One first-round series could come to a speedy end in the NBA Playoffs today. Covers checks in on the action and line movement for a trio of games, along with one Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup, with insights from Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill US in Las Vegas. **video
NBA
No. 3 Portland Trail Blazers at No. 6 New Orleans Hornets – Open: -6.5; Move: -7
New Orleans was three spots lower than Portland in playoff seeding, but only finished one game behind the Trail Blazers in the tightly bunched Western Conference. The Pelicans (51-34 SU, 48-36-1 ATS) have proven far better in this best-of-7 series, taking a 3-0 lead and looking to close it out in this 5 p.m. ET Game 4. New Orleans rolled in Game 3 on Thursday, 119-102 as a 3.5-point home favorite.
Portland dumped Games 1 and 2 at home and is now in the all-but-certain position of an early start to the summer. The Blazers (49-36 SU, 45-35-5 ATS) hung around for half the first quarter in Game 3, but shortly thereafter fell behind by double digits and remained there all night.
“All the money – straight bets, parlays, teasers, moneyline parlays – it’s all on the Pelicans,” Bogdanovich said, noting it’s all public action as well.
No. 1 Houston Rockets at No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves – Open: +4; Move: +4.5; Move: +5; Move: +5.5
Houston let Minnesota hang around for much of Game 1 before winning by three as an 11.5-point chalk, and even let the Timberwolves control much of the first quarter of Game 2. But the Rockets (67-17 SU, 42-41-1 ATS) finally started playing like a No. 1 seed from there, coasting to a 102-82 victory giving 10.5 points at home Wednesday.
Minnesota snared its playoff berth on the final night of the regular season, but it could be a short-lived trip without a win at home in this 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff. The Timberwolves (47-39 SU, 38-43-3 ATS) went 30-11 SU at home in the regular season, one of just five teams with 30 or more home wins. But Houston went 31-10 SU on the highway, the only team to surpass 30 road wins.
“It’s all Rockets and all public,” Bogdanovich said of action so far. “It’s pretty good handle too. That’s a microcosm of what’s to come later today. We’re gonna need the ‘dog here. We’re at Rockets -5.5 now, and there’s plenty of 6s out there, so I know we’ll be at 6 at some point.”
No. 4 Oklahoma City at No. 5 Utah Jazz – Open: -4; Move: -4.5
Utah blew a chance for the No. 3 seed and first-round home-court advantage in its regular-season finale, but regained that advantage by stealing Game 2 on Wednesday. The Jazz (49-35 SU, 44-40 ATS) snagged a 102-95 road win as a 3.5-point pup to come home with the series tied at 1.
Oklahoma City had a 10-point lead in the final minute of the third quarter, its biggest advantage of Game 2. But the Thunder (49-35 SU, 35-48-1 ATS) quickly gave it away by allowing a 14-3 run and couldn’t thwart Utah from there.
For William Hill US, the last game of the day – a 10 p.m. ET start – has a similar theme to the rest of the day in the NBA.
“We’re gonna need all four ‘dogs pretty good,” Bogdanovich said. “In this game, it looks like all public money so far, on Utah. I’m sure we’ll get to -5 at some point.”
NHL
Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins – Open: -185; Move: None
Boston takes a 3-1 series lead into this 8 p.m. ET puck drop, hoping to finish it off at home and rest up for the second round. The Bruins (53-21-12) rebounded from a Game 3 loss with a 3-1 Game 4 victory as a -113 road favorite to take firm control of the series.
Toronto gave up a goal just 28 seconds into Game 4, then managed to tie it up seven minutes later. However, the Maple Leafs (50-28-7) could not get around Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask the rest of the night, despite putting 32 shots on goal, compared with Boston’s 21.
Bogdanovich said he’s sure William Hill will need the underdog Leafs tonight.
“There’s hardly any money on any of the hockey today, except parlays on the favorites,” Bogdanovich said.
Patrick Everson is a Las Vegas-based senior writer for Covers. Follow him on Twitter: @Covers_Vegas.
