Just four teams remain in the hunt for the 2021-22 NBA Championship! Here, we take you through our best series betting tips for the two intriguing Conference Finals matchups.
Also, be sure to check out our NBA Tips page regularly to find our best bets for some of the key games in the Conference Finals and the Finals once they begin!
NBA Betting Tips: Playoffs Conference Finals
Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics
The #1 seed Heat made light work of the Hawks in their first round series when executing a gentleman’s sweep, but found themselves in a legitimate battle in their second round matchup with the 76ers. It looked to be anyone’s series when it was tied at 2-2, but a 120-85 demolition job by the Heat in Game 5 demoralized the 76ers and they were unable to bounce back at home in the following game. The Heat won that series 4-2, which allowed them some extra rest heading into the Conference Finals.
The #2 seed Celtics looked to have the toughest first round matchup of any team in the playoffs when they were slated to take on Kevin Durant and the Nets. However, it proved to be easy pickings for the Celtics who completed an unlikely sweep. They then followed this up by taking down the defending champion Bucks in the second road despite trailing 2-3 heading to Milwaukee for Game 6.
The top two seeds in the Eastern Conference each navigated their way through difficult series to reach it to this point in the season. The Heat and the Celtics played each other three times in the regular season, with the latter coming out on top 2-1 after winning the first two games. However, the Heat will have homecourt advantage in four of the seven games in this series and have proven to be very difficult to beat at home in the playoffs, having won all six of their games there. With that said, I believe they’re good value as the underdogs to advance to the NBA Finals.
Golden State Warriors vs Dallas Mavericks
The Warriors had a relatively easy matchup in the first round in the form of the Nuggets who were without two of their key players. They took care of business in five games before moving on to face the Grizzlies in the second round. It was a bit more of a battle in their series with the Grizzlies, but after Ja Morant went down with injury it was just a matter of how many games it was going to take for the Warriors to close it out – the end result was six.
The Mavericks went into their first round series with the Jazz as the underdogs despite being the higher seed. They quickly became the favourites after taking an early lead however, and never looked back as they won 4-2. Luka Doncic and co. were even bigger underdogs in their second round series against the #1 seed Suns and that was justified when they went down 2-0. However, they made some adjustments and found their feet and went onto win 4-3 and advance to the Conference Finals.
Interestingly, these teams played each other four times in the regular season and all four were after the turn of the new year. The Mavericks were winners in three of their four games, including each of the last two. The Warriors certainly weren’t the fit and firing team that type are now however, which greatly improves their chances. On top of that, they also have homecourt advantage on their side in this series, which should be enough to see them win in six or less games in my opinion.
Golden State Warriors -1.5 Games
$1.95
