Free NBA Bet Totals to Target on Tuesday
Free NBA Bets
The NBA playoffs are in full swing, and we have three games on Tuesday night to consider betting on. With as loaded as a slate as we’ll get on any night for the rest of the season, here are a few totals to bet in the NBA on Tuesday.
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Boston Celtics-Brooklyn Nets OVER 226.5 points
Game 1 of this series saw the Nets take down the Celtics, with the final score of 104-93. Don’t let the low total scare you off from betting the inverse to happen on Tuesday. There are advantages for each offense in this one and the star power you look for when betting an over.
Let’s start with the underdog Celtics. The Boston offense is an above-average unit, led by All-Star Jayson Tatum. Tatum poured on 50 points in the play-in game and averaged over 26 points on the season.
With fellow All-Star Jaylen Brown out for the season, the burden of scoring falls directly on Tatum’s shoulder. If you watch Celtics games, you’ll know how much Tatum prefers the ball in his hands in isolation situations.
Tatum shot an uncharacteristic 6 of 20 from the field on Saturday night and should be able to steady against a Brooklyn defense that ranks 19th in the NBA. Boston’s points will come from deep, ranking as the ninth-best three-point offense. Keep an eye on the trio of Tatum, Kemba Walker, and Evan Fournier to shoot threes at an aggressive clip and aid this total. The Nets have the top overall offense in the league, even more impressive when you consider their Big Three of James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving have barely been on the floor together this season.
They’re all back now and should pick up steam as the series gets going. Brooklyn’s offense prefers to do their scoring from deep, fourth in the league shooting the three. Perimeter defense is Boston’s one weakness on that end, ranking 19th guarding the deep shot.
This advantage perfectly suits the Nets offense and is a recipe for more points to come. Joe Harris is shooting nearly 50% from deep and, with defensive attention elsewhere, should be able to get hot from deep.
There’s enough to like in this series and during Game 2 to bet the over and load up on a couple of player props. Bet this total on Tuesday night.
Los Angeles Lakers-Phoenix Suns UNDER 208 points
Game 1 between the Lakers and Suns hit under, with a final score of 99 to 90, with Phoenix winning.
The under is one of our favorite nightly bets between these two Western Conference teams. The reasoning is completely built around defensive prowess and the speed of each offense. We’ll start with defense. Averaging out ranks for points per game, opponent effective field goal percentage, and defensive efficiency puts the Lakers as the second-best defense in the NBA and the Suns as sixth-strongest.
Both defenses are the backbone of these teams' success. While Phoenix matches their defensive success on the other end, the same can’t be said for Los Angeles. The Lakers own a bottom-ten offense, suggesting they should struggle throughout this series. One team putting up 90 like in the case of Game 1 is always going to be a strong indicator to take an under. The second part of this equation is the pace of play. Pace can be calculated by looking at field goals attempted per game and possessions per game. When crunching numbers, Los Angeles ranks 22nd in pace of play and Phoenix 23rd.
The slower the pace, the fewer opportunities to score. The fewer opportunities, the fewer points.
It’s a perfect recipe for an under and one we’ll be betting on throughout the series.
Dallas Mavericks-LA Clippers UNDER 216 points
The final game of the Tuesday slate is likely to follow a similar script as the Lakers and Suns series.
Game 1 between Dallas and LA saw the Mavericks win, 113-103. The under hit in the opening series, and we’ll be betting on a repeat occurrence in Game 2. The logic is the same as above. Both of these teams have strong defenses and play at a slow pace. Their pace is even slower: the Mavericks rank 25th, and the Clippers rank 28th.
Two methodical offenses will always bring the total points down. These are two strong teams on both ends, and defense is, of course, part of that equation. The Dallas defense comes in at 12th in the NBA, while LA owns the fifth-best overall defense. It’s my belief that strong defense will always trump strong offense, and it’s logic we’re taking with us throughout this series.
Bet the under between Dallas and LA on Tuesday night.
Enjoy the entire NBA playoffs, with games every night for the foreseeable future - it’s a great time to be an NBA bettor.
Derek Hudson
Derek is a long time sports bettor who grew up in Providence, RI. Derek is data driven and believes the key to betting the sportsbooks is finding an edge in analytics. Derek is happily married and has two young boys. Derek will bet on anything if you let him.
