NBA Playoffs Preview: First Round Series Bets to Consider

Ready to get in on some action for the NBA Playoffs? We got you covered! I've done a deep dive into each series to bring you a few futures wagers to consider making.

The three best First Round series bets include the Pacers to upset Milwaukee behind their guard depth, the Magic to steal a game or two in Cleveland, and finally the Mavericks to ride their outstanding play post All-Star break to advance out West.

To Win Series: Indiana Pacers (-110) over Milwaukee Bucks

While the odds on Indiana has dwindled down to about even over the last few days, we are still riding Coach Carslile and the Pacers to secure the upset over Milwaukee. The Pacers are 4-1 against the Bucks this season in what has become a sort of Midwest rivalry if you will.

The Bucks are expecting to be without Giannis for Game 1 and who knows if he will even be at 80% for the rest of the series. In the one game Indiana lost to the Bucks this season, the Greek Freak had to drop 64 points.

Now, with added size in Pascal Siakam and guards Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell playing some outstanding backup ball to Haliburton, we would even sprinkle some thought on Indiana -1.5 games at +130. The one question that bugs Indiana is who will step in consistently for the injured Bennedict Mathurin.

We believe they beat Milwaukee with the trio of Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, and a possible emergence of one of the rookies, Ben Sheppard or Jarace Walker. This is the best series-long bet at the moment.

Orlando Magic +1.5 Games (-150) over Cleveland Cavs

This is a safer bet than playing Orlando straight up, as we believe that Orlando is good enough to take the Cavs six games, especially with the backcourt defense led by Suggs, Anthony, and Black.

While Paolo Banchero’s offensive production will be the key factor to extend the series here, the series is split this season with Paolo averaging 23 PPG. Especially after the way Cleveland exited that First Round last season against the Knicks (1-4 series loss), it’s difficult to envision them rolling over a tough defense like the Magic.

Orlando allows the least APG and 3rd-least PPG this season. A committed team on defense that possesses two star wing scorers in Paolo and Franz, the Magic will steal Game 1 or 2 away from home to force this series into a long one.

Dallas Mavericks 4-3 Series Win (+650) over Clippers

The Dallas Mavericks are 18-9 post All-Star break and now get their tough test in the Los Angeles Clippers. They are 1-2 against the Clips this season, but have not faced them since the new year.

Since then, Dallas has developed Dereck Lively, picked up Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, and have become able to compete against anyone in the league with the scoring of Irving and Doncic.

Outside of their last two games where they benched the starters, Dallas went 16-2 since March 7th, leading us to believe that a long series is in the books against LA, who have a record of 15-14 post All-Star break.

While the Mavs at -125 to win this series is a solid play, we still believe the star power of LA will shine through to give them a chance to win this series. Dallas could easily control the paint in the later stages of this series which gives them a huge advantage.

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