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And that is what the NBA playoffs are all about. Derrick Rose looked like Derrick Rose again, Stephen Curry pulled off a miracle shot and we were blessed with two intense overtime battles on a highly entertaining Thursday night. While the action was fun to take in, you probably only fully enjoyed last night’s three games if they went hand in hand with your picks via NBA betting. If you rolled with us, they most definitely did.
We went a perfect 3-0 last night, bringing our young playoff record to a ridiculous 17-2 in the first round. Three more games hit the schedule tonight, with two more series potentially sending someone into a 3-0 hole (all three did just that last night), while the electrifying series between the Clippers and Spurs caps the night. It’s going to be a fun night of pro basketball action, so get yourself started by joining us as we break each matchup down and pick the ultimate winners:
Houston Rockets (2) @ Dallas Mavericks (7)
We may need vintage Dirk Nowitzki to keep this series from getting real ugly, real fast. Rajon Rondo is done (back) and won’t be back next year and Chandler Parsons (knee) has been ruled out for the playoffs. Dallas already wasn’t going to win this series, but now it’s all on Monta Ellis and Dirk. Their backs are more than just a little bit against the wall and this matchup hasn’t been working for them. They’ve been a pretty strong home team and they should have some fight in them, but odds are it won’t be enough.
Pick: Rockets 106, Mavs 103
Toronto Raptors (4) @ Washington Wizards (5)
This series is tough to call tonight, as these teams supposedly matchup extremely well, but Toronto really messed up by losing both of the first two games on their home floor. Ideally they return the favor in Washington, but the Wiz have been strong at home all year and the Raptors are just an average team. Kyle Lowry is also far from being remotely 100% and the Raptors don’t really have the defense on paper to contend with Washington’s offense right now. John Wall and co. limped into the playoffs but are suddenly playing at a very high level. Bradley Beal has specifically been lights out for about two weeks now. Logic does not support Toronto getting back into this series at this point.
Pick: Wizards 104, Raptors 101
Los Angeles Clippers (3) @ San Antonio Spurs (6)
If Tim Duncan is going to crush like he did in game two, the Clippers are in trouble. They’re in even bigger trouble if they continue to shoot themselves in the foot late in games like they did in game two. This should be a huge 2-0 series lead for L.A. right now, but instead of having all of the momentum they’re about to hand it to the Spurs. San Antonio is up against a very tough team (tougher than anyone realized before this series started) and is going to be extremely focused now that they’re back at home. I’m pulling for the Clips just to shake things up a bit in the playoffs, but San Antonio lost eight games on their home court all year. The Tony Parker injury (Achilles) could be a problem, but he wasn’t playing great in the first two games, anyways. Expect another close game, but the savvy Spurs should pull it out in the end.
Pick: Spurs 107, Clippers 102
