Welcome back to another night of NBA action on Wednesday, 6/23/21. Tonight’s matchup is Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee Bucks (8:30 p.m. EST, ESPN). Both teams are coming off exciting Game 7 victories on the road, so it’ll be interesting which team keeps the momentum going.
I hit on the Clippers +3 last night to bring my playoffs record to 24-25-1 ATS after a 57% regular season. Here is another free NBA betting pick to keep things on the good foot.
Atlanta Hawks at Milwaukee Bucks (-7.5) – Total: 226
Looking at the betting landscape (as of 12 p.m. EST), I’m getting a better idea of where this game is heading. While the Hawks are getting 65% of the bets placed, the Bucks are getting 70% of the money wagered. In addition, Atlanta’s implied team total dropped almost an entire point. As for the game total, it was interesting to see 60% of the bets placed on the under while 60% of the money wagered is going toward the over.
Having this information, we can get an idea that the Bucks are going to kick some type of ass this evening. Giannis Antetokounmpo took a major step in his career by defeating Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn. Capitalizing on this momentum could take him even further to the next level – The NBA Finals.
Khris Middleton played a big part in that last series as well, with at least 23 points in each of the last three games. A lot of people look at him as the Robin to Batman, but this could be a huge series for Middleton. After all, the Hawks will need to get creative defensively against Antetokounmpo and that could leave Middleton open a ton.
This head-to-head series has been absolutely lopsided in recent memory. Although, the Hawks won the last meeting toward the end of the regular season, the Bucks are 11-2 SU/6-7 ATS against them since the 2017-2018 season. It is important to note, though, Atlanta had four of those ATS covers as a double-digit underdog – that won’t be the case tonight.
Betting Pick: Bucks (-7.5)
