Bookmakers have adjusted to the Heat's Game 3 loss, with the expectation Miami will bounce back in Game 4. Miami was -1 on Saturday night but are being asked to lay just 2.5 points tonight.
The Linemakers’ lean: When the barrage of three-pointers came raining down on the Heat in Game 3, it seemed like they gave up mentally and started just standing around. They got crushed on the boards (43-27) and were out-hustled in all facets, yet turned the ball over only 10 times.
The Nets looked like the team from the regular season that beat the Heat four times. But can we expect the Nets to shoot 60 percent from beyond the arc again? Probably not, and the Nets might have just made the Heat mad.
Look for Miami to bounce back. The play is Miami -2.5.
San Antonio Spurs (-3.5, 210.5) at Portland Blazers (9:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
The good news for the Blazers is that they've trimmed their margin of defeat in each of the first three games. The bad news is those margins have been 24 (as a 6.5-point dog), 17 (+6.5), and 15 (pick 'em) -- all big losses against the spread.
San Antonio has just been too much for Portland. At this rate, avoiding a sweep at home would be a minor moral victory for the young Blazers.
The Linemakers’ lean: The Spurs are clicking, playing their best ball of the season – and the best ball of any team in the NBA. They have too many bodies shuffling in and out of the lineup – playing effectively – for a team like Portland (six bench points in Game 3) to hang with. Now we have a sweep scenario, where the demoralized Blazers may be more inclined to lay down instead of fight the uphill battle, which is why 3 points have been added to what the spread should be.
The Spurs have now gone OVER in eight of their 10 playoff games, and this one should fly OVER as well.
Spurs -3.5 and OVER 210.5 are the plays.
