Vegas Play of the Day: Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers

By Case Keefer (contact)

Monday, May 2, 2016 | 12:02 p.m.

We've reset the Play of the Day with fresh bankrolls and turned it into a yearly competition. Our three sports writers have re-started with $10,000 bankrolls to continue using on odds from the South Point.

Atlanta Hawks plus-7.5 at Cleveland Cavaliers: $1,100 to win $1,000

If future bets were eligible for the Play of the Day, I might have taken Atlanta to win the series. The current 4-to-1 price on the Hawks implies only an 18 percent chance they advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

Atlanta’s true odds are much better than that, likely somewhere around 33 percent. But since that’s not an option, I’ll do the next best thing and look to take Atlanta at certain spots in the series.

Let’s start right away. The Hawks are undervalued now, and there’s no reason to risk letting that pass.

They played as efficiently on defense as any team in the NBA over the second half of the season. It’s going to cause problems for Cleveland, which are the rightful favorites in the East but also combustible as seen all season.

Atlanta lost and failed to cover against Cleveland in all three matchups this season, but that’s not a major concern. In fact, it may have boosted this spread a point or two higher than deserved.

The Hawks were only 5.5- and 6.5-point underdogs in their first two games at Quicken Loans Arena. With as well as they’re playing, getting an extra point is attractive.

Current Standings (as of July 1): Brewer (46-37-2, $12,005), Keefer (45-54-2, $8,090), Bern (30-38, $5,575)

Lifetime standings: 2014-15 Champion Bern (109-112-1), Keefer (128-136-4), Brewer (115-124-4)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.