Betting news, trends, odds and predictions for Saturday, April 14, 2018 from various handicappers and websites
Preview: Wizards at Raptors
Gracenote
Apr 13, 2018
The Toronto Raptors set a franchise record for wins during the regular season and earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time in team history. The Raptors will set about trying to make the deepest postseason run in franchise history when they start by hosting the eighth-seeded Washington Wizards in Game 1 of their first-round series on Saturday.
Toronto was swept in the first round by the Wizards in 2015 but is a different team now with only three players remaining from that squad, including center Jonas Valanciunas. "Finally, we find that connection with each other," Valanciunas told reporters of the team's growth. "We became better players. We were good individual players, but now we are better as a team, as one unit. There’s been a lot of saying, like, there’s no ‘I’ in team. So, finally we probably got it, and now it feels great to play on this team. ... I’m not saying that it’s never been great, but it feels better. It feels like, just enjoy the playoffs." Washington is a different team as well and is just looking to steal one game in Toronto at the start of the series. "We know that we got a tough task ahead of ourselves," Wizards backup center Jason Smith told the Washington Post. "We know we can go up there, we squeak out one game, if we win the second game. We come back home, the home crowd’s behind us — that’s where the fun begins. Like I said, we don’t have the pressure on us. We're the underdog this year. I like being the underdog."
TV: 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, NBCS Washington, Sportsnet One (Toronto)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (43-39): Washington stumbled to the end of the regular season with losses in nine of the last 12 games to fall from contention for a top-four seed all the way down to eighth in the East. “If you look at the big picture, we’ve struggled this past 10 days or so,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "But prior to that, the story to me was that we battled and fought and put ourselves into playoff position, and we did it with John (Wall) missing half of the season. For some strange reason, we didn't finish the job. These last 10 or 12 days we’ve been up and down. We've let go of the rope a little bit." Wall missed over two months with a knee injury before returning on March 31 and he averaged 28.5 points and 13.5 rebounds over his last two games.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (59-23): The next milestone Toronto needs to achieve is winning Game 1 of a first-round postseason series for the first time. "It's a phenomenon," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "There is always that one hurdle you've got to overcome. That's the major one we've got to overcome. "It's got to be mental more than anything." All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, who combined with fellow All-Star DeMar DeRozan to go 9-of-32 from the field in a Game 1 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks last spring, suggested the team approach Game 1 like a Game 7.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wizards SG Jodie Meeks will miss the postseason after being handed a 25-game suspension for a violation of the NBA/NBPA anti-drug program on Friday.
2. Raptors SF CJ Miles went 2-of-14 from 3-point range in the final two regular-season games.
3. The teams split four meetings in the regular season, though Wall missed all four matchups.
PREDICTION: Raptors 116, Wizards 103
Preview: Spurs at Warriors
Gracenote
Apr 13, 2018
The San Antonio Spurs thought they had a chance to knock off the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals last season and held a big lead in Game 1 until superstar Kawhi Leonard went down with an ankle injury. Leonard will be missing again when the teams meet a couple rounds earlier this spring, with the second-seeded Warriors hosting the seventh-seeded Spurs in Game 1 of the first-round series on Saturday.
Leonard missed all but nine games this season while trying to rehabilitate a quad injury but San Antonio still managed to secure its 21st consecutive playoff appearance behind All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge and a solid supporting cast that still includes 40-year-old future Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili. "We all know that we are not favorites, that we are underdogs," Ginobili told reporters. "But also, if we are underdogs, there is a reason we are underdogs, and that is they are better at this point. To (counter that), we have got to play above where we have been playing, especially on the road. We don't have homecourt advantage, so we really have to improve in many ways." The Warriors are not heading into the postseason at 100 percent, either, and two-time MVP Stephen Curry (knee) is not expected to be available in the first round. “It’s what I took from my San Antonio days,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr, who won a pair of championships as a player with San Antonio, told reporters of the key injury: "Stuff happens. We went in one year without Tim Duncan. ... You just don’t know what’s coming. So, you just prepare, and you do your best and you fight and you stay together."
