There are two more big NBA Playoff games on Wednesday with the Hawks taking on the 76ers and the Jazz hosting the Clippers. Our best spread and player prop bets for both games are on display right here!
NBA Playoffs Betting Tips: Wednesday, 9th of June
Atlanta Hawks at Philadelphia 76ers
Wells Fargo Center, 9:30am AEST
Everything went perfectly to plan for Atlanta in Game 1 of their series against Philadelphia as they claimed what could prove to be a huge victory away from home. The Hawks got the jump on the home side to lead by 15 points after the first break and 20 points at the main break and were able to hold off the fast-finishing Sixers to win 128-124.
The Hawks got fantastic production out of Trae Young (35 points, 10 assists) in their win on Monday, but Young can expect that 76ers coach Doc Rivers has some defensive adjustments ready for him in Game 2, which will require the likes of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter to step up and make plays on the perimeter. For the 76ers, Joel Embiid (39 points) can’t be expected to do much more on offence, so the improvement will have to come from the rest of his team who combined for poor shooting clips of 9/28 (34.6%) from three-point range and 10/20 (50%) from the charity stripe.
We mentioned above how just about everything went right for the Hawks in Game 1, which can actually be seen as a good thing for the 76ers who went down by just four points and have plenty of improvement left in them. All things considered, we’re expecting a determined performance from the home side who will look to win this comfortably to tie the series at 1-1.
Joel Embiid battled through any sort of knee soreness he was suffering with a big 39-point performance in Game 1 where he also went to the line 15 times. Embiid has now scored 36 and 39 points in his last two completed playoff games and will be looking to put his team on his back once again in what’s nearly a must-win game down 1-0 in the series.
Prop: Embiid 35+ Points ($3.30)
Philadelphia 76ers -5.5
$1.90
Los Angeles Clippers at Utah Jazz
Vivint Smart Home Arena, 12pm AEST
The Utah Jazz finally get to continue their playoff run when they take on the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of their second round series on Wednesday. The Jazz made relatively light work of the #8 seed Grizzlies in the first round, but had to wait for the Clippers to grind their way past the Mavericks in seven games for this intriguing series to get underway.
These clubs played each other three times in the regular season, with the Jazz coming away with the series win by two games to one. The Jazz won the first game on their home deck by six points and the second game in Los Angeles by 18, but the Clippers bounced back with a four-point win at home in their most recent meeting (Feb 20).
While the Clippers were eventually able to negotiate the win in their first round series against the Mavericks, their performance in a few of their games left a lot to be desired. At no point in the series were they able to find an answer for Luka Doncic, which spells danger as they come up against a similarly gifted offensive player in Donovan Mitchell. We expect it will take the Clippers a game or two to make the necessary adjustments to slow down the Jazz’s high-powered offence, which means we’re more than happy to be on the #1 seed to get the job done in Game 1.
Luka Doncic was able to put up 40+ points on three difference occasions against the Clippers in the first round, which will have Donovan Mitchell’s eyes lighting up ahead of Game 1. While Mitchell doesn’t have as high of a usage rate as Doncic, he’s shown in past playoff runs that he’s a high-volume shooter and can score with the best of them. We expect him to set the tone in Game 1 with 30+ points.
Prop: Mitchell 30+ Points ($2.10)
