Navigate

NBA Playoffs Best Bets, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (5/11)

by |

Both of Thursday night’s games are elimination games for one of the teams involved. The Celtics will try to send this series back to Boston for a deciding Game 7.  Phoenix looks to continue this series’ home team dominance and force a Game 7 of their own in Denver. Here are my best bets for tonight’s games.

Thursday’s Best NBA Bets

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers

What about the Celtics inspires optimism right now? Boston’s coach has exhibited poor game-planning and late-game decision-making, Jayson Tatum has been a ghost on the court for prolonged stretches, and the team has had no defensive answer for Joel Embiid and the Philly pick-and-roll. The Celtics continue to be a frustrating watch and are deserving losers of these past two games as the 76ers’ starters continue to thrive in this matchup. I have much more faith in Philly’s best and the league MVP than I do in the Celtics at the moment, and it is nonsensical to want to bet on Boston amid such a tumultuous stretch.

These past two games, Boston has been thoroughly outplayed, with the only stretch of good basketball coming in the 4th quarter of Game 4, a game in which the point spread closed as a straight pick’em. Plainly, what logical reason is there that Boston should be favored by 2.5 points more in this contest than they were this past Sunday? The argument that the Celtics get a bump here because they ‘need it‘ is illogical, and it isn’t analysis. This game deserves to be, once again, a pick’em, and we’ll gladly take the two free points as we root for the 76ers to close out the series at home.

Bet: 76ers +2.5 (-110)

Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns

Denver was among the worst road teams in the NBA this season (20-25 SU and ATS), and such struggles have carried over into the postseason (1-3 SU and ATS). Conversely, Phoenix’s home-court advantage is palpable, and they’ve dominated Denver for stretches at home in this series.

There is some concern for the Suns as the team still remains without Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton has popped up on the injury report with a rib injury. Although, frankly, the Suns have shown that they can get by without Paul, and Ayton’s presence has arguably been a hindrance. Any market reaction to this news is unwarranted, and we’ll gladly buy the dip with the Suns here

Devin Booker and Nikola Jokic have alternated as the series’ best player, but expect Booker to reclaim this title en route to victory Thursday night. Blatantly, this series has seven games written all over it, and the Suns’ stars have earned our faith in front of their home crowd.

Bet: Suns -2.5 (-110)

Take a look at our other best bets for Thursday:


Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts

Try Premium for FREE in our mobile app

BettingPros App