Pinnacle +7 -102 BET365 +7 -110 SportsInteraction +7 -110 BetOnline +7 -106 Bookmaker +7 -110

Posted at 3:45 PM EST. 

Atlanta +7 -102 over PHILADELPHIA

7:30 PM EST. In the first quarter of Monday’s Game 4 at Atlanta, the 76ers put up only three triples and made two. The Hawks attempted 10 of them, made only two and Philly led 28-20 at the end of those first 12 minutes. However, the Hawks outscored them by 11 points over the next three quarters and it was the first game out of four in the series in which a Philly starter had a negative plus-minus. But only two of them did, Tobias Harris and Furkan Korkmaz.

Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, despite stinking up the offensive end with 4-for-20 and 5-for-20 shooting (and 1-for-5 from the free-throw line by Simmons) had plus-minuses of 0. Their defensive and rebounding contributions help offset the bricklaying. A guy like Embiid, who averaged 28.5 ppg in the regular season and 27.4 ppg so far in the playoffs, can usually be expected to bounce back with a vengeance from a terrible offensive performance but he has been playing with a meniscus tear in one knee and, according to him, “didn’t have the lift” in Game 4. Simmons, who doesn’t shoot three-pointers and isn’t the only free-throw bricker on the 76ers (hello, Dwight Howard), shouldn’t be expected to raise the level of his offensive game under this kind of pressure. Shake Milton is trying to ‘Trae Young it’ out there but until the real Trae Young’s shoulder falls off, it seems like it could be anyone’s series. Atlanta has life. They were down early and they were down big in Game 4 and now they’re playing with house money. We have to be enthusiastic about taking back three possessions, as it demonstrates that the price has not caught up with the performance. Seven points is rich.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A cheaper and better alternative to CABLE

TV Programming

A GREAT OFFER FOR SPORTSWAGERS READERS:

We’re offering a better and cheaper alternative to cable TV. You will literally save thousands of dollars. If you’re sick of paying a fortune for programming that you don’t even want or need, this is for you. All pro sports -- EVERY GAME, tons of college football and basketball games and tons of regular programming (non-sports). Over 2500 channels all in HD for a mere $20 per month. You have to be nuts not to get it.

Play:

Pinnacle +7 +101 BET365 +7 -105 SportsInteraction +7 -105 BetOnline +7 -101 Bookmaker +7 -105

Posted at 3:45 PM EST. 

LA Clippers +7 +101 over UTAH

10:00 PM EST. It’s 2-2 but might as well be 0-0, as we all know that an NBA playoff series doesn’t begin until somebody wins a road game. The market likes the home side in this series and we can understand why but we absolutely love an undervalued road team in a pivotal Game 5.

The Utah Jazz – peaked too soon, according to us – had a +9.2 points differential in the regular season (116.4 to 107.2 PF/PA), the NBA’s best by 3.4 points over the Phoenix Suns. In the two regular season games that Kahwi Leonard and Paul George played against Utah (they both sat for a loss in the first of two games in three nights in February), the Jazz was +6 and -4. In this series, Utah has been +3, +6, -26 and-14, which is nowhere near +9.2 after not hitting it in the regular season, either. Injured Mike Conley still hasn’t shown up on the floor for them, and Donovan Mitchell is the same guy who shot, and shot, and shot, and scored a lot when they lost three straight games to Denver in last year’s First Round exit after leading that series 3-1. In Game 4, the Clippers reduced Rudy Gobert to a foul-troubled, 1-block person while their guard Patrick Beverley had 4 blocks. We trust the Clippers to win outright here but once again, three possessions is too rich to be spotting the better, more experienced team when all the chips are on the table.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A cheaper and better alternative to CABLE

TV Programming

A GREAT OFFER FOR SPORTSWAGERS READERS:

We’re offering a better and cheaper alternative to cable TV. You will literally save thousands of dollars. If you’re sick of paying a fortune for programming that you don’t even want or need, this is for you. All pro sports -- EVERY GAME, tons of college football and basketball games and tons of regular programming (non-sports). Over 2500 channels all in HD for a mere $20 per month. You have to be nuts not to get it.

Play: