There’s more NBA Playoffs action on this Sunday and Monday with some important Conference Finals games. Catch our best bets for Game 4 of the Suns vs Clippers series and Game 3 of Bucks vs Hawks right here!
NBA Playoffs Betting Tips: Sunday & Monday
Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Clippers
Staples Center, Sunday 11am AEST
The Suns took advantage of home court in the opening two games of this series with a six-point win in Game 1 followed by a one-point win in Game 2, however, the Clippers were able to bounce back when the series headed to Los Angeles for Game 3, defeating the Suns by 14 points in a relatively comfortable win. At home again for Game 4, the Clippers have the opportunity to level it all up at 2-2.
Seemingly nothing went right for the Suns on Friday, particularly after half time when they were outscored 60-44 after leading by two at the main break. Both Devin Booker and Chris Paul had terrible game’s shooting the ball as they combined for just 33 points on 10-40 shooting. In contrast, the Clippers superstar in Paul George had a great bounce-back game with a 27/15/8 split, while Reggie Jackson and Ivica Zubac both had great games to help lead their team to victory.
This fascinating series is beautifully poised as we approach Game 4 with the Suns leading 2-1. The bookies have found it tough to split them in the head-to-head target and we’ve had similar problems trying to split them. However, we have found something we like in the total points market, with the under’s looking like a really nice play. The current line is set at 219.5, which has only been eclipsed once in the six meetings between these teams this season, which came in Game 1 of this series when both teams shot the absolute lights out. This looks to be the most logically spread bet to take in what will be an intense Game 4.
Ivica Zubac has become one of the Clippers most important players this series since returning to the starting line-up in Game 2. The Croat has impressed immediately with 14 points and 11 rebounds in his team’s narrow loss in Game 2, before backing it up with 15 points and 16 rebounds in their Game 3 win. He’s a lock to get at least 30 minutes again on Sunday due to his current form, which will give him every chance of racking up a ton of rebounds.
Prop: Zubac 12+ Rebounds ($2.63)
Milwaukee Bucks at Atlanta Hawks
State Farm Arena, Monday 10:30am AEST
Game 2 went a lot more like the way we expected Game 1 to go, with the Bucks dominating the lesser experienced Hawks in Milwaukee. Despite losing at home just two days prior, the Bucks looked the most confident outfit from start to finish, recording a wire-to-wire victory that ended up as a 34-point margin. Both coaches played their reserves in the fourth quarter, so the stars on both teams should be relatively fresh for this crucial Game 3 in Atlanta.
No player played more than 32 minutes of game time in Game 2 due to the blowout win by the Bucks. Trae Young led his team in scoring again just like he did in Game 1, but this time it was just 15 points on 6-16 shooting that was required to do so. Young was joined by just Danilo Gallinari (12 points) as Hawks that scored at least a dozen points. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo led from the front with an impressive 25/9/6 line in 29 minutes and Jrue Holiday was great again with 22 points and seven assists.
The Hawks did their job in Milwaukee by getting a 1-1 split before returning home, but their humiliating loss in Game 2 is sure to hurt their confidence going forward. The Bucks made some fantastic adjustments to how they were guarding Trae Young in the pick-and-roll and whether or not the Hawks have an answer remains to be seen. Regardless, it’s hard not to like the Bucks after their dominant performance in Game 2 and we expect them to go on with it with a win in the first game in Atlanta to go up 2-1 in the series.
There wasn’t much to like about the Hawks offence on Saturday and that was in no small part to the defensive prowess of Jrue Holiday. He was superb on that side of the ball but has been even better offence so far this series with 33 points in Game 1 and 22 points in limited minutes in Game 2. Holiday was recruited by the Bucks for these exact moments and we expect him to step it up again with another great performance on Monday.
Prop: Holiday 25+ Points ($3.20)
Milwaukee Bucks -4.5
$1.90
