Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Vegas Play of the Day: Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks

Paul Pierce

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Washington Wizards forward Paul Pierce (34) shoots a three-point shot with Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) and center Al Horford (15), from the Dominican Republic, nearby in the second half of Game 6 of the second round of the NBA basketball playoffs, Friday, May 15, 2015, in Washington. Pierce’s basket went in, but after review it was ruled that time had expired. The Hawks won 94-91 to advance to the next round.

The Play of the Day, which uses odds from the South Point and started with $10,000 bankrolls, cashed on the first game of the western conference finals yesterday.

Following suit in the East would make for a nice start to the final few weeks of basketball.

Atlanta Hawks pick’em vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: $330 to win $300

The majority of the action has come in on Cleveland since this eastern conference finals matchup was set last Friday. The Hawks were widely dealt as a 1-point favorite in game one and a plus-180 underdog in the series.

Not only has the market shaved a point off of the spread, but the No. 1 seed is also now as high as plus-220 to reach the NBA Finals. The matchup doesn’t seem to corroborate the moves.

This should be an extremely competitive series. Both teams are dealing with injuries, true. But the Cavaliers’ issues are more severe, with two of their three best players on the mend.

Kevin Love won’t play, of course, while Kyrie Irving will, though his true health status is a mystery. The Hawks are the better defensive team, and they aren’t as far behind offensively as the odds suggest with the injuries.

Atlanta played Cleveland tough, even when the teams were at full strength with three wins and covers in four games, the most recent three, during the regular season. The Hawks haven’t played as well in the playoffs, but expecting anything less than their best effort in the first game of the conference finals is a mistake.

Standings: Bern (79-69-1, $11,850), Keefer (80-78-2, $10,197), Brewer (69-83-3, $1,725)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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