TV: 3 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE SPURS (47-35): Second-year point guard Dejounte Murray found himself thrust into the rotation in the Western Conference finals last season after Tony Parker went down with an injury, but he is more comfortable now after spending most of 2017-18 as the starter. "It's a new year, new playoffs," Murray told reporters. "We've got to execute the game plan. Coach has a good game plan and we've got to go out - it's up to the players to execute the game plan. It's not going to be perfect, but we can still execute and get the best out of it." Murray adds some youth to a roster that leans heavily on the likes of Ginobili, Pau Gasol, age 37, Danny Green, 30, and Rudy Gay, 31.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (58-24): Golden State is 17-14 this season in games missed by Curry, but the team will lean on All-Stars Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in the first round. Durant, who dealt with a rib injury late in the regular season, averaged 26.4 points on 51.6 percent shooting and has the confidence of his teammates to lead the way. "We all want Steph to be here," Quinn Cook, who is starting in place of Curry, told reporters, "but it gives us so much confidence knowing that we have another one of the greatest players to ever play the game."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Spurs SF Kyle Anderson is starting in Leonard's spot and averages 7.9 points on 52.7 percent shooting and 5.4 rebounds.
2. Cook is averaging 14.6 points and shooting 47.1 percent from 3-point range in 18 games as a starter.
3. San Antonio snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series - including playoffs - when it earned an 89-75 home win over a Golden State team that was missing Curry, Durant and Thompson on March 19.
PREDICTION: Warriors 110, Spurs 106
Preview: Heat at 76ers
Gracenote
Apr 13, 2018
The Philadelphia 76ers enter the postseason on a roll but will be without All-Star center Joel Embiid when they host the Miami Heat in Saturday's opening game of the Eastern Conference first-round series. Embiid missed the final eight games of the regular season with an orbital fracture but his absence didn't stop the 76ers from stretching their winning streak to a franchise-record 16 straight games.
Embiid will likely wear a mask when he returns and his responses indicate that a Game 2 return is possible. "Obviously, I want to play, but right now I feel like I'm not ready yet," Embiid told reporters. "It's getting better. I've got to keep working. With the way it's been progressing, I'm hopeful to be back soon." The third-seeded 76ers are a feel-good story after losing more than 50 games in each of the previous four seasons but will be tested by a Miami squad that is in the playoffs for the eighth time in Erik Spoelstra's 10 seasons as coach. "We feel we're battle-tested," Spoelstra told reporters. "I don't know if there's a team right now in the league more battle-tested than us in close games."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, FS Sun (Miami), NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE HEAT (44-38): All-Star point guard Goran Dragic missed the regular-season finale with a bone bruise in his right knee but indicated that he expects to be in the lineup for Saturday's opener. "I'm doing everything that I can," Dragic told reporters. "Probably, I'm going to feel it a little bit, but it's not going to bother me. That's the only thing that I'm about, I can play through the pain." Dragic leads the squad in scoring (17.3) and assists (4.8) and his fitness will be crucial as he will be called on to slow down standout Philadelphia rookie Ben Simmons.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (52-30): Simmons recorded 10 or more assists on 10 occasions during Philadelphia's 16-game winning streak and he averages 15.8 points, 8.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds. He recorded 12 triple-doubles, second all-time among rookies behind legendary Oscar Robertson (26 in 1960-61) and either Simmons or Utah guard Donovan Mitchell will win Rookie of the Year honors. The 76ers have fared well without Embiid's 22.9 points and 11 rebounds and that impressed coach Brett Brown with one disclaimer - "I feel like what we've been doing without Joel is good, but what you should hear completely the loudest is that I can't wait for him to get back," Brown told reporters.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams split four regular-season meetings, with the home team winning on each occasion.
