The crown jewel of the NBA is officially on the table as 16 teams have begun their journey, to etch their name in the league’s history book. With each series having one game under its belt, let’s take a look at the NBA Playoff Quarterfinal matchups.
The odds shown throughout the article are from BetMGM. Right now they are offering a rather remarkable $1000 risk-free bet.
(1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (8) Miami Heat
The Heat pulled off a stunner beating the Bucks 130-117 in game one. The Bucks lost star Giannis Antetokounmpo who went down early with a back injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. While the Heat lost their third-leading scorer this season, Tyler Herro, to a broken middle and ring finger on his right hand.
Keys
Bucks (+150 to win the Eastern Conference)
The health of Giannis. Coach Mike Budenholzer said that the X-ray on Antetokounmpo’s back was “clear”. But the health of Antetokounmpo is going to be the main storyline to monitor for the rest of this series. If he is at 100 percent the Bucks stand a good chance to make this series short.
Heat (+4000 to win the Eastern Conference)
Can the Heat stay hot from deep? Losing Herro is a huge blow to the Heat’s chances in this series. However, the Heat can still win games without him. The Heat made 60 percent of their 3-point attempts in game one. Can the league’s 27th-best 3-point shooting team keep shooting 60 percent from three? Probably not. But if they can make 12 or more threes per game they can make this series interesting.
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) New York Knicks
The Knicks stole home-court advantage away from the Cavaliers winning game one by a score of 101-97. Jalen Brunson went for 27 points and Josh Hart added 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Keys
Cavaliers (+2500 to win the Eastern Conference)
Get the big guys involved early. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley scored 14 and 8, respectively, which isn’t going to get the job done for the Knicks if they want to win this series. They need to get these two going to win this series and advance past the NBA Playoff Quarterfinal.
Knicks (+1800 to win the Eastern Conference)
Pick-and-roll coverage on Donovan Mitchell. In game one the Knicks trapped Mitchell early and often and it seemed to work to an extent (Mitchell still had 38 points). But, it forced the ball out of his hands and made others make plays.
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Brooklyn Nets
The 76ers outscored the Nets in every quarter to win Saturday’s game 121-101. Joel Embiid went for 26 points and James Harden had 23 points and 13 assists.
Keys
76ers (+450 to win the Eastern Conference)
Control the paint. The 76ers won the points in the paint battle only by two points Saturday. But, they owned the paint by playing through Embiid and kicking the ball out for wide-open threes. If they can control the paint, they can wrap this series up quickly.
Nets (+25000 to win the Eastern Conference)
Defending Embiid. In game one the Nets sent a double team at Embiid at almost every touch which forced the ball out of his hands. Unfortunately for the Nets the 76ers made 21 threes and shot 48 percent from behind the arc. Will they continue to double the rest of the series? Or will they trust Claxton and company to handle Embiid one on one?
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Atlanta Hawks
The Celtics handled the Hawks and took game one of the series 112-99. The Celtics dominated the first half taking a 30-point lead into the halftime break. But the Hawks showed some life in the second half giving themselves something to build off heading into game two.
Keys
Celtics (+125 to win the Eastern Conference)
Neutralize Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Young, the 10th leading scorer in the NBA this season, scored just 16 points and missed his first six shot attempts. The Celtics built an early 10-point lead by holding the Hawks to just 19 points in the first quarter and never looked backed. Look for the Celtics to keep Young and Murray neutralized as they did in game one.
Hawks (+12500 to win the Eastern Conference)
Make shots. This is pretty self-explanatory, but the Hawks only shot 17 percent behind the arc in game one. They showed life in the second half but if the Hawks want any chance to compete with the superior Celtics and advance past the NBA Playoff Quarterfinal they must take better shots, and make the open ones.
(1) Denver Nuggets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves
The Nuggets outpaced the Timberwolves to win game one by a score of 109-80. The Timberwolves hung close in the first half but got outscored 32-14 in the third quarter and the Nuggets, who had six players in double figures, took home a stress-free game-one victory.
