Yahoo Sports NBA betting: Picks against the spread for Monday night's playoff games
The second round of the NBA playoffs continues on Monday night with two games and Yahoo Sports’ Jared Quay has the picks you need for all of the action.
All odds via BetMGM.
Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets (-2.5), Total: 233.5
Even with James Harden going out with a hamstring injury, the Brooklyn Nets won and covered the spread in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Harden is out for Game 2 and the Nets are slight favorites of 2.5 points at BetMGM with the total listed at 233.5.
With Harden sidelined, Quay is staying away from picking a side. Instead, he’s looking at the total. Game 1 went under by a pretty significant margin. Quay thinks Game 2 will be more high scoring. He’s taking the over.
“There will be no James Harden in this game so I don’t really want to pick a side. I just know a lot of points will be scored,” Quay said. “These teams love shooting 3-pointers and don’t like playing a lot of defense. Even though 233.5 is a high number, I think it goes above it.”
Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns (-4.5), Total: 219.5
The Western Conference semifinals begin with the Suns hosting the Nuggets. The Suns beat LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in six games while the Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers, also in six games.
In Game 1, the Suns are 4.5-point favorites over the Nuggets at BetMGM. The total is 219.5.
Both teams are playing well, but Quay thinks the home-court advantage in Phoenix will make a difference in this one. He’s picking the Suns to cover the 4.5.
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