Houston Rockets guard James Harden reacts to an official’s call during the first half in Game 5 of an NBA basketball playoff series against the Utah Jazz on April 24, 2019.
Houston Rockets guard James Harden reacts to an official’s call during the first half in Game 5 of an NBA basketball playoff series against the Utah Jazz on April 24, 2019.David J. Phillip | Associated Press

NBA Playoffs Sunday: Frank shoots for 3 picks from the Celtics v Bucks and Rockets v Warriors games

Celtics (+7.5) @ Bucks (223.5)
Pick: Celtics +7.5
Pick: Over 223.5

Both of these teams had the week off after completing sweeps in the first round. So from a gambling perspective, which team’s sweep was more impressive? While Milwaukee looked dominant for most of its series against Detroit, the answer is Boston. Yes, Indiana might not be your prototypical five seed as the Pacers were playing sans their best player in Victor Oladipo. However, the Celtics got better as the series went along, particularly offensively, eclipsing the century mark in the two games in Indiana against a very good defensive team. Boston ended the series 3-0-1 ATS and based on this number against the Bucks in Game 1, it looks like there’s continued value on the Celtics. Remember, it might feel like ages ago, but the Celtics were the preseason favorite to win the East in the post-LeBron James era. While there was plenty of regular season drama in Beantown, the Celtics looked to be on a mission in the opening round and we think we’re getting the team that was expected to win the East at a discount here. At +255 to win the series, the Celtics are certainly worth a sprinkle and expect a lot of competitive games in this series beginning on Sunday. We mentioned Boston’s improvements offensively as the Pacers series dragged on, but Milwaukee was consistently good on the offensive end of the floor against Detroit. The Bucks scored at least 119 points in all four games against the Pistons. Let’s not sell the top seed short here. They’ll get theirs and this game will go down to the wire. For that reason, take the over and take the points.

Rockets (+5.5) @ Warriors (224.5)
Pick: Rockets +5.5
First off, I’d be pretty pissed off if I was a Clippers fan hearing that the Rockets were already in the Bay Area watching Game 6 of the Clippers-Warriors series in anticipation of a Game 1 on Sunday against Golden State at Oracle Arena. Nonetheless, that’s what we’re getting and for that reason, there’s actually a minor travel disadvantage for the home team. Houston has been in California for over 48 hours and the Warriors had to play a Friday night game in Los Angeles, fly back to Oakland, and now play a 12:30 local time game just over 36 hours after dispatching of the Clippers. The Rockets looked like the best team in the NBA for most of their series against the Jazz. Houston has been waiting for this chance against Golden State since losing in seven games in last year’s Western Conference Finals. Chris Paul is healthy this time around. If I had a vote for the MVP, I’d go with James Harden over Giannis Antetokounmpo. Kevin Durant can’t be as good as he was on Friday again, right? Draymond Green’s not going to get another triple double, right? Houston’s top players outplay Golden State’s top players and the Rockets steal one on the road.

Related Stories

No stories found.
Bettors Insider
www.bettorsinsider.com