The NBA playoffs resume on Friday night with a pair of Games 6 in the conference semifinals.
First on the slate is a Detroit Pistons squad looking to keep its season alive, as it faces an elimination game on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then, the San Antonio Spurs will look to eliminate the Minnesota Timberwolves and clinch a trip to the much-anticipated Western Conference finals against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
There will be a Game 6 in each conference. But will there be a Game 7?
Let’s take a look at these matchups from a betting perspective.
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Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs remain unblemished at home through six postseason games, winning and covering each game. After trailing by nine points with under three minutes to go in Game 5, the Cavs rallied back to force overtime, then ultimately won to take a 3-2 series lead.
The collapse by the Pistons will haunt them all summer long if they don’t win the next two games to advance past this round, as it looked like they were on their way to a comfortable victory for much of Game 5.
Finding reliable scoring options outside of star Cade Cunningham has proved difficult at times for the Pistons, who had to erase a 24-point deficit in Game 6 to survive the first round against the 8-seed Orlando Magic.
The Cavs have more scoring options than the Pistons and have been outstanding at home in these playoffs.
I’m not sure the Pistons will recover from the devastating loss on Wednesday night.
PICK: Cavs (-4) to win by more than 4 points
James Harden
I know, James Harden’s struggles in the postseason are well-documented over the course of his long playoff career.
However, in this series he’s slowly made some strides toward enhancing his “big game” résumé. He hit a number of clutch shots to help the Cavs go from down 0-2 to now up 3-2 and on the verge of advancing to the NBA’s version of the Final Four.
Cavs star Donovan Mitchell rolled his ankle in the first half of Game 5 and had a fairly quiet night the rest of the way, scoring 21 points in 42 minutes. So maybe Harden will be forced to do more.
Harden scored 30 points in Game 5 of this series and 24 in Game 4. I’ll bet on Harden to continue to produce, although I understand why some are hesitant to trust him in a game of this magnitude.
PICK: James Harden Over 19.5 points
San Antonio Spurs @ Minnesota Timberwolves
I like the Under 218.5 in this one.
On one hand, we have a Minnesota Timberwolves team that is facing elimination and will likely bring maximum effort defensively with its season on the line. But we also have a young San Antonio Spurs team that might experience some nerves trying to win a huge close-out game on the road.
Games 6 and 7 in the NBA playoffs often see less scoring relative to the rest of the series, as teams become increasingly familiar with how to defend each other.
Also, the high stakes and intensity of the games this late in a series can lead to some more defensive-oriented battles.
PICK: Under 218.5 points scored by both teams combined