Each of the four first-round playoff series in the NBA’s Eastern Conference was over after four or five games, so now the matchups for the conference semifinals are set. The third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks will face the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets, and the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers will take on the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks, the only team in the bottom half of the seeding to advance.
Let’s take a look at each of these series as you consider your online NBA betting for this round of the postseason.
NBA News: Eastern Conference Semifinal Predictions
#2 Brooklyn Nets vs #3 Milwaukee Bucks
After struggling to pull off a win in their series opener against Miami, Milwaukee flipped a switch and delivered three consecutive whippings. The Nets needed five games to take down the Boston Celtics in their opening series, and the top two sports betting favorites to emerge from the East and head to the NBA Finals now meet one another.
During the regular season, the teams met three times. Brooklyn won the first meeting by two, and then Milwaukee swept a back-to-back. None of the three games was decided by more than six points, which suggests a closely competitive series in the second round. The scary part about this series for Bucks fans is the fact that Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving are all healthy and in the lineup, which did not happen all that often in the regular season.
Brooklyn is the favorite to advance at -200, with Milwaukee listed as +160 underdogs. This gives the Nets too little value, in my estimation. Milwaukee does have the defensive stoppers to slow down the Brooklyn machine, and Giannis Antetokounmpo has plenty to prove in the postseason after early exits the last two years.
An intriguing prop has the Nets to win the series in six and seven games, which is available at +450. That’s a lot of value for an outcome that seems likely. The series should be close, but having all three scorers gives the Nets an edge that oddsmakers are not quite treating the way they should.
For Game 1, the spread is Brooklyn -4, with the game in New York. For the moneyline, you can find Brooklyn -167 / Milwaukee +138. The over/under is 239 ½ points, which is very high given the quality defense that both teams can put up. If the Bucks are going to swipe a game in Gotham, I think it’s more likely to happen in Game 1 or Game 2, but I’m definitely going for the under while the total is that high.
#1 Philadelphia 76ers vs #5 Atlanta Hawks
The biggest question for the Philadelphia 76ers is the right knee of Joel Embiid, which has a slight meniscus tear. This forced him out of Game 4, giving the Washington Wizards room to come back and fight for a fifth game, and it kept him out of Game 5, although the 76ers were able to win anyway and advance. Seth Curry stepped up in his absence, knocking down 30 points. The Atlanta Hawks advanced with confidence as Trae Young seemed to up his game in each of the team’s wins over the New York Knicks. During the regular season. Philadelphia beat Atlanta two out of three times, with a back-to-back sweep in April that was not close. When Atlanta beat Philadelphia, the 76ers did not have Tobias Harris or Ben Simmons.
Philadelphia currently has a -215 moneyline to advance, while the Hawks are +165 underdogs. That line will shift if Embiid’s injury persists, of course. The 76ers do have the veteran defenders to hold Atlanta in check and advance, but the series is much more reasonable for the top seed with Embiid back. An interesting pick is Philadelphia to win in six games (+450), because the team is likely to be conservative with Embiid in the early going, to give him as much recovery time as possible.
For Game 1, Philadelphia is a 2 ½-point favorite. The 76ers do have a considerable amount of depth, as Curry’s emergence in Game 5 demonstrated. Once Embiid’s injury update appears, that line could shift, but Philadelphia didn’t look all that harried against Washington in Game 5 without him. I like Philadelphia even if I have to give up those points.
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