Thursday's Tip Sheet
April 30, 2015
Bulls at Bucks – 7:05 PM EST – TNT
Game 6 – Chicago leads 3-2
The Cavaliers are waiting for the winner of this series in the next round, as the Bulls are taking their third shot at eliminating the Bucks. Chicago stormed out to a 3-0 series advantage, but Milwaukee picked up a buzzer-beating win in Game 4 to stay alive, while the Bucks stunned the Bulls at the United Center in Game 5 to bring the series back home.
Milwaukee dropped the first two road games of this series, but finally broke through in the Windy City on Monday with a 94-88 victory as eight-point underdogs. Michael Carter-Williams outdueled Derrick Rose in the point guard matchup, as the former Syracuse standout shot an efficient 10-of-15 from the floor for 22 points, to go along with eight rebounds and nine assists. Rose wasn’t so hot from the field, missing all seven three-point attempts, while scoring below 15 points for the third time in this series (he put up 13 in Game 5).
Chicago couldn’t throw one in the ocean from three-point range in Game 5, hitting just 4-of-22 attempts from downtown, as Jimmy Butler hit two of the treys. Butler continues to be the only constant for the Bulls in this series, scoring 20 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in Game 5, but shot 5-of-21 from the floor. Milwaukee knocked down all 16 free throw attempts, but the Bucks have shot below 42% from the field in all five games of this series.
Jason Kidd’s squad has yet to bust the 95-point mark in regulation in the playoffs, while scoring 95 points or less in eight of nine matchups against the Bulls this season. Since the All-Star break, Chicago owns a 4-6 SU/ATS record as a road favorite, which includes a pair of losses to BMO Harris Center, including the Game 4 setback, 92-90. The Bucks have covered four of their last six in the home underdog role, while looking to extend a playoff series to a Game 7 for the first time since the opening round of the 2010 postseason against Atlanta.
VegasInsider.com NBA analyst Tony Mejia says the momentum has turned following Chicago’s early dominance, “Rose and Butler were unexpectedly excellent early in this series. Their efficiency was eye-opening for two guys who had spent so much of the past few months injured, so it stands to reason they figured to slow down at some point. Game 5 proved they can‘t slump in the same game and have the Bulls survive, since the duo combined for 10-for-41 shooting to spoil the most productive night Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah have enjoyed thus far this postseason.”
Is there a look-ahead factor for the Bulls with the Cavaliers missing some key pieces? “With Cleveland vulnerable, it’s time to see whether Rose and Butler are capable of rising up to put the Bulls on their shoulders and compete for a championship. That starts with avoiding a Game 7, which means we better to see both intense early. If they get it going, Milwaukee will leave the playoffs in undignified fashion,” Mejia says.
Clippers at Spurs – 9:35 PM EST – TNT
Game 6 – San Antonio leads 3-2
After Los Angeles won the series opener, the Clippers have lost three of their past four games and are on the verge of elimination against the defending champions. The Spurs picked up a huge road win in Game 5 at Staples Center to put the Clippers on the brink, but it certainly wasn’t easy as several things broke right for San Antonio in the final minutes.
San Antonio erased an early 14-point deficit to trail Los Angeles by one at halftime, while an 8-2 run with under five minutes left in the fourth gave the Spurs a 103-96 advantage. The Clippers cut the lead down to 108-107 with six seconds left, as Blake Griffin’s shot in the lane over Tim Duncan rimmed out, but DeAndre Jordan’s attempted putback was nullified due to offensive goaltending. The Spurs drilled some free throws to finish off a 111-107 victory as 2 ½-point underdogs for their second road win in the series.
The Clippers converted just 1-of-14 three-point attempts, including an 0-for-6 effort from Jamal Crawford as the Los Angeles bench scored just 17 points. The San Antonio bench stepped up with 48 points, led by 14 from Manu Ginobili and 13 from Patty Mills, who drilled four treys. Griffin scored 30 points for the Clippers, even though he missed 15 shots, including seven in the fourth quarter. Chris Paul took a step back from a 34-point effort in Game 4, as the Clippers’ All-Star guard scored 19 points in Game 5 to go along with 10 assists.
Mejia breaks down the action from San Antonio, “Duncan has stated that he’d love to see the Spurs get off to better starts in this series, since the only game they won comfortably was Game 3, where they managed to win the first quarter and keep the Clippers from getting a rhythm. It’s going to be on Paul to make sure L.A. answers the bell since the team takes its cue from him and didn’t bother to show up altogether when he came out flat early last Sunday. Considering what a rough fourth quarter Griffin is coming off, it’s on Paul to get him easy looks early to make sure he puts those struggles behind him.”
The road hasn’t been kind to the Clippers in the postseason, as Los Angeles owns a 3-9 SU and 4-8 ATS record in its last 12 as an away underdog since the 2012 playoffs. The Spurs were automatic last season in close-out games at home during the postseason, winning all three times by double-digits against Dallas, Portland, and Miami. Since starting last postseason at 0-6 ATS, San Antonio has cashed 16 of its last 22 playoff games, including a 10-2 ATS mark at the AT&T Center.
