Two Top NBA Eastern Conference Seeds Play Sunday
Scott Morris | April 19, 2015
The top Eastern Conference seeds tip off in the early games on Sunday, as the NBA’s second day of the playoffs begins. Cleveland, the team favored to win the NBA Title by odds makers and the No. 2 seed, faces the Boston Celtics the No. 7 seed. The No. 1 seed in the East, the Atlanta Hawks hosting the Brooklyn Nets, will follow that game.
Celtics vs. Cavaliers
The current line has Cleveland -11, with the point total on 203. The series’ odds have Cleveland -4700 and Boston +2200.
Boston on the season was 40-43 straight up and 49-33 against the spread. After trading away Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green, no one thought Boston would reach the postseason. Picking up Isaiah Thomas at the trade deadline was huge for Boston.
Boston ended the season on a run of 6-0 SU as well as ATS. The Celtics are the best road team ATS this season at 27-14.
Cleveland was 53-29 SU and 40-42 ATS. The team is rested after clinching early. The Cavaliers have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Those three superstars are enough to beat Boston.
The Celtics know how to cover. Boston was 21-8 ATS down the stretch. Laying large numbers might be dicey early with Cleveland. The play is Boston and the +11.5
Nets vs. Hawks
The current line has Atlanta -10 with the point total on 201.5. The series odds have the Hawks at -1300 and the Nets at +800.
Brooklyn this season was 38-44 SU and 39-41-2 ATS. The Nets reached the postseason on the last day of the regular season. The Hawks were 4-0 SU and 1-3 ATS versus the Nets this past season. The Hawks won the four games by a differential on average of 19 points.
Atlanta on the season was 60-22 SU and 49-32-1 ATS. The Hawks current odds to win the NBA Title are 12 to 1. Atlanta is the league’s best ATS team.
Atlanta’s defense will keep the score down on the game. The play here is Nets plus the points and the UNDER.
