With the NBA Playoffs in full swing three teams have a chance to join the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round by closing out their opening round series on Tuesday. The Minnesota Timberwolves avoided extinction and a sweep by knocking off the Nuggets at Target Center on Sunday breathing some life back into a club that dropped each of the first three games by at least nine points while going 0-3 ATS. The Wolves were huge series dogs against the West’s No. 1 seed and opened as a 9-poind underdog for Game 5 of the series in Denver on April 25. Any hopes the LA Clippers had of winning a NBA title or the series with Phoenix likely evaporated when Kawhi Leonard tweaked his knee. Leonard missed the last two games, both losses, joining Paul George on the shelf. The Suns are 12-point favorites to close out the series at home with Leonard listed as day-to-day. The Celtics rebounded from a Game 3 loss to beat Atlanta on Sunday. The Celtics can win the series at home where they beat the Hawks by 13 points in Games 1 and 2.
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NBA Playoffs Schedule for Tuesday, April 25
Atlanta at Boston, 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Minnesota at Denver, 9 p.m. ET (NBA TV)
LA Clippers at Phoenix, 10 p.m. ET (TNT)
NBA Playoffs Picks for Tuesday, April 25, 2023
This is playoff time and with their backs against the wall you can expect the Hawks, Wolves and Clippers to give it their best shot. Unfortunately those clubs will have to win on the road against better teams. And the Hawks could be without one of their top scorers for Game 5 with the NBA investigating Dejounte Murray after he allegedly made contact with a game official following Game. Murray scored 23 points on Sunday and is averaging 25.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in the series. Should the league discipline Murray any hopes of extending the series are severely impacted. Oddsmakers weren’t too keen on the chance of an upset setting Boston as an 11-point favorite on the opening line.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 31 points on Sunday leading six Celtics in double figures. Including the three regular season games that they won and covered, the Celtics are 6-1 SU and ATS against the Hawks averaging over 123 points. Atlanta was one of the worst defensive teams during the season and they haven’t been better in this series. And fueled by last season’s Finals loss, the Celtics are poised to wrap this one up on Tuesday covering the 11-point spread.
The Nuggets had to come back to Denver anyway only now they’ll have another game with the Timberwolves. The teams split their season series with each winning twice at home, and the Nuggets were one of the best home teams this year making them a 9-point favorite on the opening line. But the closest game during the regular year was in Denver with the Nuggets escaping 122-118. Despite a poor shooting game on Sunday, the Nuggets got to overtime scoring the final 12 points in regulation. Nikola Jokic was a beast unloading 43 points even though Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns did their best to stop him.
You can expect more desperation from the Wolves on Tuesday allowing Anthony Edwards to thrive. He scored 34 points in Game 4 and needs another big game to keep Minnesota within the spread. While the series hasn’t gone their way this is a good matchup for the Wolves and I anticipate the game will be close.
It’s hard enough to win without one of your top players; take two of them off the floor and the job is more difficult. The Clippers opened the series with a win in Phoenix getting 38 points from Kawhi Leonard. However, a knee injury forced Leonard out of the last two games allowing the Suns to take advantage with a pair of road wins. Leonard is considered day-to-day and even if he does play the Clips have to slow Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. They each average more than 27 points in the series while making better than 51 percent of their shots. I’m not sure the Suns can continue shooting at a high rate and if Leonard returns he and the resurgent Russell Westbrook can lead the Clips to an upset win.
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