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Best Bets: Trail Blazers vs. Lakers
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Wednesday, in all likelihood, we will say goodbye to the non-competitive part of the postseason. While the Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic both impressed in Race 1 wins, neither had that juice to keep up with the No. 1 from there, and with the other non-contenders largely eliminated from the postseason, things are about to get a lot harder. This is true of the remaining teams, and it is true that bettors hope to make a profit.
So what does it mean to you? We will tackle the biggest games as they come. For now, we still have two walkovers to gain and perhaps the most exciting first round matchup yet on the table. Here are the best bets on Wednesday.
All lines via William Hill Sportsbook
Milwaukee Bucks vs Orlando Magic: Bucks -14
The Bucks have reached or exceeded this spread in each of their last three games against Magic, averaged a 17-point margin of victory over Orlando during the regular season, and covered a theoretical spread of 14 points in all four games. of their first sweep round on the Pistons a year ago. The Bucks crush mediocre opponents. Describing badly wounded Magic as “mediocre” is almost too polite right now. The Bucks will finish this off in style on Wednesday.
Houston Rockets vs Oklahoma City Thunder: Thunder +3
The playoff series are about counters. Oklahoma City thwarted everything Houston threw in its path. Chris Paul identified James Harden as the late game matchup to hunt. Dennis Schroder took on the duties of scoring primaries against a Houston defense too small to challenge him at best. Oklahoma City’s small-ball formation with Danilo Gallinari in the middle have now beaten Houston’s in critical times twice in a row. The Rockets may outperform the Thunder because they can defeat anyone, but their roster isn’t exactly stylistically different. Without Russell Westbrook, they don’t exactly have the talent on the roster to counter what the Thunder are doing right now.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers: under 222.5
While Game 4 represented the best scenario for the Lakers attack, the reality is something closer to Game 3. The Lakers put 116 out of 10 by 3 points in that, and if that’s roughly what they can expect in that, the under feels safe as Portland has no consistent means of creating hits with Damian Lillard sidelined. Be prepared to see many inefficient Carmelo Anthony isolations on Wednesday, and don’t be surprised if Portland ends well under 100 points without its leader.
