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Now that we’re in the middle of the NBA playoffs, the basketball betting market is hotter than ever. CBS Sports will provide daily picks for the duration of the postseason. Sam Quinn will make at least one selection for every game leading up to the NBA Finals. All lines courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.
Featured Game | New York Knicks versus Miami Heat
We chose the over for Game 4 and while it was just settled as a win, the logic behind that choice remains. Offensively, there is just too much low-hanging fruit for these teams to continue struggling to score that many goals. Somehow, the second-highest-scoring game of that series consisted of neither team making a third of their 3-point attempts. The Knicks still have a 24.8% shot rate on open 3-pointers in the series, while it’s dropped to 32.3% on wide-open 3-pointers. The Knicks won’t go wild from deep, but we should expect better shots in Game 5 which should lead to another over. The choice: Over 209.5
Featured Game | Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers found themselves in exactly that position last round. They won Game 1 in Memphis, relaxed for Game 2, took care of business in Games 3 and 4, and with a chance to pick up an easy series win in Game 5, they failed in the second half and allowed the Grizzlies to advance the series to a sixth game. That was the tendency of this team. They only play their best basketball when absolutely necessary. This is not the case in Game 5, so the Warriors are rightly favored. The choice: Warriors -6.5