Best bets to consider for Friday's NBA playoff slate
With three games on tap for Friday's NBA playoff slate, we dive into the matchups to deliver all the ins and outs from a betting perspective.
Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic
Line: Raptors -5.5
Total: 211.5
Finding edges in the postseason becomes increasingly difficult, especially when two teams are playing each other as many as seven times over the course of a couple weeks.
Here's one small tidbit we think is significant for Game 3 between Toronto and Orlando: The Magic have to be itching to get back on their home court, and not just because they have a chance to go up 2-1 in the series in Orlando. The Magic played a four-game road set, came back home for two, then closed out the regular season with another pair of road contests before traveling to Toronto for the first two games of the series. They've played eight of their previous 10 games away from home and Friday marks the first time in exactly two weeks that the Magic will play at Amway Center.
Orlando finished the season with a +2.5 net margin at home, a huge improvement from last season's -4.7 clip. The Magic also finished the year on a high note, averaging 119.5 points per game over their final nine in front of their home crowd, going over the team total in eight.
We think this is a good spot to back the Magic or their team total over.
Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers
Line: Pacers -3
Total: 203.5
The Pacers are another team that could use a home game, last playing in front of the Indiana crowd on April 7. The Pacers struggled down the stretch of the regular season with three losses in four tries at home, but posted a +7.6 net margin overall at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Celtics were great at home during last year's postseason and are off to a 2-0 start both straight up and against the spread. However, they went 2-6 against the number away from TD Garden last year, averaging a sub-par 95 points per game.
Indiana didn't play all that poorly at the defensive end in the first two games, holding the Celtics below the century mark in both losses. The Pacers now return home where they're the league's No. 1 scoring defense. Where they need to improve is on offense, and we believe playing back at home for the first time in 12 days will help jump-start Indiana's role players.
Portland Trail Blazers at Oklahoma City Thunder
Line: Thunder -8
Total: 222
Everyone and their mother was banking on a Thunder bounce-back from beyond the arc after they shot 5-for-33 (15.2 percent) in Game 1. The good news is that they did improve (kinda), but they were still horrific from 3-point range in Game 2, going 6-for-28 (17.9 percent).
Oklahoma City heads home in an 0-2 hole with little momentum offensively, shooting worse than 41 percent from the floor in both games in Portland, and having converted just 11-of-61 attempts from three. They're not an easy team to trust right now.
Still, it's difficult to imagine Russell Westbrook and Paul George combining for just 41 points again, as they did in Game 2, or the 3-point shooting staying this cold. If the Thunder can contribute a little, Game 3 is a nice spot to take the over. Back at home following back-to-back dreadful performances, they don't have much of a choice.
Alex Kolodziej is theScore's betting writer. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 11 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.