The first round of the NBA Playoffs continues on Monday as the San Antonio Spurs travel Utah to take on the Utah Jazz in game 4 of their series. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 pm start time But Utah has the ability to win this game based on an excellent home record this season at 25-9 (19-14 ATS), scoring 101.6 PPG on 46.2% FG at EnergySolutions Arena. and it will be televised live on TNT. Currently the odds have San Antonio favored by 8 points with the total sitting at 199.5 points for the contest.
Free Analysis: The Spurs attempt to finish off a first-round sweep and win a 14th straight game when they take the court in Utah tonight. None of the other seven first-round showdowns has been this one-sided. The Spurs are averaging an incredible 107.3 points per game - 7.5 more than the runner-up Thunder - while limiting the Jazz to just 88. That gives the Spurs 13 straight wins (12-0-1 ATS) dating back to the regular season, scoring at least 102 points in each victory. San Antonio is a tremendous 23-11 SU (21-12-1 ATS) on the road, scoring 101.6 PPG away from home this season. So far in the series, the team is averaging 107.3 PPG on 51.2% FG and 39.0% threes. PG Tony Parker had another brilliant performance on Saturday with 27 points (10-of-17 FG) and six assists. That gives him 24.3 PPG on 57% FG with 7.7 APG in the series. C Tim Duncan has also contributed greatly despite the young and talented Utah big men guarding him. Duncan has 15.3 PPG (49% FG), 10.0 RPG and 3.0 APG in the series so far.It is amazing the Spurs are doing what they are doing without much help from Ginobili as he is just 7-22 in the series, including 0-8 from downtown. But the Spurs have had plenty of other weapons to pick him up. SG Stephen Jackson has 10.7 PPG (6-of-11 threes) in the series, SG Daniel Green has added 13.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG in the past two contests, and SF Kawhi Leonard is scoring 8.3 PPG on 9-of-15 FG. Utah has an excellent home record this season at 25-9 (19-14 ATS), scoring 101.6 PPG on 46.2% FG at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz continue to struggle offensively in this series though, with just 88.0 PPG on 38.8% FG (28.1% threes). C Al Jefferson (15.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG in series) is coming off a stellar Game 3, scoring 21 points (10-of-18 FG) with 11 rebounds. But his buddy down low, PF Paul Millsap, has been held to just nine points in each of his past two games, a huge decrease from his 16.6 PPG during the regular season. He’s made just 8-of-23 shots in these two games, but he did block five shots in Saturday’s loss. PF Derrick Favors hning by as done a nice job on the glass, grabbing 9.5 RPG in the series, but like Millsap he’s also 8-for-23 FG in the past two contests. Utah's best chance to make a statement in the series came late in Game 3, when the club found itself within five points in the fourth quarter before yielding a back-breaking 9-2 run. Jazz center Al Jefferson, making his first playoff appearance since 2005, says his team has had no margin for error at any point in the series. "We can't make mistakes," he said. "We've got to play a perfect game to even have a chance to beat a team like this. "We made too many mistakes during the crunch time of the game and they made us pay every time." No NBA team has ever rallied from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven series.
Free Pick: Gonna ride the hot Spurs here one more time. This is an aging team so this is an important game for them if they want some rest afterwards, as the Clippers/ Memphis series will still go on for a few more days. Despite the need for rest the Spurs are truly sending a statement here, winning by 15, 31 and 12 points, while shooting better than 51% for the series, with Utah having no answer for the duo of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. The Spurs are 8-1 SU and 7-2-1 ATS the last 9 in the series and 12-0-1 ATS in their last 13 games overall this season. The Thunder have been the talk all year long about being the best team in the west, but the Spurs are showing right now that they are the best team in Basketball and will continue their winning ways with another DD win here.
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Betting Strategies: Handicapping NBA Playoffs
Host Marco D'Angelo and Pregame Pro Vegas Runner discuss their strategies about betting the NBA Playoffs and being successful.