Favoured Hawks, Warriors poised to take upper hand in NBA playoffs series
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Atlanta Hawks will be gunning for their first lead in their Eastern Conference quarter-final series with Washington, when they meet the Wizards on Wednesday in Game 5 as heavy eight-point favourites in NBA betting at Coral.
The Hawks split the first two games of the series on their home floor, dropping a 104-98 decision in Game 1 as 5.5-point betting favourites before rebounding with a decisive 106-90 win in Game 2.
Atlanta now enter Wednesday night’s clash with nine SU victories in their last 11 on their home floor at Philips Arena, but are a meagre 2-4 ATS in their last six at home.
Washington has had to battle without point guard John Wall in the lineup after he suffered hand and wrist injuries in Game 1. While earlier reports indicated that Wall was likely lost for the season, he participated in Wizards practice on Tuesday and will be a game-time decision for Game 5.
During the playoffs, the Wizards are a perfect 5-0 SU with Wall in the lineup, but just 1-2 SU without him.
The point total has played OVER in three of the four games in the series, and has inched up to a series-high 199.5 for Game 5 in NBA playoffs betting at Coral.
Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors (-9.5)
Golden State Warriors will be looking to take control of their Western Conference quarter-final series when they host the host the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 5 on Wednesday night as strong 9.5-point favourites.
The Warriors looked in familiar form during their 101-84 rout of Memphis in Game 4 which evened the series at two games apiece. They had struggled to get its league-leading offense in gear in Games 2 and 3, in which the Grizzlies held them to just 89.5 points per game in a pair of SU victories that gave them a surprising 2-1 series lead.
However, with Golden State once again in control of home-floor advantage, the Grizzlies face the daunting task of having to win at least one more game at O.com Coliseum, where the Warriors are an incredible 42-3 SU on the season, and have not lost back-to-back games since March 2014.
Not surprisingly, the Grizzlies’ NBA championship betting and series betting stock at Coral has tanked.
Memphis now sits as a 4/1 longshot to advance past Golden State to the Western Conference final, and is a distant 28/1 bet to emerge as this season’s NBA champs.
Conversely, the Warriors are strong 1/6 favourites to eliminate the Grizzlies in series betting, and remain heavy 5/4 favourites to claim their first NBA title since 1975.
