NBA Betting Odds and Preview Capsules: April 28
Atssportsline.com
What a crazy Saturday of NBA playoff basketball! Three of the four home teams won and covered, while Oklahoma City held on to defeat Houston the road, without Russell Westbrook, who is out for the year with a knee injury. The Chicago Bulls managed to come back down double digits in the fourth quarter to beat Brooklyn in three ovetimes. Remember to utilize NBA injury reports and NBA Key betting trends as the injuries and suspensions are piling up. Check out a betting primer for the 2013 NBA Playoffs on Sunday below highlighting the top matchups.
New York Knicks (57-28 SU, 48-35-2 ATS, 39-44-2 O/U) at Boston Celtics (41-43 SU, 37-44-3 ATS, 42-41-1 O/U)
Intangibles:
Knicks guard J.R. Smith is suspended for Game 3 due to a flagrant 2 foul
Boston has never lost the first three games of a playoff series
The Knicks have not won a playoff series since the 1999-2000 season
Last game: (4/25/13) (Game 3) New York (+2.5) over Boston, 90-76.
Keys to Success: The Celtics have yet to score 80 points in any game of this series. Part of that is due to the Knicks' outstanding defense led by Tyson Chandler, who was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2011-12. The Celtics are going through too many stretches of long droughts. For whatever reason, when Ray Felton and Pablo Prigioni are starting in the backcourt, the Knicks are 17-1. What the Celtics don't have is Carmelo Anthony, who is in his prime while Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are stars on the decline. Do they have one game left to push this series back to New York? The Knicks are 6-1 ATS last 7 in series. NBA Betting Odds: New York is a 1.5-point betting odds favorite. Total: 181.5.
Denver Nuggets (58-27 SU, 49-35-1 ATS, 48-36-1 O/U) at Golden State Warriors (49-36 SU, 45-39-1 ATS, 49-35-1 O/U)
Intangibles:
Stephen Curry had 29 points and 11 assists in Game 3 on a sprained ankle
The Warriors have won two straight since losing David Lee for the year with a hip injury
Ty Lawson scored 35 points for Denver in Game 3
Last game: (4/25/13) (Game 2) Golden State (+1.5) over Denver, 110-108.
Keys to Success: Golden State has done fine without David Lee, the rebounding machine, who is out for the playoffs with a hip injury. The Warriors have outrebounded the Nuggets, 133-105 in their last three games combined to take a 2-1 lead. They might be going for a sweep if not for Andre Miller's layup in Game 1. Stephen Curry went toe-to-toe with Ty Lawson despite a sprained ankle and held his own. Lawson played a near-perfect game but made a key turnover in the final few seconds that proved costly for the Nuggets. Denver may go back to their smaller lineup for Game 4, but they better hold their own on the boards, or they will be going back to Denver down 3-1. Golden State is 17-5 last 22 matchups on the over bet at home in this series. NBA Odds: Denver is a 1.5-point betting odds favorite. Total: 212.0.