2021 NBA Play-in Tournament Betting Preview
The new NBA play-in tournament begins Tuesday night to determine the No. 7 and 8 playoff seeds in the Eastern and Western Conference.
The tournament begins with the two Eastern Conference games Tuesday, with the Charlotte Hornets at the Indiana Pacers and the Washington Wizards at the Boston Celtics.
In the Hornets-Pacers matchup, the loser will be eliminated from playoff contention, while the winner will face the loser of the other East matchup. At Bovada Sportsbook, the Pacers are 3-point favorites.
Indiana favored to end Charlotte's season
Indiana heads into Tuesday night 4-3 straight up and 6-1 against the spread in its last seven games. At home, Indiana has covered in five straight.
The Hornets stumbled into the tournament on a five-game losing streak and a 2-3 record ATS. On the road, Charlotte is 1-6 SU and ATS in its last seven.
In three matchups between Indiana and Charlotte this season, the Hornets are 2-1 SU and ATS. They last met up on April 2 and Charlotte crushed Indiana 114-97 as a 5-point underdog.
Celtics have lost three straight at home
In the other East matchup, the winner between Washington and Boston gets the No. 7 seed. At Bovada, the Celtics are a 2-point favorite.
Washington is 4-2 SU and 3-2-1 ATS in its last six games. The Wizards have been a solid bet lately at 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11, and they’re 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 road games.
Boston is a lackluster 1-5 SU and 2-4 ATS in its last six. At home, the Celtics have dropped three in a row SU and four straight ATS.
This season Boston was 2-1 SU and 1-2 ATS against Washington. They last met up on February 28 and the Celts edged the Wiz 111-110 as a 6.5-point favorite.
Spurs stumbling into play-in tourney
In the West, the tournament gets started on Wednesday with the San Antonio Spurs at the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors at the Los Angeles Lakers.
The loser of the Spurs-Grizzlies contest will be eliminated while the winner faces the loser of the other matchup. At Bovada, the Grizzlies are 4-point favorites.
San Antonio has lost four straight with a 1-2-1 ATS record. The Spurs have been struggling for a while now, with a 2-10 record SU and a 5-5-2 record ATS in their last 12. On the road, the Spurs are 1-7 SU and 3-4-1 ATS in their last eight.
Memphis is 5-1 SU and 2-4 ATS in its last six. At home, the Grizzlies have won four straight at 1-3 ATS and five of their last six at 2-4 ATS.
The Grizzlies were 2-1 SU and ATS against the Spurs this season. They last met up in San Antonio on February 1 and the Grizzlies won 133-102 as a 4-point underdog.
Lakers 5-point chalk to earn 7 seed
In the Warriors-Lakers matchup, the winner takes the No. 7 seed in the West. At Bovada, the Lakers are 5-point favorites.
The Warriors have won six straight SU and ATS, and they’re 8-1 SU and ATS in their last nine. However, as road underdogs, they’re 2-7 SU and ATS in their last nine.
The Lakers have won five straight at 2-3 ATS. At home, they’ve won four in a row with a 2-2 ATS record.
Los Angeles was 2-1 SU and ATS against Golden State this season. They last met up at Golden State on March 15 and the Lakers won 128-97 as a 1.5-point favorite.