The Western Conference Semifinals begin Saturday night with the top-seeded Denver Nuggets hosting the Phoenix Suns. The Nuggets are 2.5-point favorites in Game 1 against a team they beat at home twice during the regular season. But they’ll get a red-hot Suns team (pun intended) with Phoenix winning four straight games against the Clippers after falling behind 2-0 in their first-round series. While the 2.5-point spread makes this close to a toss-up, the over/under of 224.5 points might be the number to watch in Game 1. During the playoffs, these teams are a combined 7-3-1 O/U, so both have been involved in high-scoring games. The Suns, in particular, are averaging over 120 points per game during the playoffs while Denver scored 114.2 points per game against Minnesota in the first round, so offensive fireworks are possible in the first game of this series. Don't forget to check out BetQL's NBA over/under picks for this weekend, they could give you some great insights for your betting decisions.
The Miami Heat and the New York Knicks will open the most unlikely Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup with a Sunday matinee at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks closed out the Cavs with three straight wins while the Heat did the same against the wounded Bucks. The Knicks won three of four games against Miami this season, including both games at the Garden, which explains why they are 4.5-point favorites in Game 1. Of course, the Heats was 2-1 as a road underdog in the first round despite being just 10-12 against the spread as a road underdog during the regular season. In fact, Miami had the third-worst record against the spread during the regular season while the Knicks had the third-best record against the spread, covering nearly 58% of the time. The Knicks also covered the spread by wide margins in their two home games during the first round, giving New York a good chance to jump ahead in this series.
