on their way toward the easy win and cover as favorites of 1.5 points.
On the night Boston shot 49 percent from the floor while holding the Raptors to just 39 percent shooting. Also, Monday’s game played under its total of 212. So unders are 5-0 in this series, with the games averaging just 201 total points against an average O/U of 216. With Monday’s win the Celtics are now 7-2 both SU and ATS in these playoffs. With Monday’s loss Toronto is now 6-3 SU, 4-5 ATS in these playoffs. Also, Boston is now 6-3 SU, 7-2 ATS against Toronto this season. On the injury front Raptors F Serge Ibaka (15 points, 8 rebounds per game this postseason) is listed as questionable for Wednesday after turning an ankle Monday. Meanwhile, the Celtics continue to play without F Gordon Hayward. Free NBA Playoffs Pick: We’re only 1-4 ATS picking this series, after backing Boston Monday. It appears to us the Celtics are emerging as the better team in this series, shooting the ball better than Toronto, playing the better defense and doing a better job on the boards. We like Boston to finish off this series right here.
Clippers -8/220 vs. Nuggets, 9 pm ET, ESPN
Los Angeles leads this series two games to one, after taking Game 3 Monday 113-107. The Clippers trailed by 12 points in the first half Monday and by seven early in the fourth quarter, then used a 19-6 run to take the lead for good, on their way to the victory. However, LA came up a couple buckets short of covering the spread as a nine-point favorite. Also, Monday’s game pushed its total of 220. So the unders are 2-0-1 in this series. On the night the Clippers shot a hot 55 percent from the field, while the Nuggets shot 47 percent. With Mondays win Los Angeles is now 6-3 both SU and ATS in these playoffs. With Monday’s loss/cover Denver is now 5-5 SU but 7-3 ATS in these playoffs. The Clippers are also now 4-2 SU, 3-3 ATS against the Nuggets this season.
Free NBA Playoff Pick:
We’re 2-1 ATS picking this series, after backing LA at -9 Monday. The Clippers got an improved performance out of F Paul George in Game 3, and the Los Angeles defense is doing a very good job against Denver G Jamal Murray, after his scoring explosions in the first round against Utah. Also, of the Clippers’ four wins over the Nuggets this season three have come by at least 13 points. We like LA again here, minus the points.
