THE SPORTS ADVISORS
NBA PLAYOFFS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(4) Cleveland (48-39, 40-47 ATS) at (5) Washington (45-42, 48-39 ATS)
The Cavaliers, who were dealt a last-second loss on their home floor Wednesday to prolong this series, travel to the Verizon Center for Game 6 and another chance to eliminate the pesky Wizards.
Caron Butler hit a layup with 3.9 seconds left, and LeBron James followed by missing a running bank shot at the buzzer to give Washington an 88-87 victory as a 5?-point road underdog in Game 5 The Wizards snapped an 0-4 ATS road skid, though they are just 2-4 SU and ATS in their last six games overall. Cleveland, meanwhile, is 8-9 SU in its last 17 starts, going 6-11 ATS in that stretch (playoffs included).
Washington played Game 5 without star guard Gilbert Arenas, who has been ruled out of the rest of the playoff because of a recurring knee injury.
Wednesday?s win was just the second in the Wizards? last 10 playoff games (3-7 ATS) ? all against the Cavaliers, who have knocked out Washington in each of the last two postseasons. Despite Wednesday?s outcome, the home team is still 7-2 SU in this rivalry this season (5-4 ATS), and the favorite is still 7-4 ATS in the last 11 meetings (playoffs included).
The Cavaliers are in ATS funks of 3-7 against winning teams, 2-8 in Friday games, 1-4 playing on one day of rest and 1-4 as an underdog of less than five points. On the bright side, Cleveland is 4-1 ATS in its last five as a playoff pup of less than five points, 4-1 ATS in its last five after a non-cover, 20-8 ATS in its last 28 overall as a road ?dog and 13-6 in its last 19 as a playoff ?dog.
The Wizards are on a 4-1 ATS run at home and are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 Friday starts, but they are on negative ATS slides of 2-5 in the conference quarterfinals (all against Cleveland), 2-5 laying less than five points and 1-5 when going on one day of rest.
For Cleveland, the under is on steaks of 9-2 overall, 14-4 as a playoff underdog, 21-8-1 when playing on one day of rest, 7-1 as an underdog of five points or fewer and 6-1 after a SU loss. However, for Washington, the over is on runs of 14-3 at the Verizon Center, 6-0 as a favorite of less than five points, 17-4 as a chalk of any price, 13-3 as a home favorite, 12-1 at home against teams with a losing road record, 23-10 against the East and 11-5 after a SU win.
Finally, in this rivalry, the over-under has alternated in the last eight clashes, with Wednesday?s meeting falling well short of the 191-point posted price. However, the over is 7-3 in the last 10 head-to-head clashes in Washington.
ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER
(1) Boston (69-18, 55-30-2 ATS) at (8) Atlanta (39-48, 39-47-1 ATS)
After suffering two stunning losses in Atlanta to leave this series tied at 2, the Celtics righted the ship with a Game 5 rout at home and will look to close out the Hawks in Game 6 at Philips Arena.
Boston pummeled Atlanta 110-85 Wednesday night, easily cashing as a heavy 14?-point home chalk to halt its two-game SU and ATS slide in the series. The Celtics are 7-2 SU and ATS in their last nine starts dating to the regular season, while the Hawks are just 4-8 SU and ATS in their last 12, including a current 2-6 SU and ATS slide.
The straight-up winner is 28-1 ATS in Boston?s last 29 games, including 10-0 ATS in the last 10, and the winner has cashed in each of Atlanta?s last 12 contests.
Boston is 6-2 against Atlanta this year (5-3 ATS), with all six wins coming by double digits. In fact, the Celtics? three wins in this series have come by margins of 23, 19 and 25 points, respectively. However, the home team has cashed in eight of the last 10 clashes in this rivalry, going 5-0 SU and ATS in this series.
The Celtics, who had the league?s best regular-season ATS mark, are on a 13-4 ATS run going back to the regular season and are on further positive pointspread streaks of 22-7 overall, 8-1 on one day of rest, 18-5 after a SU win, 37-16-1 after a spread-cover and 48-21-1 on the highway. On the negative side, Boston is 1-4 ATS in its last five as a road chalk and 1-4 ATS in its last five as a playoff favorite of five to 10? points.
The Hawks are on a 4-0 ATS run when catching five to 10? points, and they are 5-2 ATS in their last seven at home in that same role. However, from there, the pointspread trends go all downhill, including 1-4 after a SU loss, 1-4 after an ATS loss, 2-5 on one day of rest, 2-5 catching points, 2-5 against winning teams and 5-12 on Fridays.
The over is on a 3-0 run in this playoff series, with Wednesday?s game hurdling the 187?-point posted price, and the over is 4-1 in the last five clashes at Philips Arena. The over is also on streaks of 4-1 for Boston as a road chalk, 4-0 for Boston when laying between five and 10? points, 8-1 for Atlanta at home, 10-1 when Atlanta plays on one day of rest, 4-0 when Atlanta is a home underdog, 9-4 when Atlanta faces Atlantic Division foes and 13-3 with the Hawks catching five to 10? points.
On the flip side, the under is 9-4 in the Celtics? last 13 first-round playoff games and 13-4 in their last 17 after scoring 100 or more points.
ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(5) Houston (57-30, 50-35-2 ATS) at (4) Utah (57-30, 48-39 ATS)
The Jazz, who got blown away in Game 5 in their first opportunity to end this series, hope the friendly confines of the EnergySolutions Arena prove more beneficial in Game 6 against the resilient Rockets.
Houston flattened Utah 95-69 Tuesday night as a 1?-point home favorite. It was the biggest blowout of this series and marked the first time in this matchup that the home team and the favorite have gotten the cash. The Rockets are now on a 3-0 ATS run after failing to cover in the first two games of this series, while the Jazz have followed a 7-0 spread-covering spree by going 2-4 ATS dating back to their regular-season finale.
Despite Tuesday?s outcome, the road team in this rivalry is still 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS in the last nine matchups, all as an underdog. However, the Jazz, who knocked Houston out of the playoffs in seven games last year, are 9-4 ATS in the last 13 clashes.
The Rockets have cashed in four straight playoff games as a ?dog of five to 10? points and carry additional positive ATS trends of 37-18-1 overall, 6-1 on two days? rest, 21-6 after a spread-cover, 23-7-1 after a SU win, 5-2 on the highway and 9-4 against the Western Conference. But Houston is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 conference quarterfinal games (all against the Jazz) and 2-5 ATS in its last seven as a road pup of five to 10? points.
The Jazz, who went 37-4 at home in the regular season (29-12 ATS), are 37-15-1 ATS in their last 53 in Salt Lake City. They?re also on a bevy of additional pointspread streaks, including 20-6 against winning teams, 9-3 as a home chalk of five to 10 ? points, 6-2-1 as a playoff home favorite, 13-5 against the Southwest Division and 24-11 against the Western Conference. The lone negative for Utah: a 7-17 ATS mark in its last 24 starts on two days? rest.
The under is 4-1 in this playoff series, with the lone ?over? barely hitting by 1? points in Game 3. The under is also on runs for Houston of 8-3 overall (5-1 in the last six), 5-0 after a SU win, 6-0 after a spread-cover, 5-1 as a playoff ?dog, 13-3 against the Northwest, 10-4 in first-round playoff tilts and 18-6 as a road pup of five to 10? points. For Utah, the under is on streaks of 8-3 overall, 13-4-1 against the Southwest, 17-5 after a SU loss and 17-7 in first-round playoff games.
Finally, in this West rivalry, the under is 11-5 in the last 16 battles at EnergySolutions Arena.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UTAH and UNDER