NBA Playoffs Picks & Predictions for Tuesday, April 19, 2011
By Anthony Rome
(The Spread) – Game 2 between the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks takes place tonight, as the Mavs look to take a 2-0 series lead.
View Current NBA Playoff Betting Odds
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Mavericks 3.5-point favorites over the Trail Blazers, while the over/under total for this game is currently 183 points. Tip off tonight is for 9:30PM ET.
In Game 1 of this series on Saturday, the Mavs topped the Blazers 89-81 and covered as 5-point favorites. Dirk Nowitzki paced Dallas with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Jason Kidd finished with 24 points, five rebounds and four assists.
For the Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge had a team-high 27 points in the loss, while Nicolas Batum had 14 points and four assists. Marcus Camby finished with 18 rebounds, while Andre Miller lead Portland with six assists.
NBA Playoff Free Pick: According to latest NBA trends, the home team is 4-0 against the spread in the last four meetings between these two teams, while the Mavs are 5-0 ATS in their last five games as a favorite. Dallas is also 4-0 ATS in its last four home games and 5-0 ATS in its last five games overall. Meanwhile, the Blazers are 1-5 ATS in their last six conference quarterfinals games and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games playing on two days of rest. The Mavs were 25-of-29 from the free-throw line in Game 1, including 18-for-19 in the fourth quarter. If they shoot that will again from the charity stripe, they should cruise tonight.
NBA PLAYOFF FREE PICK: DALLAS MAVERICKS –3.5