Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Friday 8/21/20
NBA public betting, line movement for August 21
Patrick Everson
Kawhi Leonard and the second-seeded Clippers aim to bounce back from a Wednesday night Game 2 loss to the Mavericks. FanDuel has Los Angeles a 4.5-point favorite in Friday's Game 3.
NBA betting odds are up and getting some attention for Friday’s quartet of NBA playoff games. The marquee matchup from the NBA bubble is the last one, with the No. 2 seed Los Angeles Clippers meeting the No. 7 Dallas Mavericks for Game 3 of that series.
NBA line movement
The Mavericks evened up their Western Conference quarterfinal series with a 127-114 Game 2 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night. FanDuel opened Los Angeles -5 for a 9 p.m. ET Game 3 start and quickly moved to -4.5, where the spread remained all day Thursday.
In a 6:30 p.m. ET tipoff, the Boston Celtics aim to take a 3-0 series lead on the Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics opened -5, spent about half of Thursday at -5.5, then moved back to 5 early Thursday evening. And in the Denver Nuggets-Utah Jazz series, tied at 1, the Nuggets opened -1.5 at FanDuel and spent much of Thursday at -2 before dialing back to the opener. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. ET.
NBA public betting
Early indicators are that bettors expect the Clippers to bounce back just fine. Late Thursday night, L.A. was landing 80 percent of tickets and 79 percent of money bet on the spread. The Celtics are even more popular, with 79 percent of tickets and a whopping 97 percent of early dollars.
Nuggets-Jazz was drawing two-way play at FanDuel, with an even 50/50 split on tickets and Denver taking 59 percent of point-spread money.
Interestingly, in the day’s first game, the 10.5-point underdog Brooklyn Nets were getting a lot of early attention against the Toronto Raptors. The Nets were seeing 88 percent of bets and 95 percent of money, for a 1:30 p.m. ET game.
721TORONTO -722 BROOKLYN
TORONTO is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in road games after a win by 6 points or less in the current season.
723DENVER -724 UTAH
UTAH is 97-76 ATS (13.4 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game in the last 3 seasons.
725BOSTON -726 PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA is 1-12 ATS (-12.2 Units) in road games versus good shooting teams - making >=46% of their shots - 2nd half of the season in the current season.
727LA CLIPPERS -728 DALLAS
DALLAS are 35-18 ATS (15.2 Units) in road games versus good ball handling teams - committing <=14 turnovers/game in the last 3 seasons.
NBA
Long Sheet
Friday, August 21
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TORONTO (55 - 19) vs. BROOKLYN (35 - 39) - 8/21/2020, 1:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BROOKLYN is 40-19 ATS (+19.1 Units) in road games after a division game since 1996.
BROOKLYN is 55-34 ATS (+17.6 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
BROOKLYN is 26-12 ATS (+12.8 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
BROOKLYN is 33-22 ATS (+8.8 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.
BROOKLYN is 20-11 ATS (+7.9 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.
BROOKLYN is 69-50 ATS (+14.0 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
BROOKLYN is 25-13 ATS (+10.7 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 41-31 ATS (+6.9 Units) in all games this season.
TORONTO is 31-22 ATS (+6.8 Units) as a favorite this season.
TORONTO is 68-46 ATS (+17.4 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
BROOKLYN is 7-7 against the spread versus TORONTO over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 12-2 straight up against BROOKLYN over the last 3 seasons
7 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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DENVER (47 - 28) vs. UTAH (45 - 29) - 8/21/2020, 4:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
UTAH is 97-76 ATS (+13.4 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game over the last 3 seasons.
DENVER is 25-14 ATS (+9.6 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
DENVER is 7-6 against the spread versus UTAH over the last 3 seasons
DENVER is 7-6 straight up against UTAH over the last 3 seasons
8 of 13 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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BOSTON (50 - 24) vs. PHILADELPHIA (43 - 32) - 8/21/2020, 6:30 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PHILADELPHIA is 27-15 ATS (+10.5 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
BOSTON is 42-28 ATS (+11.2 Units) in all games this season.
BOSTON is 12-3 ATS (+8.7 Units) after a division game this season.
BOSTON is 11-2 ATS (+8.8 Units) in the first round of the playoffs over the last 3 seasons.
BOSTON is 23-10 ATS (+12.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
BOSTON is 33-24 ATS (+6.6 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.
BOSTON is 20-11 ATS (+7.9 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game this season.
BOSTON is 24-13 ATS (+9.7 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 11-25 ATS (-16.5 Units) in road games vs. division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
PHILADELPHIA is 5-14 ATS (-10.4 Units) in road games revenging a loss vs opponent this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 8-17 ATS (-10.7 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 23-33 ATS (-13.3 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 5-16 ATS (-12.6 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 10-24 ATS (-16.4 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game this season.
PHILADELPHIA is 5-16 ATS (-12.6 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 14-5 against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 13-6 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
10 of 19 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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LA CLIPPERS (50 - 24) vs. DALLAS (44 - 33) - 8/21/2020, 9:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LA CLIPPERS are 5-16 ATS (-12.6 Units) when tied in a playoff series since 1996.
LA CLIPPERS are 243-298 ATS (-84.8 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record - 2nd half of the season since 1996.
DALLAS is 87-70 ATS (+10.0 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 77-58 ATS (+13.2 Units) as an underdog over the last 3 seasons.
DALLAS is 78-52 ATS (+20.8 Units) in road games after scoring 115 points or more since 1996.
DALLAS is 72-51 ATS (+15.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
DALLAS is 73-51 ATS (+16.9 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 71-57 ATS (+8.3 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 41-32 ATS (+5.8 Units) in all games this season.
LA CLIPPERS are 63-40 ATS (+19.0 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 39-24 ATS (+12.6 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 12-3 ATS (+8.7 Units) off a upset loss as a favorite this season.
LA CLIPPERS are 41-28 ATS (+10.2 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 26-14 ATS (+10.6 Units) in road games versus poor defensive teams - allowing 106+ points/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 52-33 ATS (+15.7 Units) in road games versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
LA CLIPPERS is 7-5 against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
LA CLIPPERS is 8-4 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
6 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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NBA
Friday, August 21
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Trend Report
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Toronto @ Brooklyn
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Brooklyn's last 5 games when playing at home against Toronto
Denver @ Utah
Denver
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Denver's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Denver's last 5 games on the road
Utah
Utah is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Denver
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Utah's last 8 games
Boston @ Philadelphia
Boston
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 17-2 SU in its last 19 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Philadelphia's last 8 games at home
LA Clippers @ Dallas
LA Clippers
LA Clippers is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
LA Clippers is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Dallas's last 7 games