NBA bettors and fans of the sport deserved at least one of these second round NBA Playoff matchups to be competitive; and not because of injury. After Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks staged a furious second half comeback to win Game 4, that’s exactly what they’ve got with the series knotted up at two games apiece. It’s now a best-of-three series and the Philadelphia 76ers are the team that owns home court advantage. So far, that hasn’t mattered much in this series with both teams snagging one road triumph through two tries. The last thing Joel Embiid and company want is to have to go back to the ATL trailing having just experienced the Hawks wrath. Linemakers don’t foresee that happening with the Sixers back up to 6.5-point favorites to reclaim the series lead. Understandable considering how dominant Doc Rivers’ squad has been when playing in the City of Brotherly Love.
Game 5 of the best-of-seven series between the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers will tip-off on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 from the Wells Fargo Center. Take it in live on TNT at 7:30 p.m. ET. We'll have NBA Playoff odds and player props available at BookMaker.eu for this and every game going on today’s NBA slate.
NBA Betting Lines at BookMaker.eu
Atlanta Hawks +6.5
Philadelphia 76ers -6.5
O/U TBA
Odds Analysis
Philly closed as 4.5-point favorites in the series opener falling to Atlanta by a 128-124 final count. Knowing the 76ers would go all-out to take Game 2; linemakers bumped the number to beat up a full point. Early betting action lowered it to -5, but come tip-off, Philadelphia found itself installed a 6.5-point home chalk. The smart money that came in on game day proved to be right as the Sixers rolled the Hawks 118-102 by erupting in the fourth and final quarter. The number to beat for Game 5 reopened at -6.5 and it’s sure to get plenty of attraction and money on both sides. Atlanta’s been dogged seven times and gone 4-3 SU and ATS throughout the playoffs. Philly’s gone 6-3 SU and 5-4 ATS in its nine postseason bouts; all as favorites. The O/U has alternated in every game of this series with an average of 228.3 points scored.
Atlanta Hawks
Excellent conversion rates from the charity stripe and beyond the arc have allowed Atlanta to make this a series. The Hawks shot 51 percent overall in Game 1 and bolstered the output with a 20 of 47 showing from downtown. It also converted all but one of its 21 attempted free throws. Game 4 only saw it shoot 37 percent from the field, but the team still went on to convert at an 81 percent clip from the stripe and only turn it over four times to the Sixers 12. Though Young had an off shooting night on Monday, he showed just how valuable a commodity he is by going off for a career-high-tying 18 assists. His ability to get all his teammates involved was one of the main reasons why it was able to battle back from an 18 point second-quarter deficit.
Philadelphia 76ers
When the big man is struggling, Philadelphia really has issues running its offense. That was exactly the case on Monday night when Embiid only managed 21 points on a brutal 4 of 20 showing from the field. Though he made up for it by converting all eight shots from the free throw line and ripping down a team-high 21 rebounds, it proved to not be enough. Even so, Philadelphia is having itself a grand ‘ol time running offense against Atlanta’s Swiss cheese defense. Even in Game 4’s defeat, Philadelphia shot 44 percent from the field to dwarf the home team’s output. In the three games prior, it went on to knock down over 55 percent of its shots. In other words, it won’t be the offense that gets called out if the Sixers are unable to win this series.
Atlanta vs. Philadelphia Prediction
Atlanta will most definitely be a trendy underdog come Hump Day night; and why not? Young and company have already proven they can go on the road and win in this series as well as the playoffs as a whole after taking two of three from the Knicks in MSG. As much as I’d like to join in on all the fun since backing dogs is my forte, I just can’t buy into the Hawks in this spot. Philadelphia has lost a grand total of eight games on its home floor this season. On top of that, they’ve gone a moneymaking 25-15-1 ATS laying a good amount of points in most contests. If Young really has the moxie to go into Wells Fargo and come out with a win/cover or both in his first Game 5 matchup in the second round of the playoffs, so be it. I’ll be betting against it!
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