Nuggets & Raptors Back to Being Favored to Advance to Conference Finals After Each Wins Game 4
- After big Game 4 victories, sportsbooks favor the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors to win their second-round NBA playoff series
- Toronto is the -260 choice to topple the Philadelphia 76ers
- Denver is listed as the -140 chalk to take out the Portland Trail Blazers
The Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors are going home all even in their NBA second-round playoff series. The way sportsbooks see it, though, both teams are coming out ahead.
We're headed home with a chance to take the series lead!#MileHighBasketball https://t.co/NefgT6G0mJ
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 6, 2019
Sportsbooks favor the Nuggets and Raptors to be left standing at the end of their series. Toronto is the -260 chalk to eliminate the Philadelphia 76ers in their Eastern Conference semifinal. Denver is the -140 betting choice to oust the Portland Trail Blazers in their Western Conference semifinal.
The Raptors have reached the Eastern Conference final just once, in 2015-16. Denver’s last trip to the Western Conference final came in 2008-09.
Neither team has ever played in the NBA Finals.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Denver Nuggets Playoff Series Odds
| Team | Odds to Win Series |
|---|---|
| Portland Trail Blazers | +120 |
| Denver Nuggets | -140 |
*Odds taken on 05/06/19
Nuggets of Playoff Wisdom
The team from the Mile High City could have sunk to a mile below sea level after a heartbreaking Game 3 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in an epic battle that went to quadruple overtime.
Instead, Denver relied on a tried and true playoff axiom to pull square in the best-of-seven series 2-2. In Game 4, the Nuggets’ best players were their best players.
WOW
WOW
WOWJamal gets us started with a unbelievable shot! https://t.co/ipvMfcHxRe
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 5, 2019
Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokić, and Paul Millsap combined for 76 points in a 116-112 victory. Murray, going head-to-head with Portland superstar guard Damian Lillard, poured in a game-high 34 points. He became the first Denver player to post consecutive 30-point games in the postseason since Carmelo Anthony in 2010.
Entering Uncharted Waters
It’s the first time in a decade that Denver is in the second round of the NBA playoffs. It’s the third time since 2013-14 that Portland has been this far along in postseason play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms21KDulSHA
But the Trail Blazers haven’t won a second-round series since 1999-2000. In fact, this will be the first time they’ve gone past Game 5 of a second-round set since that 2000 verdict over the Utah Jazz.
No wonder sportsbooks have wavered back and forth as to who might emerge victorious in this series. Portland was the prohibitive -280 chalk after that Game 3 marathon.
The Mic 2️⃣, The Joker 1️⃣ 😂 🤣 😆 #NBAPlayoffs #MileHighBasketball https://t.co/CaIrJ98oRx
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 6, 2019
Now that Denver once more owns home court, you get the sense that Game 5 is the linchpin in the outcome of this season. The Nuggets won an NBA-leading 34 homes games this season. Put your money on Denver.
Pick: Denver Nuggets (-140)
Philadelphia 76ers vs Toronto Raptors Playoff Series Odds
| Team | Odds to Win Series |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia 76ers | +215 |
| Toronto Raptors | -260 |
Raptors on the Rebound?
This is how things traditionally work for the Toronto Raptors. They get behind in a series. Like Oregami, they fold up impressively. And just as quickly, they fade into oblivion.
Arriving this season after spending his first seven NBA seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, for whom playoff success is ritualistic, Kawhi Leonard was unfamiliar with Toronto’s traditional script.
THIS GUY!!!!!
WOW pic.twitter.com/w75wa9bu5X
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) May 5, 2019
Leonard scored 39 points as Toronto took Game 4 from the Sixers by a 101-96 count. Talk about efficient – Leonard took only 20 shots the entire game.
Leonard has scored 45, 35, 33, and 39 points in the four games thus far.
He has lifted this Raptors team and put them on his back. Leonard has scored 45, 35, 33, and 39 points in the four games thus far.
KAWHI NOT? pic.twitter.com/JD0cC6zVmb
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) May 5, 2019
Leonard is the calming influence, the take-charge guy the Raptors have lacked in season’s past.
Losing Toronto’s Bad Rap
Leonard is playing sensationally but he can’t do it alone. After their Game 3 debacle in Philly, not many were willing to bet that the Raptors had turned over a new leaf. Sportsbooks gave the Sixers the -125 favorite’s nod entering Game 4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oHrcAdThNk
People are willing to write a different path for these Raptors following their Game 4 turnaround but is that truly the case? No Toronto player other than than Leonard scored more than 16 points. Raptors coach Nick Nurse rode his top six players hard. That lack of a bench should hurt in the run of a long series.
With Kawhi Leonard scoring 39 points in the Raptors Game 4 victory, he now has six 30-point games in this postseason, the most in a single postseason in Raptors history. It's Leonard's fourth consecutive playoff game with 30+ points, extending his Raptors playoff record pic.twitter.com/eYrOnZjhCr
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 5, 2019
For the Sixers, Joel Embiid was under the weather in Game 4. You get the sense that Philly still has more to give, whereas the Raptors are already giving it everything they’ve got.
We still like the Sixers to win this set.
Pick: Philadelphia 76ers (+215)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
