Top 2 NBA Betting Picks for Saturday, September 19th
The NBA playoffs have been quite the treat. The Denver Nuggets have been nothing short of miraculous but may have run into the immovable object in the Los Angeles Lakers. Los Angeles is built to win on the inside, a formula that just may lead to a Western Conference Finals exit for the Denver Nuggets. In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat are up 2-0, but the series is a tight one. Jimmy Butler’s on-court identity has been adopted by his whole team, with hard work outshining talent in this series. Boston quite obviously has more talent, but no one is going to outwork the Miami Heat. The bubble has given us some tremendous basketball. We got torched out last time here, and now sit 32-23 on the postseason after picking up a stunning 0-3 bagel on Tuesday
Here are my top two NBA betting plays for September 19th, 2020. You can also check out our daily NBA consensus game odds here.
Get a Deposit Bonus up to $500 at BetMGM >>
Miami Heat +2.5 (-111)
Miami has been nothing short of incredible in the postseason. Granted, they are winning matchups they were expected to, but their ascension has been a sight to behold. They have been the better team in this series, but since the gap is not a large one, Vegas has continued to list the Celtics as the favorites. The Heat are the straight-up pick, so taking the 2.5 points for a little juice is just insurance. Boston just has not had the mental makeup to overcome the adversity of taking on a team just as good defensively, with a star to boot. The Toronto Raptors lacked a go-to star and still almost beat the Celtics. The Heat have Jimmy Butler aka Jimmy Buckets and have players like Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro playing at a high enough level that they would garner Eastern Conference playoff MVP votes if such an award was in existence. Take the points at run at BetMGM.
Jayson Tatum over 25.5 points (+100)
Jayson Tatum took just 12 shots in just under 42 minutes of game action in Game 2. He was shooting .500 from the field. That simply is not going to cut it. Look for Tatum to be aggressive in what is essentially a do-or-die game for the Boston Celtics. You can see from my other pick that I am leaning towards the Heat winning this contest, but Tatum being aggressive is something we can count on. The heated argument in the Celtics locker room no doubt touched on, among other things, Tatum’s lack of aggressiveness in a critical game. Boston’s best player, Tatum needs to be at his best to give the Celtics their best chance to win. The Celtics looked deflated, but we have seen them look that way before and bounce back, so that is what we will be hoping for from the Celtics young burgeoning superstar. After a 30 point Game 1, and a 21 point Game 2, Tatum is averaging 25.5 points per game in this series and has been to the charity stripe 8.5 times per game. Tap Tatum and the over at BetMGM.
View the top deposit bonuses and promo codes for each sportsbook >>
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts
Whether you’re new to sports betting or a betting pro, our Sports Betting Strategy and Advice page is for you. You can get started with our 101 section — including 10 Sports Betting Tips for Beginners — or head to more advanced strategy — like Key Numbers When Betting Against the Spread — to learn more.
Raju Byfield is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Raju, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyContext.