NBA teams trying to stave off elimination

Three NBA teams are down 3-2 in opening series of the postseason and each will attempt to hold on to live to play another day. Chicago and Philadelphia will have the benefit of playing on their home court, while Portland has the unenviable task of trying to win on the road. NBA sports bettors are left to ponder the right course of action to take to make Thursday a profitable day.

Boston at Chicago 7:05E TNT

Spoke to Steve Makinen of StatFox.com after Game 1 of this series, and his words have rung in my head ever since. “Boston should win the series, but every game should be close. It’s obvious the Bulls can play with Boston without (Kevin) Garnett.” This has certainly been the case, with three overtime games and four of these contests decided by 10 total points. The loss of KG has had a significant impact, especially on defense.

Checked with James Patrick from the House of Sports.com about how he saw the series playing out. “The Bulls have had the advantage of catching Boston without a couple of key pieces to their team with the losses of Garnett & Powe. Chicago is young and with the extra length of games due to overtimes, it only helps to have young legs. I look for this series to go the full seven games and for the Celtics to win game seven at home in another barnburner.”

Chicago knows it blew a golden opportunity to be playing for series closer in their favor, instead of facing elimination. They gave up an 11-point fourth quarter lead and while they believed the refs calls went against them, Boston is the defending NBA champions and were playing on home court. Derrick Rose and the Bulls are 12-4-2 ATS off a loss and the rookie point guard has to add steadier play, after committing 20 turnovers in last three games.

Betjamaica.com has Chicago as three-point favorites with total of 195.5 and the Bulls are just 1-5-1 ATS as faves at the United Center since Mar. 28. Boston was in this same exact spot a season ago and failed, however they are 15-4 ATS after a win by six points or less this season.

Orlando at Philadelphia 7:35E NBA-TV

There are presents one receives and there are gifts. The 76ers received an exceptional gift, courtesy of the NBA front office. The league suspended center Dwight Howard (please note, the above picture will not occur tonight) for Game 6 because he threw an elbow that appeared to graze the head of Samuel Dalembert in the first quarter Tuesday. The officials assessed Howard a technical foul on the play and Philadelphia asked the league to review that play and they handed out their judgment. Howard had 24 points and 24 rebounds in Game Five 91-78 win and will be sorely missed.

This will open the lane for Philly, who has not been productive in halfcourt sets. The Sixers are 6-2 ATS after a loss by 10 or more points and should be able to get to the rim with greater ease. Defensively, coach Tony DiLeo will be expected to have his troops extend more perimeter pressure to challenge three-point shooters with greater regularity. Watch for the adjusted line on Game 6 with the underdog 4-1 ATS in this Eastern series.

Portland at Houston 9:35E TNT

Portland knows what it needs to do to extend season into May, they just have to execute it in enemy territory. The Trailblazers have lost 12 of their last 13 (8-5 ATS) games at the Toyota Center and 10 of their last 11 road playoff games overall. In order to win as 5.5-point underdogs, Portland must stop the ball getting into Yao Ming like they did in games two and five. They had tried to double team Ming with either Joel Przybilla or Greg Oden, taking turns fronting him or denying entry pass.

After giving up over 100 points the first two games, the Blazers defense has held the Rockets in check, not allowing them to break 90-point barrier. Portland is 27-10 ATS after playing a game as a home favorite and needs another stellar effort from LaMarcus Aldridge. In the two wins, the former Texas big man averaged 26 points per game, in the three losses, half the total at 13 PPG. Portland’s challenge will be cumbersome with Houston 8-1 ATS off a double digit point loss.