Sports Betting Week: NBA Underdogs Have Bite

The NBA playoffs got underway this past weekend with Game 1 of the conference quarterfinals. Looking back at the results of the first game in eight different best-of-seven series, the underdog went 5-3 straight-up and 6-2 against the spread according to the Bovada closing betting odds for the matchups.

The biggest upset in this past Saturday’s action was in the Eastern Conference with the No. 8 seed Atlanta Hawks’ 101-93 victory over the No. 1 Indiana Pacers as 8-point road underdogs on the NBA odds. Almost as equally shocking was Golden State’s 109-105 win against the Los Angeles Clippers as a 7.5-point underdog on the road in a 6 vs. 3 matchup in the West.

No. 6 Brooklyn beat No. 3 Toronto in that series opener on Saturday as a 3.5-point road underdog. That Eastern Conference matchup will resume on Tuesday night with the Raptors listed as 4.5-point home favorites on the Bovada betting odds.

Sunday’s games featured a pair of upsets as well, starting with No. 5 Washington stunning No. 4 Chicago 102-93 as a 4.5-point road underdog in the East and No. 5 Portland running past No. 4 Houston 122-120 in the West as a 5-point underdog on the road.

In the first of two games on Monday’s slate, No. 7 Memphis will try and avoid falling into an 0-2 hole against No. 2 Oklahoma City as a 7-point underdog on the road after losing Saturday’s opener 100-86 as an 8-point road underdog. Later Monday night, the Clippers will try and even things up with Golden State as 8-point favorites at home.

The Pacers will be back in action on Tuesday night as 7-point home favorites against Atlanta and Washington will try and go two games up on the Bulls as 5.5-point road underdogs.

The defending champion Miami Heat cruised to a 99-88 victory over Charlotte this past Sunday as 10-point home favorites. The No. 2 seed in the East will try and sweep the first two games at home this Wednesday night. The San Antonio Spurs took a 1-0 lead in their series against Dallas with a 90-85 victory this past Sunday, but the No. 1 seed in the West could not cover the closing 9-point spread as favorites at home. This series will resume on Wednesday night as well.

The big series in MLB action this week kicks off this Tuesday with the New York Yankees on the road against Boston in the first contest of a three-game set at Fenway Park. The Yankees drew first blood in this heated AL East rivalry by winning three of four games at home earlier this month.