All three favorites defended their home court with a win on Tuesday. The Miami Heat become the second team in the East to close out their first round series with a 97-94 win over the Hawks. The Grizzlies won on a go-ahead acrobatic layup by Ja Morant to secure a 3-2 lead in the series over the Timberwolves. The Suns finished off the night with a victory over the Pelicans to take a 3-2 series lead. There are two more Game 5’s taking place today. Let’s dive into the best NBA bets today, picks and NBA betting tips for Wednesday, April 27.
Best NBA Bets Today: Game Tips & Betting Predictions
Bulls vs. Bucks Best Bet
Chicago and Milwaukee meet Wednesday in Game 5 at the Fiserv Forum. The Bulls have their backs against the wall looking to save their season with a win tonight to force a Game 6 on Friday. The Milwaukee Bucks will look to advance to the conference semifinals for the second straight season. Milwaukee owns the Bulls in the season series going 7-1 in eight matchups with their only loss coming in Game 2. The Bulls were dealt some heartbreaking news when it was announced that Zach Lavine entered the health and safety protocols on Tuesday making him unavailable for tonight’s matchup.
Chicago was dominated by the Bucks in Game 3 and Game 4 on their home court and now travel to Milwaukee to play Game 5 on the road. The trend of losing to top teams in both conferences has continued into the playoffs, going down 3-1 in the series. The Bulls were able to grab a surprising road win in Game 2, but it took near-perfect offensive performance by the Bulls to squeeze by with a four-point victory. Chicago is going to have a hard time winning a playoff series if they continue to struggle to defend the 3-point line. They rank top of the league in open 3-pointers allowed while allowing the fourth-highest 3-point percentage to opponents this season. That is a bad combination for winning. One of their best defenders, Alex Caruso, remains in concussion protocol and has been ruled out for today. The Bulls are in trouble with both Lavine and Caruso sitting this one out.
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Milwaukee shifted into another gear after Middleton went down in Game 2 with a sprained MCL injury. Grayson Allen, Jrue Holiday and Bobby Portis all stepped up in his absence to help pull through wins in both Game 3 and Game 4 on the road by an average of 27 points, while shooting 50% from the field and 43% from behind the arc. Allen was the real X-factor in Game 4 outscoring the Bulls’ bench by himself. The Bucks have been a force on the defensive side of the ball, holding the Bulls’ offense to 39% shooting from the field and 26% from beyond the arc. With Middleton out, this leaves Milwaukee with a frontcourt lineup of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Portis and Brook Lopez. Portis and Lopez are a real threat from deep which can cause mismatch issues on the inside and outside for the Bulls’ defense.
Head-to-head the under is 8-2 in their last 10 meetings. The line continues to go down, going from 230 points in Game 1 to 217.5 points for tonight’s matchup. Lavine’s absence will be a big blow to the Bulls’ offense. Chicago failed to score more than 95 points in three of their four playoff matchups and will now be without their second-leading scorer. The Bucks will be able to focus their defensive efforts on DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, challenging the Bulls to find other rotational players to step up their offensive efforts. These two teams rank 13th and 16th in offensive rating and first and fourth in defensive rating in the playoffs thus far. In eight matchups this season, the game total is averaging 211.3 points. Anticipate the Bucks’ defense to put the clamps down on a banged-up Bulls squad and send Chicago home in Game 5. Have confidence in riding the under in tonight’s Eastern Conference showdown.
Best NBA Bet for Today’s Game: Total Under 217.5 Points
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