The first round of the NBA playoffs continues on Wednesday night with four games and Yahoo Sports’ Jared Quay has the picks you need for all of the action.
All odds via BetMGM.
After missing out on a sweep in Game 4, the Sixers will look to advance to the second round when they return home to face the Wizards in Game 5. Even with Joel Embiid likely sidelined due to a sore knee, the Sixers are 6.5-point favorites at BetMGM with the total set at 229.5.
If Embiid is indeed out — the team listed him as doubtful on its Tuesday injury report — Quay is going to play the over 229.5.
“The Wizards play at such a fast pace and without Embiid in the middle I think they score a lot of points. The Sixers are going to have to shoot a lot of threes to make up for the absence of Embiid,” Quay said.
Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks (-1.5), Total: 207.5
Down 3-1, the Knicks are trying to keep their season alive at home in Game 5 against the Hawks. The Knicks were blown out in both road games and are hoping the home atmosphere at Madison Square Garden brings about a different result.
The Knicks are favored by 1.5 points with a total of 207.5 over at BetMGM. Julius Randle, the Knicks’ best player, has struggled for much of this series. Quay thinks he snaps out of his recent funk and leads the Knicks to a win.
The No. 8 seed Grizzlies have given the Jazz a tough first-round fight, but are now on the verge of being eliminated. In Game 5, the Jazz are favored by 9.5 points with the total set at 225.5.
The over has hit in Memphis’ last five games and in eight of Utah’s last nine games against Memphis. Quay is going to follow the trends here and roll with the over.
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. We won money [on the over] last time. Keep it going,” Quay said. “Let’s bet the over. Let’s make money.”
Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers (-7), Total: 217.5
After dropping the first two games of the series at home, the Clippers responded with back-to-back road wins over the Mavericks to even this series up at two games apiece. Now the series is headed back to Los Angeles and the Clippers are seven-point favorites with the total set at 217.5.
The road team has covered the spread in all four games so far in this series. Will that trend continue? With Mavericks star Luka Doncic banged up, Quay is going with the home team in Game 5.
“I don’t think this one stays close. I think the Clippers win this game pretty handily,” Quay said.
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