Tuesday’s NBA Predictions and Betting Tips (June 1, 2021)

Tuesday offers up a nice three-game NBA playoff betting slate. The Milwaukee Bucks punched their ticket to the second round of the playoffs, but several other teams still fight on.

The schedule will not be short on theatrics. The Lakers and Suns face off in a crucial game five setting, Brooklyn hopes to join the Bucks in round two, and another tense game five battle goes down in Denver.

Unsure how to bet on this NBA slate? I’ll offer my perspective in Tuesday’s NBA playoff predictions and betting picks.

I don’t see much reason for the Nets to string along their series with Boston much further. They jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead before watching Jayson Tatum drop 50 points on them.

He proceeded to score another 40 in game four. They haven’t had much of an answer for him lately, but he’s also Boston’s only real weapon in this matchup.

Brooklyn has easily been the better team, overall, while the Celtics have been a one-man wrecking crew. I won’t be shocked if Tatum scores 40-50 again, but nobody else is showing up for Boston.

With the Bucks waiting in round two, the Nets would be wise to give maximum effort and wrap this one up in five. 

Denver hosts the Blazers in a pretty intense game five situation. The Nuggets got stomped (115-95) in game four, but this series is tied (2-2) and could seemingly go either way.

I prefer Portland’s depth, but the Nuggets have the better superstar in this one, and they’re at home. This series is surely going the full seven games, but for it to get there, I think Denver needs to hold serve at home first.

The other game is LeBron James and co. heading to Phoenix after the Suns tied up their series. The Lakers are the underdogs, too, as they’ll be playing a key game without big man Anthony Davis.

I’ll dive more into this game in a second, but are we really supposed to bet against King James here? I think not.

There is not a lot to choose from when hunting for NBA upset picks in the playoffs, but on Tuesday oddsmakers are handing you a golden opportunity.

I get it, losing The Brow is huge, and if there is a reality where the Lake Show doesn’t get back to the NBA Finals, it starts with this devastating injury.

But that forces bettors to do two things; bet against LeBron James, and bet in favor of Chris Paul, who has historically gotten in his own way, time and time again.

The Lakers offer insane value here, and James has historically done very well in game five situations. In fact, here are his stats in 35 prior game five instances, per Stat Muse.

With or without Davis, I firmly expect the Lakers to take back control of this series.

If you ask for King James to send a message, he usually complies. Getting him and the Lakers at +185 feels like robbery.

It’s just a three-game NBA playoff betting slate, but there’s actually a decent amount to like.

Denver looks like a good bet to get the win at home. I trust the likely league MVP on his home floor in a matchup he’s dominated, and this is really just one of three remaining games in this crazy series, anyways.

Not with me on Denver getting the home win? At least contemplate betting on the Over, then. This 226 total has been exceeded in three of the previous four games in this series, and neither of these teams is very scary defensively.

Lastly, I’m not betting against LeBron James.

When he and his team offer value, I willingly bite. I totally get trusting the healthier Suns at home, but the Lakers at +5.5 is just too appealing.

I love L.A. to win, but I’ll freely admit that the 5.5-point spread is far safer. All of these picks stand out tonight, however, and I hope they treat you well.