Previous Betting News

With a couple of first round NBA playoff series already complete and the conference semifinals set to get underway on May 1, basketball bettors need to know which teams are offering the best value in their expected second round series matchups.

No worries, I’ve got you covered with some fun-filled winning NBA betting picks for each expected second round series matchup. Now, let’s get started.

A Closer Look At The 2017 NBA Playoffs Wining Picks For 2nd Round Series

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Boston vs. No. 4 Washington

Right now, the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards are locked in identical 2-2 ties in their respective first round series matchups, but I’m expecting both teams to win and advance against their lower-seeded conference rivals.

When the C’s and Wizards do meet in the second round, you should expect a knock-down, drag-out thriller of a series that I’m expecting, barring any unforeseen injuries to key players, to go the full distance seeing a how these two title hopefuls are very evenly matched. The C’s and Wiz split their four regular season meetings both, SU and ATS with the home team winning each contest. For their semifinal series matchup, I’m going to urge you to back the Celtics to win and advance in seven difficult games, although I will admit that, prior to the postseason, I had the Wizards reaching the conference finals.

Right now however, Boston is coming together and playing excellent basketball after dropping their first two games at home against Chicago while Washington has been humbled a bit in dropping games 3 and 4 against feisty Atlanta. I like the Celtics to reach the conference final by using their ‘smarter’ brand of basketball to beat a Wizards team that I more explosive offensively, but not nearly a good at the other end of the floor.

Pick: Boston in 7

No. 3 Toronto vs. No. 2 Cleveland

I’ve been really impressed with how the Toronto Raptors have fought back from their stunning 2-1 series deficit against upstart Milwaukee to take a 3-2 series lead heading into Thursday night’s Game 6 road date. While I expect Toronto to eventually dispatch the Bucks, likely in seven games, no matter how hard I look for ways the Raptors can potentially beat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, I just can’t find them.

Cleveland beat Toronto three times in four regular season meetings while covering the spread in each victory. Going back to their Eastern Conference Finals matchup from last season, the Cavaliers have gone 7-3 SU and 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games against the Raptors and that tells me the Cavs will bounce the Raptors out of the postseason for the second straight year.

Pick: Cleveland in 5

Western Conference

No. 1 Golden State vs. No. 5 Utah

The Utah Jazz have looked mostly phenomenal in outplaying the higher-seeded Los Angeles Clippers as they currently hold a 3-2 series edge heading back home for Game 6 on Thursday night, but there’s no way the offensively-challenged Jazz will be able to keep up Steph Curry and the explosive Golden State Warriors when they meet in the second round.

The Dubs won two of three against the Jazz this season while covering the spread as double-digit favorites in both victories. Utah leads the league in points allowed, but they also struggle mightily to score the ball and that alone will spell doom for the Jazz, even though I have to tip my hat to them for their outstanding campaign.

Pick: Golden State in 5

No. 3 Houston vs. No. 2 San Antonio

The Spurs have a 3-2 series lead over the Grizzlies as they head back to Memphis for Game 6 on Thursday night and while I expect them to win and advance in even games, I’m also thinking the winner of their first round matchup could be in trouble against James Harden and the Houston Rockets.

I know the Spurs beat the Rockets three times in four meetings during the regular season, but three of the four meetings this season were decided by six points or less with two of them being decided by an identical two points. The Spurs will have home court advantage and that could be the deciding factor against Houston, but I’m going to urge you to go against popular opinion and the series betting odds to back the Rockets for the upset.

Houston has a plethora of consistent shooters while San Antonio is getting the vast majority of its offensive production from Kawhi Leonard, first and foremost and aging point guard Tony Parker second. Sure, Houston’s defense leaves a lot to be desired, but the Rockets can score the ball better than any team in the league outside of Golden State and I believe it is that kind of scoring ability that will propel them past the Spurs in the second round.

Pick: Houston in 6

Previous Betting News

It’s a short week in the NBA as the action doesn’t resume following the All-Star break until Thursday. The favored exact NBA Finals matchup at Mybookie as of now is Milwaukee Bucks vs. Golden State Warriors at +270. No shock there as they lead the East and West, respectively. Here are two intriguing matchups this week. Check back for NBA odds.

