NBA Playoff Picks and Predictions for Tuesday
Our team of writers and handicappers hand out their NBA picks and predictions for Tuesday, April 28.
Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics, 7:00PM ET
The Boston Celtics are back home where they won three Game 5s on their way to the NBA championship last season.
They want to do it again Tuesday night or risk being a stunning first-round playoff casualty two days later in the noisy building of the young Chicago Bulls.
``I don't look back on last year,'' Ray Allen said Monday. ``I just know what the task is at hand right now and that's to beat the team that I feel we've given confidence to early in games that we've lost.''
The Bulls' two victories required extra effort. They won the opener 105-103 in one overtime and Game 4 in two overtimes on Sunday, 121-118. Ben Gordon's 3-point shot with 4.5 seconds left sent that game into a second overtime, a gutty performance after he had strained his left hamstring in the second quarter.
An MRI Monday confirmed the diagnosis and Gordon was listed as day-to-day, though he said Sunday he thought he'd play.
Poor defense and missed shots by the Celtics earlier in those losses set the stage for the dramatic finishes.
NBA Free Pick: Chicago | Best Line: +7.5 Sports Interaction
Philadelphia 76ers at Orlando Magic, 7:30PM ET
A painful playoffs for Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis is finally showing a little promise.
The Orlando Magic forwards have not only struggled with kinks in their jumpshots, they have also had injuries and family illnesses on their minds. So it was only fitting that they teamed up on the play that could change the series for the Magic against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Turkoglu hit a 3-pointer over Thaddeus Young with 1.1 seconds remaining Sunday after Lewis set a pick that forced the switch, evening the first-round series at two games apiece. The Magic hope that will be the confidence boost they need to get them out of their slumps when the best-of-seven series resumes Tuesday in Orlando for a pivotal Game 5.
NBA Free Pick: Philadelphia | Best Line: +8 Sports Interaction
Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs, 9:30PM ET
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's usual ballcap at practice is stitched with four Larry O'Brien championship trophies, like jewels on some crown of NBA titles.
But the way things are headed for the San Antonio Spurs, there's no need to rush to make room for a fifth.
Tim Duncan has never lost a first-round playoff series, and only once since the Spurs won their first championship in 1999 has San Antonio not advanced in the postseason. But down 3-1 to the Dallas Mavericks, the third-seeded Spurs must win at home Tuesday night in Game 5 or their season is done.
``We haven't been in that position very often,'' Popovich said Monday. ``It is what it is. You just play the games and deal with it.''
It was a typical, non-alarmist Popovich response. But it's been anything but a typical postseason for the Spurs, who are saddled with trying to become just the ninth team in NBA history to storm back from a 3-1 deficit and win a series.
NBA Free Pick: Dallas | Best Line: +5 Sports Interaction