VegasButcher (NBA) - Playoffs 7 – 9 @ 0% for -2.9 Units
Chicago Bulls +4.5
The Bulls have as good of a chance as any to grab one of these first two games of this series. Cleveland is without Kevin Love (for the playoffs) and without JR Smith (for 2 games), two of their starters. The issue with these two being out of commission is of course their perimeter shooting. Out of players that have logged 20+ minutes per game for the Cavs this year Smith ranks 3rd in 3PT shooting @ 39% and Love ranks 4th @ 37%. Without them, it should be a lot more difficult for James and Irving to find space in the paint as I expect Chicago’s D to collapse often. At least Cleveland had some time to prepare to play without Smith/Love but we’ll see how well they execute without them in this game. Bottom line here is that Cleveland is ‘weaker’ now than with Love/Smith on the floor. In addition, Chicago is fully healthy, or at least as ‘healthy’ as possible at this point of the year. Noah and Mirotic are a bit banged up as I’m sure others are as well, but at least this team has all of their ‘opening day’ bodies available for the start of this series. If Chicago wants to win this series, they MUST win one of these first 2 games. Losing both and then Cleveland getting JR Smith back doesn’t bode well for Chicago’s chances. At the very least I expect a close game here as these teams are a lot more ‘even’ now than they were prior to that Cavs game 4 @ Boston.
2-team Parlay
Houston Rockets ML (-255) / Atlanta Hawks ML (-285) @ -115 combined odds
Even if Chris Paul plays, I don’t see him being at 100% tonight. He is not the type to heal quickly, evidenced by him missing a lot of games in the past with similar injuries. The irony is that he actually played the full season this year, something he hasn’t done often, though now he’s hurt again. Besides CP3’s injury, let’s not forget that the Clippers just came off a grueling 7-game series. With only 1-day off prior to the start of this one, I’d expect a letdown performance out of them tonight. Houston is fresh and well rested. I like their chances here.
As far as the Hawks, they lost game 1 but they were the ‘better’ team. The average margin throughout game 1 was +4 Hawks as Washington was able to grab the lead and hold on to it late. Well, this is a huge ‘bounce back’ game for Atlanta. They ARE a better team and going down 0-2 at home is not something that happens to ‘better’ teams often in the playoffs. Both Beal and Wall got hurt in game 1, and though both should play, I don’t expect them to be as effective. Hawks win game 2 tomorrow in my opinion.
Chicago Bulls +4.5
The Bulls have as good of a chance as any to grab one of these first two games of this series. Cleveland is without Kevin Love (for the playoffs) and without JR Smith (for 2 games), two of their starters. The issue with these two being out of commission is of course their perimeter shooting. Out of players that have logged 20+ minutes per game for the Cavs this year Smith ranks 3rd in 3PT shooting @ 39% and Love ranks 4th @ 37%. Without them, it should be a lot more difficult for James and Irving to find space in the paint as I expect Chicago’s D to collapse often. At least Cleveland had some time to prepare to play without Smith/Love but we’ll see how well they execute without them in this game. Bottom line here is that Cleveland is ‘weaker’ now than with Love/Smith on the floor. In addition, Chicago is fully healthy, or at least as ‘healthy’ as possible at this point of the year. Noah and Mirotic are a bit banged up as I’m sure others are as well, but at least this team has all of their ‘opening day’ bodies available for the start of this series. If Chicago wants to win this series, they MUST win one of these first 2 games. Losing both and then Cleveland getting JR Smith back doesn’t bode well for Chicago’s chances. At the very least I expect a close game here as these teams are a lot more ‘even’ now than they were prior to that Cavs game 4 @ Boston.
2-team Parlay
Houston Rockets ML (-255) / Atlanta Hawks ML (-285) @ -115 combined odds
Even if Chris Paul plays, I don’t see him being at 100% tonight. He is not the type to heal quickly, evidenced by him missing a lot of games in the past with similar injuries. The irony is that he actually played the full season this year, something he hasn’t done often, though now he’s hurt again. Besides CP3’s injury, let’s not forget that the Clippers just came off a grueling 7-game series. With only 1-day off prior to the start of this one, I’d expect a letdown performance out of them tonight. Houston is fresh and well rested. I like their chances here.
As far as the Hawks, they lost game 1 but they were the ‘better’ team. The average margin throughout game 1 was +4 Hawks as Washington was able to grab the lead and hold on to it late. Well, this is a huge ‘bounce back’ game for Atlanta. They ARE a better team and going down 0-2 at home is not something that happens to ‘better’ teams often in the playoffs. Both Beal and Wall got hurt in game 1, and though both should play, I don’t expect them to be as effective. Hawks win game 2 tomorrow in my opinion.
