Andrew Ortenberg
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Well, we made it. The NBA playoffs are officially in full swing, and we’ve got our third full slate of postseason games on Monday. And what better way to celebrate than by going for a big payday? That’s right; we’re back with another mega parlay, NBA edition.
We’re going big and bold again, so let’s not waste any more time. But before we dive in, don’t forget to check out our free picks on the side and total for every NBA playoff game.
Toronto Raptors ML (+270)
Denver Nuggets ML (+240)
Parlay odds: +1158
Let’s break down each of the legs one by one.
Toronto Raptors ML (+270) over Philadelphia 76ers
I’m not quite ready to bury the Raptors. Toronto is in a tough spot after going down 1-0 and having a couple of guys get hurt in Game 1. It looks like Scottie Barnes and Gary Trent are both on the wrong side of questionable. But I don’t think the Raptors played nearly as badly as the 131-111 final score from Game 1 might indicate. They actually did a pretty good job on Joel Embiid and James Harden, but Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey happened to have amazing shooting nights.
Maxey is electric, but I don’t think he’s going to score 38 again. Embiid shot just 5-for-15 and Harden was 6-for-17, the 76ers just had all their secondary players get really hot from beyond the arc. Toronto’s veteran leaders Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby all scored pretty efficiently in Game 1. This grizzled and experienced team isn’t the type to roll over just because they had a bad first game of a series.
Read our 76ers vs Raptors same game parlay (+1332 odds)
Denver Nuggets ML (+240) over Golden State Warriors
Speaking of teams that aren’t going to roll over after one bad game, we’ve got the Nuggets on the money line to wrap up this mega parlay. Denver disappointed in Game 1, but the Nuggets will be a lot more prepared now for the small-ball lineups that it looks like the Warriors are going to lean on in this series. They’ve now also seen how Golden State is defending Nikola Jokic, and their offense should look a lot less stagnant this time.
It’s also possible that Stephen Curry still has a minutes restriction, which would obviously be a huge boost for the Nuggets. It’s hard not to get excited about Jordan Poole after he dropped 30 on only 13 shots in Game 1, but just like Maxey he should come back down to earth a bit. Aaron Gordon can be the X-factor, and he’s going to have to provide a lot more than he did in Game 1, when he scored only 8 points on 3-for-10 shooting. Considering he scored at least 18 in 7 of his final 8 regular-season games, I think he’ll be up to the task.
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