Keys
Nuggets (+350 to win the Western Conference)
The supporting cast. Besides Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray who else on the Nuggets will provide the scoring needed to get past the Timberwolves and make a deep run in the playoffs? In game one several players got involved including Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown Jr., Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The Nuggets don’t need every single one of these players to be a double-digit scorer, but if they can get at least two out of the four to be in double digits and provide some help to Jokić and Murray the Nuggets will be in for a long playoff run and quick series against the Timberwolves.
Timberwolves (+10000 to win the Western Conference)
Where do the points come from? The Timberwolves average 115.8 points per game this season. In game one they scored 80 points. The scoring will improve for the Timberwolves but the issue is where do the points come from? The two main suspects are Anthony Edwards, who scored 18 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 11 points. They will need more from those two if they want to contend with the Nuggets.
(4) Phoenix Suns vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers
No Paul George no problem. The Clippers went into Phoenix and stole game one from the Suns 115-110. They were led by Kawhi Leonard who scored 38 points. Russell Westbrook chipped in with a classic Westbrook stat line of nine points, eight assists and 10 rebounds.
Keys
Suns (+220 to win the Western Conference)
How do they guard Kawhi Leonard? Torrey Craig is arguably the Suns’ best option to defend Leonard one on one this series, which he did in game one. Yet, Leonard had 38 points and seemed to score with relative ease. The Suns have the offensive firepower to compete with the Clippers. However, if they don’t figure out how to contain the postseason veteran they could be in for some long nights.
Clippers (+1200 to win the Western Conference)
How much of an impact will the bigs have? The combination of Ivica Zubac and Mason Plumlee will have to continue to be effective for the Clippers to edge this series out. Zubac scored 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while Plumlee tallied 7 points and snagged 11 rebounds of his own. These two have to overpower Deandre Ayton on the glass and hold him in check on the offensive end to have a chance in this series.
(3) Sacramento Kings vs. (6) Golden State Warriors
The Kings defeated the defending champions by a score of 126-123 for their first playoff win in 17 years. De’Aaron Fox exploded for 38 points in his first-ever NBA Playoff Quarterfinal playoff game. While Malik Monk wasn’t far behind notching 32 points as the Kings took the first game of this highly anticipated series.
Keys
Kings (+1000 to win the Western Conference)
How do they guard Curry? Not many have been able to answer this question, hence, why Curry has four rings. However, late in game one, it was Fox who drew the Curry assignment. While the Kings would switch on certain screens, Fox started on Curry on most possessions. If Fox has to continue to score 30-plus points and guard the greatest shooter to ever exist for the Kings to win games, I wouldn’t feel the most confident in their ability to pull it off three more times this series.
Warriors (+400 to win the Western Conference)
Limit Sabonis. Yes, Fox and Monk scored a combined 70 points, but I wouldn’t bet on them to do that again. Sabonis is the hub of the Kings’ offense and was held in check for just 12 points. If the Warriors can continue to hold him under 15 points they should feel good about their chances in this series.
(2) Memphis Grizzlies vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers overpowered an undermanned Grizzlies team en route to a 128-112 game-one victory. Led by the dynamic duo of Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, (yes you read that right), the Lakers were able to outlast an injured Grizzlies team.
Keys
Grizzlies (+1200 to win the Western Conference)
The health of Ja Morant. The Grizzlies came into this series without Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke. Morant injured his already-injured right hand when he tried to brace a fall after he collided with Anthony Davis. Morant immediately ran to the locker room. After the game, Morant said his status for game two is “in jeopardy”. If Morant is out for an extended period the Grizzlies’ season may come to an end sooner than they envisioned.
Lakers (+550 to win the Western Conference)
Can the role players continue this type of play? Reaves screamed “I’m him” after he scored nine points in a row in the fourth quarter, and Hachimura scored 29 points and made a season-high five 3-pointers. If the Lakers can get even half of this contribution from these role players, they could make quick work of a dismantled Grizzlies squad.
That about completes the NBA Playoff Quarterfinal matchups. If you need a sportsbook to bet on these games, check out BetMGM. Take advantage of their $1000 risk-free welcome bonus!