TRENDS BY GAME NUMBER
• Conference finals opening games have been a relative toss-up lately: Home teams hold a 7-5 SU edge, but road teams are 7-5 ATS in conference finals
Game 1s since 2015.
• The last four conference finals Game 1 have been offensive explosions: Four straight conference finals Game 1s have gone Over the total, producing 233.5
points per game, surpassing posted totals by almost 18 PPG.
• Unders have prevailed in Game 2s lately: Since 2014, Game 2 Unders are on an 11-4-1 run, including 3-0-1 in the last four games coming off huge Game 1
offensive outbursts. Defensive adjustments have led to a 24 PPG drop-off from Game 1 output in that four-game span.
• Home teams that win the opening game usually win Game 2 as well: The last eight conference finals Game 2 home teams that won Game 1 are 8-0 SU and
5-3 ATS in the follow-up game.
• 2-0 leads aren’t secure in conference finals: Teams that are up 2-0 in Game 3 of conference finals are just 3-7 SU & 2-8 ATS in their last 10 tries.
• Teams that lost big in Game 2 bounce back well in Game 3: An interesting trend in the last eight playoff seasons is that teams that lost Game 2 of a
conference finals series by double digits are on a surge of 7-3 SU and 8-2 ATS in Game 3.
• Home teams NOT down 3-0 are strong plays in Game 4: Home teams not facing elimination in Game 4 have fared very well of late, going 10-2 SU and 9-3
ATS, including five straight outright upsets.
• Teams facing elimination in Game 4 have generally laid down: Teams facing elimination in Game 4 of the conference finals have gone just 1-4 SU and 1-3-1
ATS in their last five tries and have allowed 120.3 points per game in the most recent four games.
• Home teams that won Game 3 are also good Game 4 bets: Conference finals hosts that won Game 3 are also on a 7-2 SU and ATS run in Game 4.
• The better seeds win Games 5s: The better-seeded teams have dominated Game 5s in conference finals of late, going 11-3 SU and ATS since 2013. In all 14
of those games, the outright winner covered the point spread as well.
• Favorites are on a huge Game 5 run: Teams laying the points have gone 11-3 SU and ATS in conference finals Game 5s, although Phoenix did lose at home
to the Clippers last year.
• The team that lost Game 4 is a solid Game 5 play: Teams that lost Game 4 are on a 10-4 SU and ATS run in Game 5 of the conference finals.
• Game 5s with closeout implications have been high scoring: Since 2016, conference finals Game 5s have gone 5-0 Over when a team is attempting to close
out the series, with games producing 227.8 PPG.
• Game 6s have trended Over the total: Seven of the last 11 conference finals Game 6s have gone Over the total.
• Teams have capitalized on Game 6 closeout opportunities: The last four conference finals teams attempting to close out a series in a Game 6 have won SU
and ATS, by an average of 14 PPG. Two of the wins were outright upsets.
• Game 7s have trended Under: All four Game 7s over the last nine seasons have gone Under the total by a margin of 21.5 PPG.
• Game 6 wins have provided momentum for Game 7: Teams that won Game 6 to force a Game 7 have gone 3-1 SU and ATS in the last four series-deciding games.