NBA Playoffs: Mims makes his Eastern Conference picks – Sixers vs Hawks, Nets vs Bucks – and player props
Here are my NBA Playoff Series Breakdowns for the Eastern Conference. I will pick the winner of each series and the projected games I think each series will go. I will also pick players to watch in each series
Sixers over Hawks in 6. Series Price is Sixers -200 & Hawks +160.
Players to watch: Ben Simmons and Trae Young. Simmons is doing his imitation of Russell Westbrook with the triple doubles. He does not score enough to the dismay of some fans, but he plays exceptional defense. Trae Young played an outstanding series against the Knicks. He is scoring and involving his teammates. Knicks were not on the same talent level as the Hawks. The Sixers will create matchup problems and play defense. If Joel Embiid was not injured, this would-be Sixers in 5. Embiid is listed as day to day with a small tear of his meniscus. Doc Rivers will find a way to minimize his minutes and the Sixers prevail in 6. Expect a breakout series from Seth Curry and Tobias Harris.
Player Props: Tre Young over 25 points a game. He scored 32 in a blow-out loss to the Sixers during the regular season. Clint Capela over 12.5 rebounds. Capela has 15 rebounds in 17 minutes against Philly on April 30th.
Bucks over Nets in 7. Series price is Bucks +180 & Nets -210.
Players to Watch: Khris Middleton and James Harden. Middleton must continue scoring 20 or more a game. Harden sets the table for everyone else and is looking to score more during this playoff run. Giannis Antetokounmpo must shoot free throws better in this series. His Achilles heel could cost the Bucks one game. Tough series to call because of the marquee status of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. I expect a high scoring series with most of the games going over. The teams averaged 240 points when they met in the regular season. Coaching edge goes to Mike Budenholzer over Steve Nash. Watch Brook Lopez and Bryn Forbes shine in this series. Bucks will play defense better than the Nets.
Player Prop Bets: Giannis Antetokounmpo over 32 points per game. Giannis averaged 39 points against the Nets during the regular season. Kevin Durant over 28 points per game. Durant averaged 34 points against the Bucks this season.
Series Prop Bet: If you are leaning toward the Bucks, look for a series prop that gives Milwaukee +1.5 wins. I saw this at a price of -136.
Enjoy the NBA Playoffs. Follow me Twitter on and we can share halftime thoughts during every game on TNT, ESPN & ABC.