The exciting Spurs and Nuggets series ended in dramatic fashion last night. Kawhi Leonard put on a show in Toronto. Today, the NBA continues the second round of the playoffs with a marquee matchup in Oakland. Here’s a sports betting recap from last night and a preview of Sunday’s sports slate.
Nuggets Hold Off Spurs
As the series versus the Nuggets commenced, pundits considered the Spurs’ experience to be one of their best assets facing a young, inexperienced team. Yet, as Game 7 was winding down, confusion on the Spurs side — regarding a timeout — led to this…
Jamal Murray made a late runner to cap off his 23 points and a Nuggets’ 90-86 victory. The Nuggets were not able to cover the 6.5 spread but will move on to host the Blazers in a second-round series on Monday night.
Nikola Jokic collected his second triple-double to join some elite historical company. Jokic joined LeBron James and Magic Johnson as the only players to record multiple triple-doubles in their first career playoff run.
Kawhi Dominates Sixers in Game 1
The Toronto Raptors 108-95 victory on Saturday night can be summarized in just one word: Kawhi.
Leonard led the Raptors in the lopsided affair with Toronto covering the six-point spread by seven points. Leonard’s 45 points were career-high playoff numbers. He coupled the massive point total with 11 rebounds with teammate Pascal Siakam adding 29 points of his own. The Raptors held Philly to 39% shooting with no Sixer eclipsing the 20-point mark.
Following the dominant performance, the Raptors moved from -270 on FanDuel Sportsbook — cited in yesterday’s article — all the way up to -440. If you believe the Sixers can turn the series around, FanDuel says +320 is your price.
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Stat of the Night
Trends suggest that the 76ers might be in for a long series against the Toronto Raptors. Fellow RotoGrinders writer, Thomas Casale pointed out a stat detailing Philly’s uphill climb last night.
As previously mentioned, Kawhi Leonard was unstoppable last night. If he continues to perform at this level, then this streak might persist until next season.
Marquee Series Out West
NBA fans might anticipate the series between Golden State and Houston more than any other series in the NBA playoffs. The two teams played in the conference semi-final last season with the Warriors moving on after six games. As a matter of fact, this series will be the fourth postseason meeting between the teams over the last five seasons.
Moving past the ridiculous scheduling, the series offers a perfect blend of modern basketball, superstar players, and underlying narrative. Harden and Durant, rumors about Durant’s future with the Warriors, and the Rockets sweep in Oakland this season all ruminate as the series commences.
FanDuel Sportsbook pegs the Warriors as favorites to win the series at -280 with Rocket believers being offered +215 at the time of this writing. The Warriors will host the Rockets as a 5.5-point favorite at home in Game 1 with a 224 O/U.
Prop Shop – James Harden O/U 33.5 Points
FanDuel Sportsbook offers a 33.5 points prop for James Harden. During the series with the Utah Jazz, Harden scored 27.8 PPG with 36.23 minutes per game. The Jazz, widely regarded for defense in the past, actually finished the season in the bottom ten for defensive rating. Just behind the Jazz? The Golden State Warriors.
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So, what separates the Jazz and Warriors as a matchup for an opposing offense? Pace. The Warriors finished third in the NBA — behind Brooklyn and Philadelphia — with a 103.08 pace. Harden scored 33.33 PPG versus the Warriors this season — albeit with one game going to overtime and Harden playing 44 minutes. Give me Harden in Game 1 in what should be a faster-paced game than the Rockets played in round one. Breakfast Lean: James Harden Over 33.5 Points -110.
Bucks-Celtics 2.0
In Sunday’s first matchup, the Bucks and Celtics seem poised to play for the right to represent the East in the Finals against the winners of the Rockets and Warriors.
Another repeat matchup in the Eastern Conference semi-final. The difference? This time the Bucks host as the top seed in the East. The Bucks are -310 to win the series on FanDuel Sportsbook and as such are +110 to win the Eastern Conference. If your belief in Boston is strong, the +700 price on Boston to win the East offers value compared to the +240 series price — with the added potential to hedge. Stick with FanDuel though, as DraftKings Sportsbook provides a +600 price for a Boston victory.
The Bucks dwarfed the rest of the NBA with their top 23.5 net rating. To better comprehend the gap between the Bucks and the field consider this: the Celtics finished 5th in the league with a 7.8 net rating.
What was a big reason for the Bucks exceptional rating? Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 26.2 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in the Bucks’ sweep of the Pistons. Giannis leads the Bucks this afternoon as 7.5-point favorites with an O/U of 223.5.
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On the Ice
The NHL offers the second game of two series on Sunday. The Dallas Stars visited the St. Louis Blues for game two of their second-round series. The Bruins hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Stars 4-2 victory cashed +115 ML tickets while the Columbus 3-2 double-overtime victory cashed +123 tickets. The tight scoring contests split the O/U — the Blues and Stars went over their 5-goal implied line while the Columbus-Boston game stayed under the 5.5-goal line.
The impact of both road victories doesn’t seem too extreme with both series still pegged to be pretty close. The Blues are now favored at -136 while the Bruins are -134 favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook.
AL Contenders Take Over Sunday Night
The Houston Astros host the Cleveland Indians for Sunday Night Baseball. The contest will be a rubber match with the teams splitting the first two games of the weekend series.
Francisco Lindor headlined Friday’s 6-3 Indians victory with two home runs fresh off the IL. The Astros countered with a 4-3 extra innings victory on Saturday off the bat of an unlikely hero.
Tony Kemp’s 10th inning home run cashed -156 ML tickets but did not amount to enough to hop over the 9-run implied total. Tonight, the Astros are pegged as -120 favorites with Wade Miley taking the mound. The Indians send Carlos Carrasco to the hill looking for a +104 underdog victory.
Quick Links
Matt Schmitto and Thomas Casale breakdown the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The NFL schedule was released! Thomas Casale breaks down the best games of the year.
How many more people would watch baseball if they could gamble on it? That’s what a new Seton Hall Sports poll tried to find out.
There’s a new sportsbook being built in New York. Here’s a sneak peek from Thomas Casale.
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