2. Philadelphia SG JJ Redick (back) will play after missing the regular-season finale - he averaged 21.9 points over his last nine games.
3. Miami SG Dwyane Wade needs 27 points to surpass legendary Larry Bird (3,897) and move into 10th place on the NBA's postseason scoring list.
PREDICTION: 76ers 109, Heat 104
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Preview: Heat at 76ers
Gracenote
Apr 13, 2018
The Philadelphia 76ers enter the postseason on a roll but will be without All-Star center Joel Embiid when they host the Miami Heat in Saturday's opening game of the Eastern Conference first-round series. Embiid missed the final eight games of the regular season with an orbital fracture but his absence didn't stop the 76ers from stretching their winning streak to a franchise-record 16 straight games.
Embiid will likely wear a mask when he returns and his responses indicate that a Game 2 return is possible. "Obviously, I want to play, but right now I feel like I'm not ready yet," Embiid told reporters. "It's getting better. I've got to keep working. With the way it's been progressing, I'm hopeful to be back soon." The third-seeded 76ers are a feel-good story after losing more than 50 games in each of the previous four seasons but will be tested by a Miami squad that is in the playoffs for the eighth time in Erik Spoelstra's 10 seasons as coach. "We feel we're battle-tested," Spoelstra told reporters. "I don't know if there's a team right now in the league more battle-tested than us in close games."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, FS Sun (Miami), NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE HEAT (44-38): All-Star point guard Goran Dragic missed the regular-season finale with a bone bruise in his right knee but indicated that he expects to be in the lineup for Saturday's opener. "I'm doing everything that I can," Dragic told reporters. "Probably, I'm going to feel it a little bit, but it's not going to bother me. That's the only thing that I'm about, I can play through the pain." Dragic leads the squad in scoring (17.3) and assists (4.8) and his fitness will be crucial as he will be called on to slow down standout Philadelphia rookie Ben Simmons.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (52-30): Simmons recorded 10 or more assists on 10 occasions during Philadelphia's 16-game winning streak and he averages 15.8 points, 8.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds. He recorded 12 triple-doubles, second all-time among rookies behind legendary Oscar Robertson (26 in 1960-61) and either Simmons or Utah guard Donovan Mitchell will win Rookie of the Year honors. The 76ers have fared well without Embiid's 22.9 points and 11 rebounds and that impressed coach Brett Brown with one disclaimer - "I feel like what we've been doing without Joel is good, but what you should hear completely the loudest is that I can't wait for him to get back," Brown told reporters.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams split four regular-season meetings, with the home team winning on each occasion.
2. Philadelphia SG JJ Redick (back) will play after missing the regular-season finale - he averaged 21.9 points over his last nine games.
3. Miami SG Dwyane Wade needs 27 points to surpass legendary Larry Bird (3,897) and move into 10th place on the NBA's postseason scoring list.
PREDICTION: 76ers 109, Heat 104
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Preview: Pelicans at Trail Blazers
Gracenote
Apr 13, 2018
Five-time All-Star Anthony Davis has never been part of a postseason victory during his stellar career and he looks to change that fact when the New Orleans Pelicans open their Western Conference first-round series on Saturday against the host Portland Trail Blazers. The Pelicans were swept in four games by the Golden State Warriors in 2015 in Davis' lone previous playoff experience.
