NBA HOT & NOT PLAYOFF BETTING REPORT- MAY 14
The NBA’s conference finals get underway this week in the league’s version of the Final Four. There were very few surprises along the way with the favorites winning 11 of the first 12 best-of-seven series in this year’s playoffs.
The Eastern Conference went chalk with the No. 2 Toronto Raptors taking on the No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks in the finals. Toronto needed the full seven games to get past Philadelphia in the semifinals after eliminating Orlando 4-1 in the opening round. The Raptors were 6-6 against the spread in those 12 postseason contests with the total staying UNDER in nine of the 12 games. They head on the road for Wednesday’s Game 1 as 6.5-point underdogs with the total set at 218.
Milwaukee posted the best straight-up record in the NBA regular season at 60-22. After eliminating Detroit in the opening round with four double-digit victories both SU and ATS, the Bucks sent Boston packing in five games after losing the series opener at home. This boosted their postseason record to 8-1 both SU and ATS with the total going OVER in five of the nine games.
The Bucks are listed as -285 favorites on OnlineSportsBet’ series price odds with Toronto set as a +245 underdog to advance to the NBA Finals.
The Portland Trail Blazers earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and started the playoffs with an impressive 4-1 series win against Oklahoma City. The Trail Blazers took the No. 2 Denver Nuggets to seven games in the conference semifinals and won the series finale 100-96 as 5.5-point road underdogs. They are an even 6-6 ATS in 12 playoff games with the total going OVER in seven of those games.
The No. 1 Golden State Warriors will be making their fifth-straight appearance in the conference finals after getting past both the Los Angeles Clippers and the Houston Rockets in six games. They were 5-7 ATS including a 2-4 record ATS in six home games. The total went OVER in eight of the 12 games. This best-of-seven clash gets underway on Tuesday night with Golden State favored by 7.5 points at home. The total for Game 1 is set at 219 points.
When it comes to the series price odds for this matchup, OnlineSportsBet has opened the Warriors as heavy -550 favorites. The betting odds for Portland are set at +425.
