2011 NBA Playoffs Lines for Monday April 25
Here are the lines on the 2011 NBA Playoffs games for Monday night including the Spurs vs. Grizzlies and Trail Blazers vs. Mavericks. All lines available at Sportsbook.com here
SAN ANTONIO SPURS at MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (GRIZZLIES LEAD SERIES 2-1)
Sportsbook.comLine/Total: San Antonio -1.5 & 188.5
The Memphis Grizzlies have gone from never winning a playoff game to leading 2-1 in the series with the NBA’s best San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs looked dominant for most of the year and wound up with the best record in the NBA. The problem is that as of late, San Antonio can’t stay healthy. Manu Ginobili (17.4 PPG) still has a lingering right elbow injury and Antonio McDyess (5.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG) hurt his neck in Saturday’s 91-88 loss but will try to play on Monday. The Spurs need their point guard Tony Parker (17.5 PPG) to play better after only scoring 28 points combined the past two games and shooting 39% from the field. Tim Duncan (13.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG) may be getting old, but he definitely knows what to do when playoff time comes around. Duncan is averaging a double-double (15.0 PPG 11.3 RPG) in the series and will have to lead his team down the stretch.
The Grizzlies came into the series with the Spurs with zero all-time playoff wins. Memphis ended that quickly by winning a thrilling Game 1, 101-98. Six days later the Grizz won their first home playoff game, beating San Antonio 91-88 on Saturday. In Saturday’s win, Zach Randolph (20.3 PPG) had 25 points and hit a clinching three-pointer with 41.9 seconds on the clock. Marc Gasol (11.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG) has been playing better than brother Pau in the series, averaging 17.6 PPG and 11.6 RPG. If Memphis can win Game 4 at home and go up 3-1, it will put the pressure on a Spurs team that already knows they are “supposed” to win. The Grizzlies are trying to become only the fourth No. 8 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed.
San Antonio has been good on the road this year going 26-15 ATS, but as a favorite are only 33-30 ATS. The Spurs have lost eight straight games against the spread to Memphis and are 4-9 ATS the last three years in the first round of the playoffs. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, love being the underdog in which they are 28-11 ATS. Memphis also has dominated teams in its division (15-4 ATS) and is 31-14 ATS against teams with a winning record. The Grizzlies also wouldn’t mind a shootout where they are 31-14 ATS against teams that score 99.0 PPG or more.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS at DALLAS MAVERICKS (SERIES TIED 2-2)
Sportsbook.comLine/Total: Dallas -5 & 183.5
The Blazers-Mavericks series shifts back to Dallas for Monday’s Game 5, following an incredible Portland comeback in Saturday’s Game 4 when it erased a 23-point, second-half deficit to even the series at two games apiece.
A lot was made of Dallas’s 2-0 lead, and not all of it good for the Mavs. The last time they had a 2-0 series lead was in the 2006 NBA Finals, when they also led by 13 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3. But they blew that lead, and then proceeded to blow the entire series by dropping the final three contests to the Heat to lose the series in six games. Since that series, Dallas has gone 2-15 SU and 5-11-1 ATS on the road in the postseason.
But now the Mavericks are home, where they are 31-12 SU this season, including five straight victories. The last two were pretty comfortable wins, as they beat Portland by a combined 20 points in Games 1 and 2. Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 26.5 PPG in the series, making 4-of-7 three pointers, but his two-point accuracy has been brutal (39.7%, 29-of-73). Luckily his other teammates are shooting 47% FG in this series and Dallas’ three-point shooting is a stellar 43%. Jason Kidd (14.8 PPG, 55% FG, 48% 3-pt FG) has been uncharacteristically hot, while both Jason Terry (15.5 PPG) and Peja Stojakovic (10.5 PPG) are also in double-figure scoring for Dallas.
The Blazers have six players averaging at least nine points per game in the series, led by LaMarcus Aldridge (22.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG) and Andre Miller (16.5 PPG, 5.5 APG). But it has been Brandon Roy’s heroics that have tied the series up. He has scored 40 points (15-of-28 FG) with nine assists in the past two wins in just 48 total minutes of action. Roy netted 18 points in the fourth quarter of the Game 4 comeback win, including a go-ahead bank shot with less than 40 seconds remaining.
Despite the two straight losses by Dallas, the Mavericks covered the spread in each game, and have now won eight straight ATS, dating back to the regular season. Meanwhile, the Blazers have dropped five straight ATS and are just 18-21 ATS on the road this season, including 9-13 ATS (41%) as a road underdog.
