Going into tonight’s Game 6 at Atlanta in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, Boston is the +150 ‘chalk’ to win the NBA championship at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
When the postseason started, the Milwaukee Bucks were the +300 favorites to win the NBA title. They’ve already been eliminated, though, thanks to the brilliant play of Jimmy Butler, who had 42 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and one blocked shot last night when Miami won 128-126 in overtime at Milwaukee in Game 5.
According to Paul Howard of VSIN’s ‘Follow the Money,’ the prop bet for the Heat to win the series in five games had 55/1 odds. Erik Spoelstra’s squad won Wednesday as a 12.5-point road underdog, hooking up money-line supporters with a +600 return at FanDuel.
Miami moves on to the Eastern Conference semifinals to face the Knicks, who are four-point home favorites for Sunday’s Game 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Westgate SuperBook has New York installed as a -165 favorite to advance to the East finals, while the Heat have +145 odds.
Phoenix won four games in a row over the banged-up Clippers after losing Game 1 to set up a seven-game series with the West’s No. 1 seed, Denver. The Suns are 2.5-point road underdogs for Saturday’s series opener in the Mile High City, but they are -130 ‘chalk’ to make the West finals. The Westgate has the Nuggets as +110 underdogs vs. Phoenix.
Most books have Golden St. listed as a seven-point home favorite for Friday’s Game 6. After falling into a 0-2 hole against Sacramento, the Warriors have ripped off three consecutive victories. The winner of this series will face whoever survives the Grizzlies-Lakers slugfest.
Los Angeles leads Memphis 3-2 heading into Friday’s Game 6 at home. Most spots have the Lakers as 4.5-point favorites.
I’m on the Grizzlies +4.5 and also got a small taste of the money line for a +170 payout. I like the ‘over’ (230.5) in tonight’s Game 6 between the Celtics and Hawks. Atlanta’s last 16 home games have had combined scores of 235 points or more.
