- The Brooklyn Nets have opened as 8-point spread betting favorites against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Tuesday night’s play-in tournament game.
- The Nets will be without Goran Dragic and Ben Simmons while the Cavs will be without All-Star center Jarrett Allen.
- In the other Tuesday game, the L.A. Clippers are +2.5 point underdogs against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The NBA’s 2022 postseason begins on Tuesday night with the second-ever Play-in Tournament to determine the final two seeds of each conference.
Among the 8 teams competing in the tournament, the Brooklyn Nets are the biggest favorite in the play-in tournament. Brooklyn is the East’s 7th seed and they will open the play-in tournament with a home game against the 8th seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cavs Will Be Without Jarett Allen
The Cavaliers will be without their All-Star center Tuesday.
Do they stand a chance against the Nets? ? pic.twitter.com/3KcNLQ5mf6
— theScore Bet (@theScoreBet) April 11, 2022
The Nets have opened as -8 points spread and -400 Moneyline favorites to beat the Cavaliers, making them the biggest betting favorite in the four play-in tournament games. Brooklyn finished the season on a roll, winning 12 out of their last 17 games to move from the 10th to the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn is the 2nd worst ATS team in the NBA at 32-48-2 ATS this season and is the worst home AST team in the league at 9-31-1 ATS or a 22.5% cover rate. The Nets are even worse as home favorites at 5-26-1 ATS. However, they are facing a Cleveland team that finished the season with a 1-4 SU and ATS record. Historically, playoff teams favored by at least 8 points in the last 10 years have posted a 108-76-1 ATS record or a 59% cover rate.
The Cavs finished the regular season with a 44-38 straight up record and won more games this season than they did during the previous two campaigns combined. However, they sputtered to the finish line and dropped from the Top 6 to the 8th seed. Now they will have to beat the Nets without All-Star center Jarrett Allen who has a fractured left finger. The Nets will be without Goran Dragic and Ben Simmons while Seth Curry has been listed as probable.
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index Gives Clippers a 27.5% Chance of Winning
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives the LA Clippers a 27.5% chance to win tomorrow’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. pic.twitter.com/p3SC1e4E1X
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 12, 2022
In the other play-in tournament game to be played on Tuesday night, the 8th seeded L.A. Clippers are +2.5 point spread and +120 Moneyline underdogs against the 7th seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. Translating their odds, the Clippers have an implied probability of 45.5% to beat the T-Wolves. However, ESPN’s Basketball Power Index only gives the Clippers a 27.5% chance of beating the Timberwolves despite winning their last five regular season games and having Paul George back.
On Wednesday night, the Atlanta Hawks will host the Charlotte Hornets as -4.5 points and -182 Moneyline favorites at the BetOnline App. The Hawks finished the regular season with a 27-14 SU record at the State Farm Arena, closing out strong with 19 wins in their last 22 home games. Atlanta lost just once in their last dozen games at the State Farm Arena.
The final play-in tournament game features the West’s 9th seeded New Orleans Pelicans facing the 10th seeded San Antonio Spurs. In this game, the Pelicans have opened as the -5 point spread and -210 Moneyline favorites to beat the Spurs. New Orleans is 6-1 SU in their last seven games as betting favorites.
