@KeepTheJuice21 NBA Playoff Picks - 4/18

If you were told that in Game 1 of this series, Harden would score 22 and Embiid would have 19, I’m guessing your prediction for the final score wouldn’t be the 76ers winning by 20. But Maxey had a career game and controlled the offense. So my question is what’s the bigger fluke, Maxey scoring that high or the stars scoring that low? To my eyes, it’s Maxey. The Raptors weren’t heavily doubling on Harden or Embiid, they just played tough defense. They’ll have to make adjustments to account for the young stud but the Raptors have played well against the best teams all year, this shouldn’t be any different. Nick Nurse will have the defense running well and this one should be close at the finish.

It’s very difficult to believe that the Mavericks will head to Utah down 2-0, with or without Luka. The final score from game 1 showed a deceptive margin for how close it really was. The Mavs were within a point of the Jazz with less than a minute remaining. If only a few shots had gone the other way, this game could’ve easily flipped to a home win. The Jazz are playing like a team of individuals, they’ve got talent but they don’t want to play together anymore. Dallas has carefully curated a team that works the opposite way. Jalen Brunson will need to step up a little more but we know he’s capable of it. Take the spread for some security but I like the Mavs to win this one at home.