The second round of the NBA Playoffs continue on Tuesday with a juicy double-header. Catch our best spread and player prop bets for both games right here!
NBA Playoffs Betting Tips: Tuesday, 8th of June
Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets
Barckays Cebter, 9:30am AEST
Game 1 of this highly anticipated conference semi-final’s series lived up to the hype with plenty of big shots and controversial moments. On their home deck and without one of their superstars, it was the Nets who took the initiative and went ahead 1-0 in the series.
There were no surprised for the Bucks in Game 1 with their 2x MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way with 34 points and 11 rebounds, while for the Nets it was Kyrie Irving looking to fill Harden’s void by taking 26 shots for 25 points, but Kevin Durant was the more efficient of the two with his 29 points on 25 shots.
All three games between these teams in the regular season were decided by less than 10 points and the first meeting in post-season followed suit. 19 points have now decided the four games between these teams, so it’s safe to say you should be expecting another tight tussle on Tuesday. With that said, we have to give the slight edge to the Nets, simply because they’re the home team, but it’s not a big bet game in our opinion.
We mentioned above that Kyrie Irving was ultra-aggressive on offence in Game 1 with 26 field goal attempts and we expect that to continue in Game 2 with James Harden still out. Both Irving’s points and assists lines are in play here, but we’ve opted to go for 30+ points, which is a touch more reliable.
Prop: Irving 30+ Points ($2)
Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns
PHX Arena, 12pm AEST
Both Denver and Phoenix were underdogs in their respective Round 1 series, but both were able to negotiate fairly comfortable wins in six games. The Nuggets had home court advantage over Damian Lillard’s Trail Blazers and certainly made it count, while the Suns had to overcome the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers who were without Anthony Davis for the final three games of the series.
The Nuggets were written off by many experts when Jamal Murray went down with a season-ending ACL injury a few months back, but they’ve shown just how deep they bat in the guard position with a couple of guys taking the most of their opportunities to help the Nuggets continue their playoff run. On the other hand, the Suns have seemingly gone from strength to strength in what has been a crazily good year for them. After not making the playoffs for 11 seasons, the Suns finished with the second seed in the stacked Western Conference and proceeded to knock out the defending champs.
If their recent regular season meetings are anything to go by, then we’re in for an absolute treat with this best-of-seven series. The Suns won the first meeting in Denver by three points, but the next two were won by the Nuggets in Phoenix, both of which were overtime thrillers. Once again, it’s safe to say this should be another great game that may well come down to the final couple of possessions. At home and after getting some must needed rest, we’re expecting Chris Paul to guide his team to a crucial Game 1 victory.
A big part of the reason the Nuggets were able to separate themselves with crucial wins at the end of their series with the Trail Blazers was the play of Michael Porter Jr. After a couple of quieter games at the start of the series, Porter Jr. dropped 26 points in Game 5 and another 26 points in Game 6. The Nuggets need him to score the ball at a high rate if they’re to be competing against the Suns, so we expect him to be a good chance of tallying at least 25 points again here.
Prop: Porter Jr. 25+ Points ($3.30)
