After a 3-0 night to start the month, our NBA picks are ready for more winners and are confident with tonight’s selections.
Philadelphia, Atlanta and Utah all have the opportunity to advance to the next round while the tough tussle between the Mavericks and Clippers continues. Who will advance? Who will fight back?
Our NBA picks have all of the answers you need before placing your bets on tonight’s action.
Washington Wizards @ Philadelphia 76ers (Game 5) – 7pm EDT
In what is a surprising game five, the Philadelphia 76ers return home forced to continue playing after being unable to sweep the Washington Wizards on Monday. With many expecting the Sixers to cruise into the second round, things went downhill early for the number one seed, allowing the Wizards to capitalize.
Joel Embiid lasted just 11 minutes of the contest, having a hard fall and being ruled out for the remainder of the game. On top of that, Ben Simmons, a Defensive Player of the Year finalist, got in foul trouble and was stuck on the sidelines for most of the game, playing just over 24 minutes.
The absence of his two co-stars meant that Tobias Harris had to lead the way but with the main defensive focus on him, he was unable to deliver for the Sixers. While he finished with team highs across the board with 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, Harris shot 8/24 (33.3%) from the field and was just 1/5 from deep.
The Washington Wizards avoid the sweep and beat the Philadelphia 76ers 122-114 to take Game 4! pic.twitter.com/DgxwmJG3VI
— Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) June 1, 2021
Washington on the other hand had their best performance of the series, winning 122-114 behind seven different players scoring in double figures. As per usual, Bradley Beal led the way with a game high 27 points while Russell Westbrook overcame a terrible shooting night (3/19) to finish with 19 points, 21 rebounds, 14 assists and two steals. However, what got the Wizards over the line was their role players.
Rui Hachimura had a massive night with 20 points, 13 rebounds and the game sealing three with 45 seconds remaining. Robin Lopez came off the bench, when all of the other Washington bigs were in foul trouble early in the first, to help steady the ship, ending up with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks in just 19 minutes of action. The worry is that they have now lost Davis Bertans, who had 15 points on 3/6 shooting from deep, for the remainder of the series.
Given that Embiid is listed as doubtful for tonight’s clash, the Wizards have to seriously like their chances of picking up a second straight win and getting the opportunity to have a game six on their home floor. The Sixers went just 10-11 without Embiid during the regular season, showing how much weaker they are without him on the floor.
With that being said, if Simmons avoids foul trouble in game four then it still could have been a completely different result. Philadelphia has time to prepare to play game five without Embiid and will be in front of their home crowd with an opportunity to advance, something they won’t pass up this time.
NBA Pick – Philadelphia 76ers (-240)
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Atlanta Hawks @ New York Knicks (Game 5) – 7:30pm EDT
The Atlanta Hawks have taken care of business and head back to Madison Square Garden with a 3-1 series lead and the opportunity to knock the New York Knicks out of the playoffs. Things have been chippy all series and have gotten worse since game four, with Clint Capela making comments about the Knicks and their inability to perform when it matters most.
While Capela hasn’t been much of an offensive threat throughout the series, averaging 8.75 points per game, he has dominated inside with 13 rebounds per night along with nine blocks across the four games. What has been most important is his defensive prowess that has helped the Hawks limit Julius Randle to just 16.75 points per game on just 27.4% shooting across the four games.
While New York’s main man has shrunk in the spotlight, Atlanta’s has stepped up. Trae Young has averaged 27.5 points and 10 assists per game so far, and his 27 point, nine assist night in game four allowed the Hawks to pick up the 113-96 win, the largest margin of victory in the series to date.
THE HAWKS TAKE A 3-1 SERIES LEAD OVER THE KNICKS
🥶 🥶 🥶 pic.twitter.com/Ut39Ltfu7q
— ESPN (@espn) May 30, 2021
Two other Hawks scored 20+ with John Collins finishing with 22 points and eight rebounds while Danilo Gallinari came off the bench for 21 points on 66.7% shooting from the field. Both Collins and Gallinari shot 8/8 from the line in the game, a common theme amongst Atlanta. The Hawks shot 26/28 from the charity stripe, making the most of their opportunities, compared to the Knicks who, while still good, got to the line just 23 times, making 19.
