Thursday's NBA Playoffs Betting Preview and Odds
The opening round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs continues Thursday night with three Game 3s as the series' shift to the home court of the lower seeds.
Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat (+2, 216.5)
Following their first loss in over a month, the Philadelphia 76ers - likely still without All-Star center Joel Embiid - will try to take back homecourt advantage when they visit the Miami Heat for Game 3 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series. Embiid has been sidelined with an orbital fracture for 10 games, including a 113-103 loss to the Heat on Monday that tied the series up at a game apiece, and he was listed as doubtful after practice Wednesday.
Embiid posted an Instagram message before Game 2 that strongly indicated his desire to return, indicating that he was being "babied" by the team staff, and he participated in portions of practice the next two days. "It's still moving forward," coach Brett Brown told reporters Tuesday. "What I can say is there is a very unified effort with his representation and the people around him. With the people that did the operation, the doctors, with our medical staff, with the team, with me, the coaching staff. We're all doing this. There's a unified sort of spirit and line of communication." The Sixers had no issues without their big man in a Game 1 rout but they had no answers Monday night for Heat veteran Dwyane Wade, who scored 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting while moving into 10th place on the NBA's career postseason scoring list with 3,910. "It's just in my DNA," Wade told the media of his vintage performance. "I love the stage."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT, NBCS Philadelphia, FS Sun (Miami)
SERIES PRICE (PER PINNACLE):
BETTING ACTION AND LINE MOVES: The Heat opened as 1-point home favorites for Game 3 but steady, early action on the Sixers has pushed that pointspread over the fence to Philly -2. 60 percent of Covers Consensus selections are on the 76ers. The total hit betting boards at 216 and has been bumped up slightly to 216.5.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (53-31 SU, 48-34-2 ATS, 42-41-1 O/U): After making 18-of-28 3-pointers in Game 1, Philadelphia was 7-of-36 in Monday's loss, and rookie Ben Simmons - who rarely shoots from beyond the arc - led the way on the offensive end with 24 points. Dario Saric contributed 23 points while hitting 3-of-10 triples and is confident that whenever Embiid returns the matchups will be very different. "When he comes back he'll be ready, and will kick their [butt]," Saric told reporters. "I cannot wait for Joel to come back and help us because we are a way better team with him."
ABOUT THE HEAT (45-39 SU, 41-37-6 ATS, 38-45-1 O/U): James Johnson averaged under nine minutes a game in his first 19 playoff contests with Chicago, Memphis and Toronto, but he's making the most of his increased role with the Heat this postseason. The veteran out of Wake Forest made all seven of his shots in Game 2 and finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in 37 minutes, which matches his highest total in a regulation game all season. Johnson, Wade and Goran Dragic combined to make 26-of-37 shot attempts while their teammates were 14-of-45 in Game 2.
INJURY REPORT:
Sixers - C J. Embiid (Questionable, Face), SG T. Luwawu-Cabarrot (Out Indefinitely, Knee).
Heat - SG D. Waiters (Out For Season, Ankle).
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* 76ers are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games overall.
* Heat are 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games playing on 2 days rest.
* Over is 5-1 in 76ers' last 6 vs. Eastern Conference.
* Under is 6-1 in Heat's last 7 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* 76ers are 0-3-1 ATS in the last 4 meetings in Miami.
Portland Trail Blazers at New Orleans Pelicans (-3.5, 216)
The New Orleans Pelicans are off to a resounding postseason start and aim to take a 3-0 series lead when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. Sixth-seeded New Orleans won the opening two games of the Western Conference first-round matchup at Portland and can take a commanding lead with another victory.
Guard Jrue Holiday scored a career playoff-best 33 points in Tuesday's 111-102 victory and coach Alvin Gentry cautioned his players not to get overly giddy following the contest. "We've still got to get two more wins, so we're not overly excited about anything," Gentry told reporters. "We're playing against a really, really well-coached great team. ... That was our message to the team and actually that was their message to each other, that we hadn't done anything yet." Portland star guard Damian Lillard was unable to get untracked in the first two games while coach Terry Stotts said his squad has to return serve by accumulating road wins. "We've got to win two games in New Orleans, and hopefully it's the next two," Stotts told reporters. "It's easy math - we've got to go and win two in New Orleans, and I feel we're very capable of winning both games."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBATV, NBCS Northwest (Portland), FS New Orleans
SERIES PRICE (PER PINNACLE):
BETTING ACTION AND LINE MOVES: The Pelicans opened as 3-point home favorites for Game 3 and that number has bumped up slightly to -3.5. 74 percent of Covers Consensus side wagers are on the favorites from New orleans. The total hit betting boards at 216 and has not moved as of Thursday morning.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (49-35 SU, 45-34-5 ATS, 35-49 O/U): Lillard averaged 26.9 points during the regular season but has struggled in this series with a 17.5 average on 13-of-41 shooting. "Coming into the playoffs, you know teams are going to lock in, and they're going to try and make the game hard for you," Lillard told reporters. "And I give a lot of credit to them for executing their game plan but the opportunities I do get, I've just got to be better. It's as simple as that." Starting center Jusuf Nurkic (leg) was limited to 15 minutes on Tuesday and swingman Even Turner (toe) missed all six of his field-goal attempts in 20 scoreless minutes.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (50-34 SU, 47-36-1 ATS, 47-37 O/U): Holiday averaged 27 points in the two games in Portland and has thrived during the best of his five seasons in New Orleans. Injury issues and the situation in which his wife Lauren, a former U.S. national soccer player, battled a brain tumor while pregnant that caused him to miss the start of the 2016-17 season created challenges for the 27-year-old. "My family's the most important thing to me, and with them being OK I can come back to the team freely and be able to help them out now," Holiday told reporters. "It's been fun. I feel like my teammates and the organization definitely helped me out coming back from things with my family, and even the injuries, with being able to play and being able to perform at the peak I'm performing."
