Two big games are scheduled for Thursday night’s NBA postseason action. The Brooklyn Nets will look to take a 3-0 series advantage over the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 p.m. EST. Then at 10:00, the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz will play Game 2 of their series. Utah currently leads 1-0.
As always, BetOnline has the odds for tonight’s NBA playoff games. Continue reading to see who are Thursday’s favorites and underdogs.
NBA Odds: Brooklyn Nets (No. 2) vs Milwaukee Bucks (No. 3) Game 3
Odds via BetOnline as of Thursday, June 10
- Series: BKN leads the series 2-0
- Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Nets (+128) vs Bucks (-148)
- Point Spread: Nets: +3.5 (-105), Bucks: -3.5 (-115)
- Total: 234.0 — Over (-110), Under (-110)
Despite being up 2-0 in the series, the Nets will enter tonight’s contest as the +128 underdogs. Nevertheless, it’s hard not to like Brooklyn winning after its Game 2 performance. NBA Finals MVP favorite Kevin Durant once again led the way in the 125-86 thumping, finishing the night with a game-high 32 points. Even Kyrie Irving had a solid game, finishing with 22 of his own points. It just further proves that this team can win without James Harden. Considering how he’ll have to be out for tonight’s action, look for Durant and Irving to lead the way once again.
Meanwhile, the Bucks need to find a way to make the bleeding stop. They were supposed to be better than they’ve been playing this round, but there have been no signs of that NBA team. While he was the lone bright spot in Game 1, Giannis Antetokounmpo was disappointing in the series’ second game, finishing with 18 points and a -22 plus/minus rating. Khris Middleton continues to struggle shooting in the series, having shot 35.0% from the field in Game 2. As a team, the Bucks struggled with ball security issues, turning it over 16 times compared to the Nets’ 8. This led to Brooklyn scoring a whopping 23 points off of turnovers. If Milwaukee hopes to win tonight or an NBA Championship down the line, its players need to wake up, shoot better and mitigate any ball security issues.
Los Angeles Clippers (No. 4) vs Utah Jazz (No. 1) Game 2 Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Thursday, June 10
- Series: UTAH leads the series 1-0
- Time: 10:00 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Clippers (+130) vs Jazz (-150)
- Point Spread: Clippers: +3.0 (-110), Jazz -3.0 (-110)
- Total: 222.0 — Over (-110), Under (-110)
While the Clippers only lost by three in Game 1, one NBA player who needs to play better is Paul George. The man who calls himself ‘Playoff P’ may have finished with 20 points, but did so shooting 23.5% from the field. His final stat line would have looked a lot worse had he not made nine free throws. Still, George will need a bounce-back game if he wants to keep the ‘Playoff P’ moniker any longer. As a team, the Clippers just need to keep on doing whatever it was they did in Game 1. They shot the ball better than the Jazz and stayed close with them in other categories as well. As long as they keep up that work and get a better game from George, things could look better tonight.
On the other hand, the Jazz will lean on their defense that helped them win Game 1 once again. One of the major contributors in that regard is the 2020-21 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert. The big man had 10 rebounds and 2 blocks on the game, including swatting the ball away from Marcus Morris at the last second to win Utah the game. Of course, it wasn’t all defense for the Jazz in Game 1. Donovan Mitchell had a career-high 45 points to, more or less, single-handedly win the game for his team. Obviously, he can’t put on a clinic like that every night, however, it shows that the Jazz don’t need a superstar to have postseason success.
