NBA Playoffs Free Picks (Wednesday April 28, 2010)
The following NBA Playoffs free picks are courtesy of Johnny Detroit at Pregame.com.
The Atlanta Hawks host the Milwaukee Bucks in a critical Game 5 first round matchup. Each team has held serve at home this series, so it will be interesting to see how tonight's game is played out. The Hawks are 8.5 favorites, with a total of 191 points expected tonight. TNT will broadcast the game at 8:00 EDT.
Atlanta is back at home, after losing both Game 3 and 4 in Milwaukee. It's a troubling trend thats haunted this Hawks team all season, their inability to win on the road. The Hawks will have to fix this flaw if they make it into the later rounds of the playoffs. In the meantime, Atlanta is very happy to be back at home for the crucial Game 5 tonight. The Hawks will look to pick up their defensive pressure, considering they allowed an average of 109 PPG in Games 3 and 4. Prior to these most recent games, the Hawks had held the Bucks under 100 PTS in their 5 other meetings this season. Atlanta is 55-31 SU and 50-36 ATS overall this season. The Hawks are 36-7 SU and 27-16 ATS in home games this season. Atlanta is a very impressive 10-3 ATS as a home favorite between 6.5 and 9 PTS. Atlanta is 11-5 ATS in the game after a SU loss as the listed favorite. G Joe Johnson is leading the Hawks in the playoffs with 25.8 PPG and 6 APG, both team highs.
The Hawks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 playoff games as a favorite. The Over is 6-1 in the Hawks last 7 games against a team with a winning SU record.
Milwaukee has gone from being an afterthought to a dangerous playoff club this season. Milwaukee is proving that they just aren't happy to be in the playoffs, as they've battled back from an 0-2 deficit. Not much was expected from the Bucks this postseason once star C Andrew Bogut went out with an injury. The Bucks are winning with balanced scoring, as they have 6 players averaging at least 9 PPG during the playoffs. F John Salmons is leading the Bucks this postseason with 20.3 PPG, while shooting better than 50% from the field. PG Brandon Jennings is having a great playoff debut, as he's averaging 19.8 PPG and 4 APG. Milwaukee has struggled this season when playing in Atlanta, as they've lost 2 of the 3 games there by double figures. The Bucks are 48-38 SU and 54-30-2 ATS overall this season. The Bucks are 18-25 SU and 27-14-2 ATS in road contests this season. Milwaukee is 25-16 ATS as the listed underdog this season.
The Bucks are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games as a road underdog. The Over is 10-1 in the Bucks last 11 games against a team with a winning SU record.
Pregame.com projects the final score to be 95-93 in favor of the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks +8.5 is the Play of the Day!
Our second NBA Playoffs free pick for today...
The Denver Nuggets host the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of their 1st round playoff series. The stakes are simple for Denver, they must win tonight to continue on, otherwise their season is over. Denver is a 7 point favorite, with a total of 215 points expected tonight. TNT will televise the game at 10:30 EDT.
Denver is staring elimination in the face, as they are shockingly down 3-1 in their first round series with Utah. The Nuggets simply haven't played good team basketball, and the players are even saying so. F Carmelo Anthony publicly stated that he needed help offensively, yet he had 9 turnovers in a Game 4 loss. G J.R. Smith is tweeting things about his teammates, which certainly isn't helping things. It's quite evident that Denver is missing the services of Coach Karl. Ir'a shocking to see Denver down in this series considering they won 3 of the 4 meetings SU in the regular season. Anthony is averaging 34.5 PPG this series, while shooting better than 52% from the field. PG Chauncey Billups is averaging 17.8 PPG and 6.5 APG for the Nuggets. Denver is 54-32 SU and 36-44-6 ATS overall this season. Denver is 35-8 SU and 20-22-1 ATS in home games this season, including 6-2 ATS as a home favorite between 6.5 and 9 PTS.
The Nuggets are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 home games against a team with a winning road record. The Over is 4-0 in the Nuggets last 4 games following a SU loss of more than 10 points. Forward Kenyon Martin is listed as Probable tonight, which is a good thing considering the troubles Martin has had with his knee.
Utah is arguably playing the best basketball of any team in the Western Conference. Utah has won 3 of the 4 games both SU and ATS in this series with Denver. Utah has scored more than 100 PTS in each game, and 113 PTS or more in 3 of the 4 games. PG Deron Williams has been simply amazing this series, as he's had at least 20 PTS and 10 assists in each playoff game so far. That feat is so rare, Williams is the 1st player since Magic Johnson to do so, with 20 years spanning the difference. Williams is averaging 26.8 PPG and 12 APG to be specific about his stats this series. F Carlos Boozer has also played well this series, as he's averaging 22 PPG and 11 RPG against the Nuggets. 3 other Jazz players are also averaging double figures for the Jazz this series. Utah is 56-30 SU and 52-31-3 ATS overall this season. The Jazz are 1 game over .500 on the road this season, at 22-21 SU. From a betting standpoint, the Jazz are 24-18-1 ATS away from home this season.
Utah is 13-11 ATS as the listed underdog this season, including 1-1 ATS as a road underdog between 6.5 and 9 PTS.
The Jazz are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog. The Over is 7-3 in the Jazz last 10 playoff games as an underdog. Forward Andrei Kirilenko is listed as Doubtful with a calf injury.
Pregame.com projects the final score to be 114-109 in favor of the Denver Nuggets. The Over 215 is the Total of the Day!
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Johnny Detroit, Gambling911.com