INJURY REPORT:
Blazers - C J. Nurkic (Probable, Leg), SF E. Turner (Questionable, Toe), SG C. Wilcox (Out Indefinitely, Knee).
Pelicans - PF N. Mirotic (Probable, Ankle), C A. Ajinca (Out For Season, Knee), PG F. Jackson (Out For Season, Foot), C D. Cousins (Out For Season, Achilles).
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Trail Blazers are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 vs. NBA Southwest.
* Pelicans are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
* Under is 6-0 in Trail Blazers' last 6 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
* Under is 6-1 in Pelicans' last 7 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
* Trail Blazers are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
Golden State Warriors at San Antonio Spurs (+4, 206)
The San Antonio Spurs have their backs against the wall and badly need a victory when they host the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. The Spurs dropped the first two games of the best-of-seven series by an average of 18 points and hope to turn things around on the home floor.
Seventh-seeded San Antonio is having trouble matching up with the second-seeded Warriors - not having star forward Kawhi Leonard (quadriceps) isn't helping matters - but the players insist they can still make it a series. "We're not going to roll over," power forward LaMarcus Aldridge told reporters. "We've got to take the mentality that we had (in Game 2), trying to take the fight to them. ... I feel like it should be good for us going home, but we've got to take the same intensity from (Monday) home with us." Golden State's offense is clicking despite the absence of star guard Stephen Curry (knee) as the squad averaged 114.5 points over the first two games. Shooting guard Klay Thompson is averaging 29 points in the series and Kevin Durant is contributing 28 per game.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT, NBCS Bay Area (Golden State), FS Southwest (San Antonio)
SERIES PRICE (PER PINNACLE):
BETTING ACTION AND LINE MOVES: The Warriors opened as 3-point road favorites and as of Thursday morning that number is up to 4. 66 percent of consensus users are on the favorite Dubs. The total hit betting boards at 207 and is down slightly to 206.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (60-24 SU, 36-47-1 ATS, 40-43-1 O/U): Thompson is 10-of-14 from 3-point range in the series and 23-of-33 overall and coach Steve Kerr said part of Thompson's sharpness is due to missing eight games in March with a broken right thumb. The thinking goes that Thompson was able to rest the remainder of his body while the thumb was healing and is much fresher than he would typically be at this time of year. "Any time you can take a few games off, unfortunately it hurts when you do, but in the long run, we try to play till June every season," Thompson told reporters. "So I think it will help out in the long run."
ABOUT THE SPURS (47-37 SU, 42-40-2 ATS, 39-44-1 O/U): Leonard is away from the team in New York rehabbing his injury and one of coach Gregg Popovich's comments about Aldridge after Game 2 seemed like at least a partial shot at the two-time All-Star. "LaMarcus has been a monster all year long," Popovich told reporters. "He's led our team at both ends of the floor. He doesn't complain about a darned thing out on the court. He just plays through everything. I can't imagine being more proud of a player as far as playing through adversity and being there for his teammates night after night after night. He's been fantastic." Aldridge had 34 points and 12 rebounds in Game 2 after struggling to 14 points and two rebounds in the series opener.
INJURY REPORT:
Warriors - PF D. West (Questionable, Ankle), SG P. McCaw (Out Indefinitely, Back), PG S. Curry (Late April, Knee), SF C. Boucher (Out Indefinitely, Ankle).
Spurs - C J. Lauvergne (Questionable, Personal), SF K. Leonard (Out For Season, Quadricep).
MATCHUP CHART:
TRENDS:
* Warriors are 2-11 ATS in their last 13 games following a straight up win.
* Spurs are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 home games.
* Over is 3-0-1 in Warriors' last 4 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Over is 5-0-1 in Spurs' last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games.
* Warriors are 7-2 ATS in the last 9 meetings.
