When James Harden left the court within the first minute of Game 1 between the Bucks and Nets, anyone holding a Nets -3.5 ticket looked to be in trouble. Milwaukee held a two-point first-quarter lead and trailed by two at the end of the half, but Brooklyn outscored Milwaukee 35–23 in the third and held on for a 115–107 victory, covering the 3.5-point spread.
Game 2 takes place tonight from Barclays Center in Brooklyn as the Nets look to keep home court advantage over Milwaukee. Brooklyn's odds have been extended slightly at DraftKings Sportsbook to -220 to win the series, up from -200 before the matchup began.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds match up in Phoenix when the Suns host the Nuggets. Both teams won on their opponent's home floor in Game 6, with the Suns' upsetting Los Angeles despite being the higher seed. The Lakers entered the postseason with the second-lowest odds behind Brooklyn to win the title at +400.
NBA Playoffs Betting Splits – Monday, June 7
Today's betting guide will focus on the Game 2 matchup between the Bucks and Nets, but here are a few notable trends to consider for the late game between the Nuggets and Suns out West.
The Suns finished 46-30-2 ATS during the regular season, covering 60.5% of their games. That tied with the Knicks for best in the league.Both the Nuggets and Suns finished in the top 6 for "Over Record," hitting the over 56.4 and 55.8% of their regular-season games.The road team won all three games in the regular season, with Denver's winning both their games in overtime.Both Phoenix and Denver, despite being the higher seeds were underdogs in their first-round series.The Suns are the largest favorite amongst all remaining teams to win the series, coming in at -220 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Brooklyn is also -220, but that number moved from -200 after Game 1.