Sixth-seeded New Orleans won its final five games of the regular season and recorded its third-highest victory total (48) in franchise history, and the prime reason is the 25-year-old Davis, the star power forward who averaged 28.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots. "Even though he's younger than me and I've been in the league (three) years longer, he's someone you look up to, especially in an environment where everything is kind of ego-driven," 27-year-old guard Jrue Holiday told reporters. "There is an aura (in the NBA) of having selfishness, and him being our leader and franchise player, but not having any of that, it sets the tone." Portland features its own ego-free superstar in point guard Damian Lillard, who averaged 26.9 points during the third All-Star season of his standout career. The Trail Blazers are the third seed in the West, their best positioning since also being the No. 3 seed in 2000, when they reached the Western Conference finals before losing a seven-game series to the Los Angeles Lakers.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, FS New Orleans, NBCS Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (48-34): Davis averaged 31.5 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in his previous playoff experience and he is primed for another opportunity on the postseason stage as he guides a team that is mostly filled with role players. "We've got one guy who is a big dog but other than that, a lot of guys flying under the radar, who haven't been nationally exposed in a lot of games in their career," point guard Rajon Rondo told reporters of the roster. "This will be a great stage for everyone on our team." New Orleans persevered despite a season-ending injury to All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins with Holiday (career-high 19-point average) among the players who picked up the scoring slack.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (49-33): Having homecourt advantage is big for a Portland team that won 21 of its last 24 home contests and is supremely confident inside the Moda Center. The Trail Blazers are hoping center Jusuf Nurkic will be up to the task of slowing Davis while also building on his career-best averages of 14.3 points and nine rebounds to go along with a career-high 27 double-doubles. Shooting guard CJ McCollum (21.4) is a strong scoring complement to Lillard but his second-worst outing of the season came against the Pelicans just two-plus weeks ago, when he tallied seven points on 3-of-19 shooting.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams split four regular-season meetings, with the most recent encounter won 107-103 by Portland on March 27 when Lillard scored 41 points and Davis tallied 36 for New Orleans.
2. Portland SF Maurice Harkless (knee surgery on March 28) will miss at least the first two games and possibly the entire series.
3. Rondo has played in 96 postseason games during his 12-year career with averages of 14.4 points and 9.1 assists.
PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 113, Pelicans 110
NBA playoffs
Saturday’s games
Spurs vs Warriors (0-0)
No Curry or Leonard in this series. Spurs (47-35) had their worst record in Gregg Popovich’s 21 years as head coach; they won their first round playoff series 14 of last 17 years, but were favored in those. San Antonio lost eight of last nine games with Golden State; they’re 2-2 vs spread in last four visits to Oakland. Warriors (58-24) won their fewest games since 2014; they played in NBA Finals last three years. Spurs are 0-7 vs spread in last seven road games; their last road cover was March 8, a 110-107 (+11) loss here in Oakland. Warriors are 0-5 vs spread in last five home games.
Wizards vs Raptors (0-0)
Toronto (59-23) won most games in franchise history; they won first round series last two years, but have never been to NBA Finals. Raptors won their last four home games overall (2-1-1 vs spread). Washington is in playoffs for 4th time in five years; they won their last three first round series. Wizards are 3-7 in last ten games with Toronto, 3-2 vs spread in last five visits to Canada. Road team won five of last seven series games; under is 7-3 in last ten series games. Wizards lost six their last six road games (1-5 vs spread).
Heat vs 76ers (0-0)
Philadelphia won its last 16 games, longest winning streak ever going into playoffs; Sixers are in playoffs for first time since 2012- they lost four of last five first round series. Home side won last nine Miami-Philly games; Heat is 2-3 vs spread in last five games in this building. Three of last four series games stayed under total. 76ers’ last loss was March 13; they’re 7-2 vs spread in last nine home games. Heat is in playoffs for 8th time in last ten years; they won last five first round series. Miami split its last ten games; they’re 1-2-1 vs spread in last four road games.
Pelicans vs Trailblazers (0-0)
New Orleans is in playoffs for first time since ’15 and only 2nd time in last seven years; they lost last three first round series- last time they won a playoff series was 2008. Pelicans won four of last six games with Portland; they’re 2-2 vs spread in last five visits to Oregon. New Orleans is without Cousins; they won/covered last five games overall (over 4-1), with wins at Oakland and the Clippers. Blazers are in playoffs for 5th straight year; they’re 2-8 in last ten first round series. Portland won its last three home games overall (2-1 vs spread).