NBA Playoff Odds: Heat Underdogs Vs. Raptors; Warriors Favored To Advance
The Miami Heat can move within one game of their fifth Eastern Conference finals berth in the past six years with a win Wednesday night when they visit the Toronto Raptors for Game 5 of their second-round playoff series as 4 1/2-point betting underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Miami evened the series at two games apiece with an impressive comeback in Game 4 on Monday, overcoming a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit to get past Toronto 94-87 in overtime, covering as 4 1/2-point chalk to improve to 5-1 against the spread in its past six games ahead of Wednesday night’s Heat vs. Raptors betting matchup at Air Canada Centre.
While Miami’s Game 4 win has fueled the buzz about a possible conference finals matchup with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Heat must first overcome some recent struggles against the Raptors — they have been denied consecutive wins against Toronto since James left the club two years ago.
Since posting 16 consecutive straight-up wins over Toronto, the Heat are just 3-7 SU in their past 10 games against the Raptors, according to the OddsShark NBA Database, including only one road victory. But they’re a solid 3-1 ATS during this series.
The Raptors’ blown lead Monday further compounds a number of issues the club faces, including the loss of center Jonas Valanciunas to an ankle injury that might sideline him for the remainder of the postseason.
Toronto already had been struggling with continued dismal performances from their All-Star backcourt duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, who combined for just 19 points in Game 4, contributing to the Raptors’ current 1-7 ATS run.
The point total has consistently played under in recent contests involving the suddenly low-scoring Raptors, paying out in 13 of their past 19 outings, with Toronto tallying fewer than its regular-season average of 102.7 points per game in 16 of those contests.
Also on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors can punch their ticket to a return engagement in the Western Conference finals with a win when they host the Portland Trail Blazers as heavy 12 1/2-point favorites.
With MVP Stephen Curry back in the fold, the Warriors took a 3-1 stranglehold lead in their series with Portland by powering to 132-125 victory in Game 4 on Monday, maintaining their perch atop the NBA championship odds as -115 chalk.
Golden State returns to Oracle Arena for Wednesday night’s Game 5 matchup undefeated SU and ATS in its past six home dates against the Trail Blazers and have claimed victory by double-digit margins in six of its past seven home dates overall.
Finally, the Oklahoma City Thunder also can advance to the Western Conference finals with a win over San Antonio in Game 6 of their series Thursday. The Thunder took a 3-2 series lead with a 95-91 win in Game 5 and now are 5-3 SU in their past eight against the Spurs.
Thumbnail photo via Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports Images
