More NBA postseason action is scheduled for Tuesday night as there’s the possibility that we could see another team be sent packing. The Brooklyn Nets will look to eliminate the Boston Celtics as Game 5 of their series begins at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets will kickstart their own Game 5 of their tied series at 9:00. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns will host the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:00. Their series is also tied at 2-2.
Continuing reading to see Bovada’s odds on each of tonight’s playoff matchups.
NBA Odds: Boston Celtics (No. 7) vs Brooklyn Nets (No. 2) Game 5
Odds via Bovada as of Tuesday, June 1
- Series: BKN leads the series 3-1
- Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Celtics (+600) vs Nets (-1000)
- Point Spread: Celtics +12.5 (-105), Nets -12.5 (-115)
- Total: 232.0 — Over (-105), Under (-115)
When the Celtics won Game 3 of the series, there was hope that they could possibly jump back into it and tie things up. Unfortunately, the Nets took that away from them in a 141-126 Brooklyn victory in Game 4. Now, Boston needs to bounce back to keep its NBA playoff hopes alive. As has been the case for most of the series, Jayson Tatum has been the only player showing up for the Celtics. He’s been averaging 30.3 points per game and he’ll likely need to put on another one of those performances Tuesday night to save Boston from elimination.
On the other hand, the Nets just need to keep doing what they’ve been doing. Even if Tatum has another 40-plus-point game, Brooklyn has their ‘Big 3’ that can do the same. Kevin Durant (34.8 points per game), James Harden (26.3 ppg) and Kyrie Irving (24.8 ppg) have been dominating all series long and are showing no signs of slowing down. At this point, they don’t need anyone to step it up. It’s like the Nets have finally realized their potential and it’s difficult imagining many teams being able to stop them from making the NBA Finals.
Portland Trail Blazers (No. 6) vs Denver Nuggets (No. 3) Game 5 Odds
Odds via Bovada as of Tuesday, June 1
- Series: Series is tied 2-2
- Time: 9:00 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Trail Blazers (+105) vs Nuggets (-125)
- Point Spread: Trail Blazers +2.0 (-115), Nuggets -2.0 (-105)
- Total: 226.0 — Over (-110), Under (-110)
Few series have been as close as this one between Portland and Denver, as you can tell by tonight’s odds. Nevertheless, the Trail Blazers will be the slight underdogs tonight, but that won’t deter them from taking the series lead. If it happens, Damian Lillard will likely be a determining factor. Portland’s top player is averaging 30.8 points and 9.5 assists per game this series — both higher than his NBA regular season averages. He’ll once again need to set the clock to ‘Dame Time’ if he wants to take the Trail Blazers one step closer to a championship.
It’s pretty much been the Nikola Jokic show for Denver once again. The NBA MVP candidate has been averaging 31.0/11.0/3.0 on the series and no other Nuggets player comes close to that. One area that Denver needs to improve on if it wants to win is its shooting. The Nuggets were dreadful in Game 4, ending the contest with .340/.295/8.18 shooting splits. That’s just not good enough to win playoff games, especially against a team that can take advantage of mistakes like the Trail Blazers.
NBA Odds: Los Angeles Lakers (No. 7) vs Phoenix Suns (No. 2) Game 5
Odds via Bovada as of Tuesday, June 1
- Series: Series is tied 2-2
- Time: 10:00 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Lakers (+175) vs Suns (-200)
- Point Spread: Lakers +5.0 (-105), Suns -5.0 (-115)
- Total: 207.5 — Over (-110), Under (-110)
The Lakers have a tough task ahead of them on Tuesday night. They’ll be looking to take the 3-2 series lead, but they’ll likely have to do that without Anthony Davis. The Lakers star strained his groin in the Game 4 loss, which means it’ll be up to LeBron James to keep the team’s championship hopes alive. Assuming that Davis is out, James and Dennis Schroeder will be the only players in the lineup averaging double-digit totals. With that being said, someone is going to need to step up for the Lakers tonight. Otherwise, their NBA postseason stay could be short-lived.
If the Suns want to win, they’re going to need to keep playing the great defense that they have been showing. They forced the Lakers to turn over the ball 15 times in Game 4 and had 12 steals to their 3. Jae Crowder was a great leader for the Suns last game, too. The 30-year-old veteran had 17 points and a team-high +21 plus/minus rating. Not only did their defense help win Game 4, but Phoenix’s starting lineup came to play as each player finished with double-digit point totals. With Davis likely out, the Suns have a great chance to recreate their performance and take the series advantage.