Top NBA Betting Picks of the Week – February 18th

Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers

When: Thursday, 10:30 PM ET (TNT)

Houston entered the break off a 10-point loss in Minnesota, but James Harden kept his 30-point streak going with 42 points. Harden scored 30 or more points for the 31st consecutive game, tying Wilt Chamberlain for the second-longest streak in league history. He’s never catching Wilt’s No. 1 streak, though.

Harden shot 15 of 34 from the field, including 8 of 22 from 3-point range. He passed the 30-point mark on his 15th four-point play of the season, getting Josh Okogie in the air with a step-back 3 to put Houston up 74-67 midway through the third. It was also his 22nd 40-point game of the season.

The Rockets are taking 48.2% of their shots from beyond the arc, No. 1 in the NBA, and a whopping 39.3% of their makes have been unassisted — the next-closest mark is the Blazers with 22.7% unassisted. That’s almost all attributable to Harden, whose 22 attempts from deep vs. the Wolves were the third-most all season behind himself (23) and Klay Thompson (24).

Coach Mike D’Antoni said C Clint Capela is expected to practice this week to determine if he can play Thursday. Capela missed his 15th game with a right thumb injury suffered at Orland on Jan. 13.

Los Angeles enters on a two-game skid after being upset 117-113 in Atlanta on Tuesday. Rajon Rondo acknowledged that the Lakers have been struggling on the defensive end of the floor as of late.

“We’ve given up a lot of points the last however many games — eight to 10 games — and it’s just been a shootout, and we haven’t won many of the shootouts,” Rondo said. “So we’ve got to find a way to get a different dynamic as far as defensively to get stops.” L.A. is just 3-7 in its past 10 games.

Houston looks for its second-ever season sweep of the Lakers, winning the first three meetings. The Rockets are averaging 129.3 ppg (45.6% FGs) while Lakers are averaging 120.0 ppg (51.1% FGs). Houston is averaging 9.3 more 3-pointers made per game in the series. In addition, the Rockets have more free throws made (76) than L.A. even has attempts (75). Harden is averaging 44.7 points vs. the Lakers this season and Chris Paul 21 points and 9 assists. LeBron James is averaging 26.5 points but missed one game.

Houston has won 21 of the past 27 meetings after losing 15 of the previous 21 games. The Rockets are looking to win four straight in L.A. for just the third time in the series history.

San Antonio Spurs at Toronto Raptors

When: Friday, 7 PM ET (ESPN)

It’s the return of DeMar DeRozan to Toronto. In a July shocker, the Raptors landed Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green from San Antonio for DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick. That pick isn’t going to be available because it’s protected 1-20, meaning the Spurs will get two second-round picks. That deal turned out to be a steal for the Raptors. Then again, DeRozan is under contract a few more years. Leonard could leave in free agency this summer.

Toronto visited San Antonio on Jan. 3 and the Spurs rolled to a 125-107 victory. DeRozan had his first career-triple double (think he was motivated?) with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. He became the first San Antonio player with a triple-double at home since Tim Duncan in 2003. After leading by as many as 26 points in the first half, San Antonio opened the second half on a 12-0 run to take a 79-51 lead.

Spurs fans welcomed back Leonard with thunderous jeers for forcing his way out. Leonard scored 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points for San Antonio, Bryn Forbes added 20, Derrick White 19 and Rudy Gay 13.

The Raptors have won six in a row, however, their fifth winning streak of five or more games this season. Toronto is 16–6 (.727) against teams from the Western Conference – the best record for any team versus the West this season. Toronto is a perfect 6-0 in February and already secured its 15th consecutive winning month — the longest current streak in the NBA. The only other double-digit streak of that kind in Raptors history was 11 straight winning months from Apr. 2015 through Dec. 2016. Toronto is currently averaging 119.7 points (third in the NBA) this month. Pascal Siakam and Kawhi Leonard lead the team averaging 22.5 and 20.5 points, respectively, in February.

The Raptors are 9-4 in games decided by three points or fewer. Toronto’s nine wins are tied with Brooklyn for second most in the NBA behind Denver (10). The Raptors were 5-7 in similar games last season.

Expert NBA Betting Predictions

Go Raptors and Lakers.