Best bets to consider for Thursday's NBA playoff slate
With a pair of games on tap for Thursday's NBA playoff action, we dive into the matchups to deliver the ins and outs from a betting perspective.
Toronto Raptors at Philadelphia 76ers
Line: Raptors -2
Total: 212
The Raptors have come back from a 2-1 hole to take the series lead heading into Game 6. They followed a hard-fought win on the road in Game 4 with a 36-point rout Tuesday.
A late, meaningless bucket by the 76ers ended a string of four consecutive unders in the series. Both teams have been barely profitable for bettors in the postseason at 6-4 against the spread, but there's a pattern developing with the total: The under is 6-0-1 in Toronto's last seven road games and Philadelphia has gone under the total in six of its previous seven at the Wells Fargo Center.
The pace just hasn't been there this series. Only one game has featured both teams putting up more than 80 shots, and the Sixers have gone under their team total in four of the five contests.
Back at home in a do-or-die situation, it feels as though Philly is primed for a breakthrough. Ben Simmons has yet to really get going and Joel Embiid - who averaged 27.5 points per game during the regular season - has scored more than 16 in only Game 3. Though the 76ers don't look like a team that can take a Game 7 in Toronto, don't be surprised if this one goes the distance.
We think the wrong team is favored here.
Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers
Line: Trail Blazers -3.5
Total: 215.5
So much for tired legs.
Following a quadruple-overtime Game 3 in Portland on Friday, the Nuggets and Trail Blazers kept a high-scoring series afloat two days later by going over the total, and then did so again Tuesday in Game 5. The two clubs have flown over the total in eight of their nine meetings this year.
The line is what we're dialed in on. After covering three of its first four postseason games, Portland has hit a wall and gone 2-5 against the spread. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are 4-1 against the spread in their last five and on a 5-0 run in Portland.
Conventional wisdom would have us lean to the home team facing elimination, but the Trail Blazers have looked overmatched as the series has progressed. A Trail Blazers starting unit that took down the Oklahoma City Thunder fairly handily in five games has no answer for the Nuggets. And if Portland can't find an edge with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum on the court, it's toast.
Alex Kolodziej is theScore's betting writer. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 11 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.