It’ll be a bit of a quieter night for the 2020-21 NBA Playoffs on Thursday as there are just two games scheduled. Nevertheless, the pair of matchups could see two more teams being eliminated from the postseason, so the stakes will be high. The Denver Nuggets will try to eliminate the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 6 of their series. That contest is slated to begin at 8:00 p.m. EST. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers will then try to stave off elimination at 10:30 as they play host to the Phoenix Suns, who lead the series 3-2.
Once again, BetOnline has the odds for Thursday’s NBA action. Continue reading to see who has the best chance of winning tonight.
NBA Odds: Denver Nuggets (No. 3) vs Portland Trail Blazers (No. 6) Game 6
Odds via BetOnline as of Thursday, June 3
- Series: DEN leads the series 3-2
- Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Nuggets (+175) vs Trail Blazers (-205)
- Point Spread: Nuggets +5.0 (-112), Trail Blazers -5.0 (-108)
- Total: 227.5 — Over (-115), Under (-105)
This series has been one of the more entertaining ones during the current NBA postseason. Game 5 ended in a 147-140 Nuggets double overtime win and Denver will need more of the same energy to eliminate the Trail Blazers on Thursday night. Nikola Jokic finished the game with a team-high 38 points and was one assist shy of a triple-double. Monte Morris was another clutch performer for Denver, scoring 28 points while shooting 10-for-11 from the free throw line. At the end of the day, the Nuggets just need to keep doing what works for them. They didn’t have any real weaknesses in their Game 5 victory, so they’ll need more of the same effort to advance to Round 2.
If there’s anybody to blame for Portland’s Game 5 loss, it certainly isn’t Damian Lillard. The Trail Blazers’ best player had 55 points in the last contest, hitting an NBA postseason record of 12 3-pointers made. While Lillard looked unstoppable, hitting clutch shot after clutch shot, his team looked the opposite. For someone who’s supposed to be Portland’s No. 2 option, C.J. McCollum only had 18 points in nearly 51 minutes played. That’s just not good enough, especially when he had .318/.250/1.000 shooting splits. The Trail Blazers’ bench players also weren’t great as they each failed to hit double-digit point totals. Everyone aside from Lillard needs to step it up in Game 6 or else their playoff journey will be over.
Phoenix Suns (No. 2) vs Los Angeles Lakers (No. 7) Game 6 Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Thursday, June 3
- Series: PHX leads the series 3-2
- Time: 10:30 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Suns (+113) vs Lakers (-133)
- Point Spread: Suns +2.0 (-112), Lakers -2.0 (-108)
- Total: 207.5 — Over (-113), Under (-107)
Since going down 2-1 in the series, the Suns have won their last two games in a row, holding the Lakers to under 100 points in each victory. Now, Phoenix needs to show a killer instinct by not allowing its opponent a chance to claw back into the series. In order to do that, the Suns must continue doing what they’ve been accomplishing in this year’s NBA Playoffs: playing terrific defense. They forced the Lakers to turn the ball over 16 times in Game 5, while only recording 4 turnovers themselves. Every single Suns player (except for Jevon Carter) had a positive plus/minus rating as well, showing that there weren’t any real weak links in that outing.
If the Lakers want to keep their NBA Championship hopes alive, they’re going to need a better performance than the one they put on in Game 5. Los Angeles shot an embarrassing .345/.343/.714 in the previous contest, which made for one of the worst offensive performances by any playoff team in quite some time. LeBron James (24), Kyle Kuzma (15) and Talen Horton-Tucker (11) were the only players to reach double-digit totals. Considering how Anthony Davis might miss Game 6, someone is going to take it to the next level to stave off elimination. Otherwise, it’s going to be one long offseason.
