Top NBA Picks Of The Weekend Saturday Matchups Are Offering Value (April 22th)
Toronto at Milwaukee
When: Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 3:00 PM ET Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin TV: TNT NBA Odds: Milwaukee -2 / Total: 195.5Analysis: There’s no point in beating around the bush. The third-seeded Toronto Raptors are in serious trouble against the sixth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks following their stunning 104-77 Game 3 loss on Thursday. They ambushed us,” Toronto head coach Dwayne Casey aid afterward. “There was no aspect of our game that we executed whatsoever.”
All-Star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan shot 0-for-8 from the field in the loss while all-star point guard Kyle Lowry was limited to 13 point on 4-of-10 shooting. Underrated shooting guard Khris Middleton scored a team-high 20 points while All-Star small forward Giannis ‘The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo added 19 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting night. Milwaukee’s blossoming superstar is averaging 23.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in the series.
There’s a reason why a whopping 66 percent of the betting public likes Milwaukee in Game 4 and it’s because the Bucks have completely dominated Toronto and even gave them a scare in their Game 2 loss. Toronto is 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games against a team with a winning home record while Milwaukee has gone 5-1 ATS in their last six games and 4-0 ATS in their last four games against Toronto.
Keep it simple and back the confident-laden Bucks to get another statement-making win in Game 4 to cover the spread with room to spare.
Pick: Milwaukee 98 Toronto 92
Washington at Atlanta
When: Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 5:30 PM ET Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia TV: TNT NBA Odds: Atlanta -2.5 / Total: 209.5Analysis: John Wall and the Washington Wizards will look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead against Paul Millsap and the Atlanta Hawks when they square off on Saturday following Washington’s 109-101 win on Wednesday night.
“They have home-court advantage,” Hawks All-Star forward Paul Millsap said after Wednesday’s loss to the Wizards “They played off of that. To us, it’s 0-0. We are going back to Atlanta. We are still confident.”
Washington got a team-high 32 points from Wall and 31 points from shooting guard Bradley Beal in Game 2 to get the win.
“Something I always tell myself, I don’t know what a miss is,” Beal told reporters. “Like, it’s over. A miss is a lady. You just forget about it and you just move on to the next shot. That’s my way of helping me forget about my last shot, so I just stick with that and just keep it moving.”
Atlanta got a team-high 27 points and 10 rebounds from Millsap in a terrific effort in Game 2 while point guard Dennis Schroeder added 23 points in the loss.
“We had a chance in both games,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters afterward. “We gave ourselves a chance on the road in the playoffs. Nobody likes the result. Nobody feels any better but the fact that you are there and you have an opportunity, you have to keep building on it. … Now we have to go home and do the same.”
52 percent of the betting public likes Washington to get the road win and ATS cover, but I’m going to urge you to go the other way with your weekend pick on this matchup simply because Atlanta has some very nice players in Millsap and Schroeder among others and I believe the Hawks just won’t get swept by a Wizards team they matchup up fairly well against.
While Washington has gone 11-5 ATS in their last 16 road games against a team with a winning home record, the home team in this Southeast division rivalry has gone 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings. I’m going with sheer desperation, plus a healthy dose of Paul Millsap to help the Hawks get the win and narrow ATS cover in Game 3.
Pick: Atlanta 106 Washington 103