This week in the NBA: Playoffs produce a series of shocks
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Odds and review of the NBA action
It’s Playoff time. The regular season is done and dusted and we are now in the thick of the game’s show-piece.
There’s been a common theme throughout the first weekend. Upsets. For the most part the favourites have come unstuck in game one.
So we take a look at just how the underdog thrived and whether this could continue further into the competition.
The level of surprise means we begin this week with the teams and players who fell flat on game night.
Losers
Philadelphia 76ers
Philly finished in third-place in the Eastern Conference but they were dragged back to reality by a dogged Brooklyn Nets performance.
Whilst Nets’ main man D’Angelo Russell was able to count on bench players Spencer Didwiddie and Caris LeVert to find the net – this wasn’t the case for some of the 76ers starting five.
Ben Simmons was booed by home fans in the third quarter after scoring just nine points and seven rebounds in a disappointing 32 on-court minutes.
The 76ers are still a short 2/7 to make it all square, but you could fancy the Nets to extend their lead at 14/5.
Toronto Raptors
Raptors were another high-flyer to be downed, as Orlando Magic cast their spell to conjure up a big win.
Toronto’s lack of size caught up on them here, as five of their cast including Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell and Kyle Lowry, who average listed height stands a tick under 6-foot-2.
They only narrowly lost out to the Magic at 104-101 win, but it was the ‘nil-pois’ or zero point score from Kyle Lowry that caught everyone by surprise.
Lowry and the Raptors will have to go hard in paint and come out swinging On Wednesday. You can get 10/11 for the home side to win on the spread -9.5.
Winners
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs’ win over the Nuggets also saw Gregg Popovich become the NBA coach with the most wins under his belt.
Popovich claimed his 1,413rd victory, which edged him ahead of Seattle SuperSonics legend Lenny Wilkens.
The Texas outfit have made the play-offs for the 23rd year under the 70-year-old, winning five championships along the way.
Their whole roster pulled together in a 101-96 victory over Denver Nuggets. This has put them in the driving seat and they are 12/5 to double their lead in game two.
Orlando Magic
We’ve already touched on this, but the Magic sprung a big surprise on the Raptors.
The Magic stayed in the game, when many would have floundered and got their rewards when D.J Augustin came to the party as the clock ran down.
The point-guard had been somewhat of a journeyman for much of his career, but the 31-year-old came up clutch with a three-pointer to steal the points for Orlando.
You need your big players to come to the fore in the play-offs and that’s what Augustin did here.
Upcoming games
L.A Clippers @ Golden State Warriors – GSW to win on spread -13.5 @ 10/11
Brooklyn Nets @ Philadelphia 76ers – Under +226.0 points @ 10/11
Utah Jazz @ Houston Rockets – Rockets to win @ 5/14
Detroit Pistons @ Milwaukee Bucks – Over +211 points @ 10/11
View the latest NBA odds at Coral.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
