*Original betting lines and lineups taken game morning, adjust accordingly.
NBA Playoff Picks
The Midfield NBA Parlay:
Oklahoma City @ Houston – Houston -7.5
Utah @ LA Clippers – LA Clippers -3.5
Oklahoma City @ Houston
WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND – GAME 5
HOUSTON LEAD SERIES 3-1
Picks against the spread
| Spread | O/U Points | Result |
| Houston | Under | Houston |
| -7.5 | 223.0 | 105-99 |
Win/Loss
| TEAM | HOME | ROAD |
| Houston | 30-11 | 25-16 |
| OKC | 28-13 | 19-22 |
Points +/-
| TEAM | PPG | OPP PPG | DIFF |
| Houston | 115.3 | 109.6 | +5.7 |
| OKC | 106.6 | 105.8 | +0.8 |
SERIES
| GAME 4 | OKC | Houston | 109 : 113 |
| GAME 3 | OKC | Houston | 115 : 113 |
| GAME 2 | Houston | OKC | 115 : 111 |
| GAME 1 | Houston | OKC | 118 : 87 |
| 27.03.17 | Houston | OKC | 137 : 125 |
| 06.01.17 | Houston | OKC | 118 : 116 |
| 10.12.16 | OKC | Houston | 99 : 102 |
| 17.11.16 | OKC | Houston | 105 : 103 |
The Trends-
- Oklahoma City are 3-13 ATS in the last 16 match-ups.
- Total Points Over is 4-1 in the last 5 match-ups in Houston.
- Oklahoma City are 2-6 ATS in the last 8 match-ups in Houston.
The Russ factor is glaring, and never so more than in this series.
Oklahoma City is plus-3 with Westbrook on the court in this series with Houston, minus-40 with him on the bench. While Westbrook made a stand to defend his teammates in the post-match conference, the numbers don’t lie. No Russ, no OKC.
While the Thunder bench has been sub-par, the Rockets bench has excelled, and that will continue to be the difference here. Rockets to close this one out in what may be a double figure winning margin, with the Houston crowd pushing them to overcome recent sluggish starts.
Picks –
Best Pick: Houston -7.5
Feeling Lucky Pick – Houston 11+ @2.44
Memphis @ San Antonio
WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND – GAME 5
SERIES TIED 2-2
Picks against the spread
| Spread Pick | O/U Points | Result |
| Memphis | Over | San Antonio |
| +10.0 | 186.5 | 116-103 |
Win/Loss
| TEAM | HOME | ROAD |
| San Antonio | 31-10 | 30-11 |
| Memphis | 24-17 | 19-22 |
Season Points +/-
| TEAM | PPG | OPP PPG | DIFF |
| San Antonio | 105.3 | 98.1 | +7.2 |
| Memphis | 100.5 | 100.0 | +0.5 |
SERIES
| GAME 4 | Memphis | Spurs | 110 : 108 (96 : 96) |
| GAME 3 | Memphis | Spurs | 105 : 94 |
| GAME 2 | Spurs | Memphis | 96 : 82 |
| GAME 1 | Spurs | Memphis | 111 : 82 |
| 05.04.17 | Spurs | Memphis | 95 : 89 (84 : 84) |
| 24.03.17 | Spurs | Memphis | 97 : 90 |
| 19.03.17 | Memphis | Spurs | 104 : 96 |
| 07.02.17 | Memphis | Spurs | 89 : 74 |
The Trends-
- Total Points Under is 5-1 in the last 6 match-ups in San Antonio.
- Memphis are 6-2 ATS in the last 8 match-ups.
Home court has been the key in this series, and now we’re back in Texas, with a Marc Gasol floater at the buzzer taking it to 2-2.
In Game 4 Memphis found a way to win despite spilling 23 turnovers that led to 31 Spurs points and a career-high 43 points from Kawhi.
They won’t be able to make these mistakes at AT&T, because they will pay for it dearly. We’re going to continue on with the home theme here, that line’s too high for us though.
Picks –
The Best Pick – Total Points Over 186.5
Feeling Lucky – San Antonio 1-10 @2.53
Utah @ LA Clippers
WESTERN CONFERENCE 1ST ROUND – GAME 5
SERIES TIED 2-2
Picks against the spread
| Spread | O/U Points | Result |
| LA Clippers | Over | Utah |
| -3.5 | 196.0 | 96-92 |
Win/Loss
| TEAM | HOME | ROAD |
| LA Clippers | 29-12 | 22-19 |
| Utah | 29-12 | 22-19 |
Points +/-
| TEAM | PPG | OPP PPG | DIFF |
| LA Clippers | 108.7 | 104.4 | +4.3 |
| Utah | 100.7 | 96.8 | +3.9 |
SERIES
| GAME 4 | Jazz | Clippers | 105 : 98 |
| GAME 3 | Jazz | Clippers | 106 : 111 |
| GAME 2 | Clippers | Jazz | 99 : 91 |
| GAME 1 | Clippers | Jazz | 95 : 97 |
| 26.03.17 | Clippers | Jazz | 108 : 95 |
| 14.03.17 | Jazz | Clippers | 114 : 108 |
| 14.02.17 | Jazz | Clippers | 72 : 88 |
| 31.10.16 | Clippers | Jazz | 88 : 75 |
The Trends –
- Total Points Under is 5-1 in the last 6 match-ups at Los Angeles.
- Utah are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 match-ups in Los Angeles.
Both teams will be arriving to this game with the wheelchairs and crutches ready, and if there is anybody from either team left healthy at the end of this series we should all be happy. Doc’s son Austin will return, but will play limited minutes, with limited impact we’d suggest.
Haywood missed the 2nd half of Game 4 with a bout of food poisoning, leaving it to his lesser mirror image ‘Jingling’ Joe Ingles to seal the game in his place.
Back at Staples and with the Jazz likely looking to chop and change match-ups according to health, we’ll go with the Clippers to take the line.
Picks –
Best Pick: LA Clippers -3.5
Feeling Lucky Pick – First Basket DeAndre Jordan @7.20
