As we’re now into the business end of the opening round of NBA Playoffs, there are a number of matchups hanging in the balance. Here we preview all the games that matter, including some top basketball betting deals to take advantage of in the Playoffs.
Chicago Bulls @ Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks enter Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead, and they have the chance to seal their place in the next round of the Playoffs. With home advantage, they have the perfect opportunity to end the Chicago Bulls season on Wednesday night at the Fiserv Forum. The Bucks suffered a surprise home defeat in Game 2, but responded very well in Games 3 and 4, blowing out the Bulls by a combined 54 points on the road.
One of the most impressive performers in both those two victories was Grayson Allen, scoring a combined 49 points. This is the most confident we’ve seen Allen in a Bucks uniform and he is stepping up to fill the shoes of the injured Khris Middleton.
This is not a must-win for Milwaukee, but they will be keen to take care of business and avoid going back to Chicago in Game 6. They are 11-point favourites going into this match and another comfortable series sealing victory at home against their rival would make this even sweeter. Bet £10 and get £50 in free bets with Bet365.
Betting Recommendation: Milwaukee Bucks -10.5 at 10/11
Dallas Mavericks @ Utah Jazz
It was the Luka Dončić show in Game 5 of this series, as the Slovenian scored 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to power hosts Dallas to a 3-2 Western Conference lead. It was a dominant 102-77 win over Utah and the Mavs have moved to within one win of their first Playoff series victory since their 2011 championship run.
After the first four games were decided by eight points or less, Utah never had a chance after a nearly six-minute scoreless drought in the second quarter that fuelled a 22-4 Dallas run on the way to a 52-36 halftime lead.
Game 6 is in Salt Lake City, where the Jazz enjoys a formidable home-court record. Star player Donovan Mitchell is questionable for this crucial showdown, and without their shooting guard they could well be staring elimination in the face. Follow all the latest basketball betting opportunities with BetDukes.
Betting Recommendation: Dallas Mavericks to win at 8/11
Denver Nuggets @ Golden State Warriors
The Warriors return to the Chase Centre for Game 5 with a second chance to close out the series against Denver. Golden State won their first two games of this series with home court advantage by double-digits, with a 16-point victory in Game 1 and a 20-point victory in Game 2.
The Dubs could not quite sweep the Nuggets on Sunday, falling to a 126-121 Game 4 reverse on Denver’s home floor. Denver were leading comfortably at the break but a strong second-half push briefly gave them an opportunity to complete the sweep. Ultimately, they fell just short.
Steph Curry has come off the bench in all four games of the series, and has seen his game minutes increase each game. This could be the moment that he returns to the starting lineup and has a big scoring night. Make BetDuel your betting destination for all things NBA.
Betting Recommendation: Golden State Warriors -9.5 at Evens
Philadelphia 76ers @ Toronto Raptors
The No. 4 seed Philadelphia 76ers and No. 5 seed Toronto Raptors face off in Game 6 of their NBA Playoffs matchup. What a few days ago seemed like a potential sweep is now an intriguing series as the Raptors claimed a 103-88 Game 5 victory on Monday night.
The win was the second straight for Toronto, and a series that started off 3-0 in Philadelphia’s favour is now 3-2 with Game 6 set to be played in Toronto.
It was a concerning dip in form from Philly, as they certainly didn’t come out with the energy, effort and focus that they did in the earlier matches in the series. Once again they have the chance to close out the series but with every defeat the pressure builds on them.
The Raptors have scored over 100 points in four of the five Playoff matches so far, and with home court advantage they might inflict more punishment on the porous 76er defence. Join SportNation now and enjoy a free £5 bet every week!
Betting Recommendation: Total Toronto Raptors points Over 101.5 at 4/7
Phoenix Suns @ New Orleans Pelicans
Despite New Orleans starting the regular season with a miserable 3-16 record, they still have a live chance of knocking out the top seeds, the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix took a 3-2 lead in the series with a routine 112-97 home win in Round 5, which means New Orleans now need to win both remaining matches to inflict the massive upset.
The Suns have been impacted by the loss of injured star Devin Booker in earlier losses, but Mikal Bridges and Chris Paul stepped up to score 53 points combined in this. Incredibly they improved their record to 50-0 this season when leading after three quarters, including 3-0 in this series. If Phoenix can get ahead early in this one the pressure may be too much for NOLA to handle.
Only four No. 8 seeds have advanced past No. 1 seeds in Round 1 of the Playoffs, and this could be the end of the road for the Pelicans despite playing in front of their Louisiana home crowd. Bet on all the NBA Playoff action with BetStorm.
Betting Recommendation: Phoenix Suns to win at 4/6
Memphis Grizzlies @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Memphis travel to the Target Center for Game 6 of their evenly contested Western Conference first-round Playoff series with the Minnesota Timberwolves, holding a narrow 3-2 advantage.
This is arguably the hardest to call of all of the first round matchups. Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards have delivered with the star power and the teams are proving to be very evenly matched. The Grizzlies bounced back to winning ways with a pivotal and evenly contested Game 5 matchup on Tuesday night.
It only seems right that this one will go down to a Game 7 decider, and the raucous Minneapolis crowd could well see the T-Wolves home here.
Betting Recommendation: Minnesota Timberwolves to win at 11/10
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