It is another huge night in the 2022 NBA Playoffs with two teams facing elimination, the Brooklyn Nets and the Toronto Raptors. I have positions on all three games tonight and I offer my opinions on two of them for free below. In order to get my best bet of the day, you need to be subscribed to my Newsletter.
NBA: Celtics (+1) @ Nets $
The Brooklyn Nets are in complete disarray and the entire Ben Simmons saga is a disaster. They should have just shut that entire soap opera down weeks ago. Hopefully, after tonight, we will not need to mention his name again until next season. Frankly, it was a horrible idea to even consider bringing him back for his first game of the season in an elimination game.
In the post-game presser following game 3, Kyrie Irving essentially said the Nets just are not gelling and need time to find their groove. I’ve got news for you Kyrie, that’s what the regular season is intended to be. The Nets are essentially in early season form while Boston is in peak playoff form. That translates into a four game sweep.
Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart have simply outplayed their counterparts on the Nets this series and I see no reason for it not continuing. The disaterous 2022 Brooklyn Nets NBA season should conclude quietly tonight.
NBA: Mavericks (-3) Vs Jazz $
The Mavericks played their worst game of this series and still nearly pulled out the victory in game four. Maxi Kleber fouling out in just 18 minutes was a problem for Dallas. They were still getting lots of 3 point opportunities but they were just not falling at the same rate as previous games. Getting Luka Doncic back for this game was obviously a huge boost for the Mavericks, but some of the supporting staff did not play well, most notably Spencer Dinwidde.
The Jazz did not shoot well in game three either, but managed to get the key bucket when it was necessary. Rudy Gobert managed 17 points and 15 rebounds, but also missed 10 free throws. He did manage the game-winning dunk off a rare assist from Donovan Mitchell. But overall, Gobert is still a liability in this series with his inability (or unwillingness) to guard the perimeter. The Utah Jazz are still playoff chokers in my mind until proven otherwise.
This is still a bad matchup for Utah and I expect a burage of three pointers from the Mavericks tonight as they get this win pulling away.
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