NBA Thursday Parlay – May 13
It is crunch time in two of the four NBA Conference Semifinal matchups this Tuesday night. After digging deep into the key stats and betting trends for both of these games, I am ready to release this week’s “NBA Parlay Play”. [ad-4468020]
The following is a brief look at both games based on lines by BetOnline.
Game 1: Washington Wizards vs. Indiana Pacers
Pointspread: Indiana -5
Total Line: 182.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NBA Gambling Insight!
The Wizards jumped-out to the early lead in this best-of-seven series with a 102-96 victory in Game 1 as four-point road underdogs. After suffering three straight losses (1-2 against the spread) in the last three games, they are now just one more loss away from going from the postseason to the offseason in the blink of an eye. With the exception of a 22-point blowout in Game 3 in which they shot a paltry 32.8 percent from the field, Washington has been able to keep all the other games close win or lose.
The resurgent Pacers have now won five of their last six games SU while going 4-2 ATS, but many bettors are still probably leery of wagering on this team given a poor record covering the spread since early March of the regular season. The one thing in their favor is a return to playing defense, which has held the Wizards to an average of just 84.8 points per game. Given that Indiana has only average a little more than 90 PPG in this series, I am sticking with the UNDER in this matchup.
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Game 2: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Pointspread: Oklahoma City -5.5
Total Line: 212.5
ATS Matchup Stats | NBA Gambling Insight!
Los Angeles started this series with a stunning 122-105 victory as a 5.5-point underdog on the road and it tied things up at two games apiece with this past Sunday’s 101-99 win as a five-point home favorite. The last two games of this series have been decided by a total of eight points after each team posted a double-digit victory in the first two.
Kevin Durant has lived-up to the MVP billing in this series with 40 points in Sunday’s loss after putting-up a combined 68 points in his team’s previous two wins. Russell Westbrook has also been a force with 26.3 PPG and the Thunder, as a whole, are shooting 45.5 percent from the field while averaging 104.5 PPG in 11 previous playoff games. This team obviously has the firepower to score a ton of points as long as its dynamic duo does not go cold. The main concern for this game is a defense that has allowed 100 points or more in its last five outings. Look for Oklahoma City to get the SU win, but the play in the back-end of this Parlay is the Clippers and the 5.5 points in another close, hard-fought battle.
