NBA Playoffs Picks & Predictions for Thursday, April 21, 2011
By Anthony Rome
(The Spread) – The Mavericks look to build a 3-0 series lead when they travel to Portland for Game 3 tonight against the Trail Blazers.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Blazers 5.5-point favorites over the visiting Mavericks, while the over/under total is currently 186. Tip off tonight is set for 10:30PM ET.
Game 1 of this series went to Dallas, with an 89-81 victory. The Mavericks came back on Tuesday in Game 2, beating the Blazers 101-89 as a 4-point favorite. Both times, Dallas has covered.
Dirk Nowitzki has paced Dallas with 30.5 points per game, while Jason Kidd has averaged 21 points and six assists. The Blazers' Marcus Camby’s 13.0 rebounds per game places him behind only Orlando’s Dwight Howard’s 19.0 this postseason.
NBA Free Pick: The Mavs were my free pick on Tuesday and I’m going right back to the well again tonight. While some choose to focus on the Lakers and Spurs’ Game 1 losses, the Mavs have quietly handled the Blazers in Dallas. Granted, now that the series shifts to Portland the Blazers may hold homecourt advantage, but that doesn’t mean they should be laying 5.5 points. According to latest NBA trends, the Blazers are 0-4 against the spread in their last four conference quarterfinals games and 1-5 ATS in their last six playoff games as a favorite. Meanwhile, the Mavericks are 6-0 against the spread in their last six games versus the Western Conference and 5-1 ATS in their last six games playing on just one days rest.
THURSDAY NBA PLAYOFFS FREE PICK: DALLAS MAVERICKS +5.5