The Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns will need to win on the road if they wish to advance in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. Both teams have a chance to do that on Tuesday, May 9 in Game 5 of their respective series with betting options for every game available at BookMaker. Boston had a glorious opportunity to take a stranglehold in their East semifinal with Philly instead falling 116-115 in overtime. Marcus Smart missed a potential game-winner at the end of regulation and his OT three came after the horn. We expected a close series and that’s what we’ve gotten so far with the teams now playing a best of three. Oddsmakers have a good feeling about Boston pegging the Cs as a 7-point favorite on the opening line. All Denver has to do is win at home and they’ve been good at that this season. The Nuggets had the second best home record during the regular season and they’re perfect at Ball Arena this postseason going 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS.
Bet NBA Playoffs at BookMaker.eu
NBA Playoffs Schedule for Tuesday, May 9
Philadelphia at Boston, 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Phoenix at Denver, 10 p.m. ET (TNT)
NBA Playoffs Picks for Tuesday, May 9, 2023
The Celtics have lost some unexpected games at home this season. They did it during the regular year and also this postseason. With a chance to close out the Hawks in the first round they dropped Game 5 in the Garden 119-117 as a 14-point favorite. They closed out the series the next game but saw their home losing streak reach two with a 119-115 loss to Philly in the opener of this series when laying 10.5 points.
The Celtics have been the better team in the series but they find themselves tied. A stirring comeback from down 15 put them in position to sweep the two games in Philly. However, they came up short in regulation and late in overtime in Game 4. In a position to win despite an off-night shooting from Jayson Tatum, the Celtics have to feel good about their chances moving forward.
Tatum finished 9 of 20 from the field and missed five of his six three-pointers. He helped in other areas with 18 rebounds, six assists and four blocks. Philly star and league MVP Joel Embiid laid it all on the line showing no ill effects from the knee injury that forced him out of a few games. The Sixers lost both games after his return with the big fella looking tentative. That wasn’t the case on Sunday as Embiid played over 46 minutes with 34 points and 13 boards.
Embiid and James Harden have taken over and the Sixers shortened their bench with only two reserves seeing extended minutes. That’s something that will come into play as the series progresses and with Boston’s deeper bench I expect the Celtics to outlast Philly in Game 5.
With no team in NBA history coming back from down 0-3 to win a playoff series, the Suns faced a do-or-die in Game 3. And their big guns came to the rescue. Devin Booker was 20 of 25 from the field for 47 points and Kevin Durant added 39 to account for over 71 percent of the offense. And they needed to up their games with Chris Paul out of action. Paul could be back in the lineup when the series returns to Denver on Tuesday.
With homecourt advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs, the Nuggets don’t need to win on the road as long as they take care of business in their barn. They’ve been good doing that this postseason winning all five games taking three from Minnesota in the first round and the first two of this series. Four of the five wins were by nine points or more and their average margin is 13.8 points.
A constant for Denver is the play of Nikola Jokic, who had 30 points, 17 rebounds and 17 assists in Game 3. He didn’t get a lot of help in that outing but he singlehandedly kept the Nuggets within striking distance in the 121-114 setback. Denver is just too good at home and it’ll be tough for the Suns to hang around if Paul is out or limited.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
Check out the latest odds at BookMaker