Atlanta shot better from the field, made six more threes and had nine more rebounds, dominating every facet of the game. This has been the way the series has gone and while the Knicks can only put in a better effort than what they have shown so far, it may not be enough to extend this series.
NBA Pick – Atlanta Hawks (+102)
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Memphis Grizzlies @ Utah Jazz (Game 5) – 9:30pm EDT
Returning home with a 3-1 series lead and the opportunity to advance to the next round is exactly what the Utah Jazz could have asked for going into this series. While a sweep would have been nice, given Donovan Mitchell missed game one and the Jazz are 3-0 in games that he has played, this is a great position to be in.
Mitchell’s importance to Utah has never been more evident, with them losing game one, which he missed. He has then returned to average 28 points per game, with game four being his best performance. Mitchell ended with 30 points and eight assists for the game, helping the Jazz get out to a game high 13 point lead after three quarters.
Highest PPG in the playoffs by an active player (min 25 games):
29.2 — Kevin Durant
28.7 — LeBron James
28.1 — Anthony Davis
27.4 — Donovan Mitchell pic.twitter.com/4a7jwilu2f— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 1, 2021
Like they have in every game so far, Memphis put up a fight in the last, cutting the lead to as little as just two points with under six minutes remaining. But just as game three went, after the Grizzlies made their run to get back in the game, the Jazz went on a run of their own to seal the victory. Utah’s ability to turn it on when needed has been exceptional this series, highlighted by their four minute 10-2 run to put the game back out of reach for the Grizzlies.
Five different Memphis players scored in double figures during the game, with Ja Morant (23), Dillon Brooks (21) and Jaren Jackson Jr (21) all scoring 20+ points to help keep their team in it, but unfortunately their defense let them down again. In all three of their losses, Memphis has allowed the Jazz to score 120+ points, compared to keeping them to just 109 in their game one win.
Utah were clearly the best team coming into this series, and with the inclusion of Mitchell pushes them over the edge. Utah has played much better basketball for 95% of the last three games and it has allowed them to pick up wins in each of those, by an average of 9.67 points. While we expect Memphis to, once again, put up a good fight, the Jazz are too good and will be winning game five at home.
NBA Pick – Utah Jazz (-500)
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Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Clippers (Game 5) – 10pm EDT
After locking down-and-out after the first two games of the series, both at home, the Los Angeles Clippers have sprung back to life and regained home court advantage. With the Dallas Mavericks holding the 2-0 series lead, LA went into their home and dominated proceedings, winning by 10 points in game three and then by 25 points on Sunday evening, in game four.
While Kawhi Leonard had a 29 point, 10 rebound double double and Paul George added 20 points and nine rebounds as well, it was the other end of the floor that won it for LA. The Clippers restricted Dallas to just 81 points for the game, their lowest points total of the entire season.
Luka Doncic is shooting better from three than the free throw line in the first round 🤨 pic.twitter.com/vrdpkjFgiQ
— Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) June 1, 2021
Luka Doncic scored just 19 points on 9/24 (37.5%) shooting from the field and 1/7 (14.3%) shooting from deep. On top of that, Doncic went 0/5 from the free throw line, taking his tally for the series to 13/32 (40.6%). That is beyond woeful for a superstar in the league and while it wasn’t the only reason they lost, going 7/18 from the line in their two home losses is inexcusable.
Doncic isn’t the only one who has dropped off though. Tim Hardaway Jr, who averaged 24.5 points per game in LA, combined for just 16 points in games three and four combined. Game four was one of his worst performances of the season, finishing with just four points on 1/8 shooting and 0/4 from deep, after making 15 in the first three games combined.
Ty Lue made the brilliant coaching change of inserting Nicolas Batum into the starting lineup, allowing the Clippers to switch everything and thrive on defense. Rick Carlisle and the Mavs clearly weren’t ready for the adjustment, so it will be interesting to see the changes made heading into game five. However, LA are playing with their tails up now and should be able to take the 3-2 series lead in front of their fans.
NBA Pick – Los Angeles Clippers (-295)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
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