Can the Miami Heat close out the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night?
A day after the Celtics sent the Brooklyn Nets packing in a 4-0 first-round sweep, Miami has a chance to eliminate the Hawks in five games. The Heat are 7.5-point favorites at BetMGM on Tuesday as Atlanta tries to stave off the end of the season and force a Game 6 in Atlanta.
The Heat are favored by three possessions because all three of its wins in the series have come by double digits. While the Hawks won Game 3 by a score of 111-110, Miami’s wins have been by 24, 10 and 24 points respectively.
Game 4 finished 110-86 in favor of the Heat after Trae Young had nine points on 11 shots. Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 36 as every Heat starter had at least 11 points.
Miami blew out Atlanta in Game 4 without Kyle Lowry. He injured his hamstring in Game 3 and sat out after not practicing before Game 4. Lowry is sidelined for Game 5 on Tuesday night as well as Miami doesn’t need to push Lowry back with such a comfortable advantage in the series. As the Raptors cut Philadelphia’s series lead to 3-2 with a win Monday night, Miami could buy Lowry a little more rest between series if it closes out the Hawks.
Given Miami has covered the spread in all three of its wins, it sure feels safe to bet the Heat if you’re thinking the series will be over on Tuesday night. The total is 217.5 as only Atlanta’s Game 3 win has gone over so far this series.
Memphis and Phoenix favored by 6.5
The Grizzlies return home as 6.5-point favorites Tuesday night tied 2-2 with the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first-round series. Minnesota has taken games 1 and 4 after Memphis took a 2-1 lead with back-to-back wins.
Minnesota got a 119-118 victory in Game 4 after Karl-Anthony Towns had 33 points. Towns had been quiet in Memphis’ two wins and took over in Game 4 with 17 shot attempts. Towns has taken 35 shots from the field in Minnesota’s two wins and just 11 shots in the Wolves’ two losses.
The winning team in each of the four games this series has covered the spread while the total has gone over in both of Minnesota’s wins and under in each of Memphis’ victories. Doubling up a bet against the total with your bet against the spread may not be a bad idea.
The Phoenix Suns are also 6.5-point favorites against the New Orleans Pelicans. New Orleans tied the series in Game 4 after frustrating the Suns and Chris Paul in the second half. As you know, the Suns are playing the rest of this series without MVP candidate Devin Booker following his Game 2 hamstring injury.
Tuesday night’s line in Phoenix is three possessions because just one of the four games so far this series has been within nine points. Phoenix’s 114-111 win in Game 3 is the only close game so far as each team has at least one win by double digits.
The total is also a very low 215.5 as oddsmakers may be anticipating a repeat of a low-scoring Game 1. That game finished 110-99 and is the only game of the four that’s had fewer than 221 points.
Fade the Reds again?
The Reds host the Padres on Tuesday night and are 1.5-run underdogs at -115. Joe Musgrove is on the hill for the Padres while River Sanmartin starts for the Reds. Sanmartin has allowed 20 hits and walks in 12.2 innings while Musgrove has given up just 14 hits and walks in 19 innings while striking out 21.
The Reds were on a crazy streak of losing by two or more runs before beating the Cardinals 4-1 on Sunday. Cincinnati had lost 11 consecutive games before the victory over St. Louis and all 11 of those games were by at least two runs. Nine of the 11 were even by three runs or more.
With Musgrove taking the mound for the Padres, San Diego seems like a safe bet. Or at least as safe as an MLB bet can be on a Tuesday in April.
Who cashed tickets Monday?
Raptors bettors were happy Toronto forced a Game 6 against Philadelphia on Monday night. Dallas bettors saw Luka Doncic score 33 as the Mavericks blew out the Jazz and put Utah a loss away from some big offseason changes. Donovan Mitchell exited Game 5 with a hamstring injury and could be in doubt for Game 6 in Salt Lake City.
Oddsmakers were also probably happy to see the Nets eliminated from the playoffs by the Celtics. Brooklyn has had short odds for the NBA Finals title all season even as it underachieved.
