With three different series coming to a close Thursday night, the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs is almost finished. There are a lot of NBA betting notes this week, and much value to be had with NBA odds as we turn our eyes towards the second round and even farther ahead. Let’s dive in.
NBA Notebook: April 29
Click on each item to read the full update.
- Nets cut down
- Celtics announce themselves
- Barnes upsets for ROY
- Morant also upsets with MIP win
- Champs take a hit
- Upcoming NBA schedule
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NBA betting news for this weekend
Nets are searching for a scapegoat
The Brooklyn Nets’ season is finally, mercifully, over. Beginning with the 2021-22 campaign as NBA title odds favorites, the Nets limped into the playoffs via the play-in game and were summarily swept by the Boston Celtics. With such a disappointing finish, the inevitable finger-pointing has already begun. It’s not yet clear who will ultimately take the blame and what - if any - changes will be made to the structure of the team.
Steve Nash has already been floated as one such scapegoat, and while it’s difficult to argue he had a good season, he was also dealt a brutally difficult hand. Many coaches of lesser emotional intelligence would have seen Brooklyn’s season collapse well before the playoffs. For now, he appears safe, with Kevin Durant using his post-Game 4 press conference to go to bat for the former two-time MVP.
Kevin Durant has his 2-time MVP coach Steve Nash's back. ????
— Nets Nation (@NetsNationCP) April 26, 2022
"I'm proud of his passion for us"
pic.twitter.com/f7yrunpyeP
Ben Simmons, who had been on track to play in Game 4, ended up never suiting up for the Nets. Rather than this being a case where the Nets simply thought it pointless to play him, many in the Nets organization from players to staff were deeply disappointed to the point of exasperation that he elected not to play.
And, of course, Kyrie Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated was the first domino that set everything tumbling down. If this team stays together and gels over a full season, the Nets could still fulfill the promise of being a championship-caliber team. For now, though, they’re a cautionary tale that supreme talent alone is not enough to compete at the highest levels of the NBA.
Celtics are still being undervalued
The Boston Celtics are everything that the Brooklyn Nets were not. Years of developing chemistry and gradual improvement has blossomed into a team far greater than the sum of its parts. That the Celtics beat the Nets was not an upset, but that they swept them sent shockwaves through the media and NBA betting markets alike.
As of right now, the Boston Celtics are +350 to win it all at Betway, moving into second place overall ahead of the Phoenix Suns, who, for most of the season, were far and away the betting favorites. FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR system has the Boston Celtics with a whopping 39% chance of winning it all, which grows to an outrageous 47% chance via their ELO forecast.
In this together #CelticPride pic.twitter.com/p6rwSRjncb
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 26, 2022
RAPTOR has been high on the Celtics since the new year, but now markets and media skeptics alike are coming around to the fact that these Celtics are legit. With Robert Williams III making a swift return from his meniscus injury, they have every right to be considered the favorite to win the East, and the best value to bet overall.
Scottie Barnes wins Rookie of the Year
In what will hopefully serve as a salve for the now-eliminated Toronto Raptors, the NBA announced this week that Scottie Barnes has won the Rookie of the Year Award. Barnes was a somewhat shocking pick at fourth overall by Masai Ujiri, with many assuming that Toronto would take Jalen Suggs, fresh off NCAA tournament heroics. But the Barnes pick has paid off bigger and more quickly than all but the most devoted Ujiri loyalists might have imagined, and Barnes proved a large upset to ROY betting markets.
Oh how I love this. Scottie Barnes learns from a certain ex-Raptor that he is the 2021-22 NBA Rookie of the Year pic.twitter.com/PlHEdGJegD
— David Rider (@dmrider) April 28, 2022
Barnes began the season as a long shot behind Jalen Green, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, and Evan Mobley at +1,200 odds. For much of the year, Mobley seemingly had a stranglehold on the award, but Barnes’ stellar play down the stretch as the Cleveland Cavaliers ran out of steam seems to have made the difference. In the end, Barnes won by just 15 points, the thinnest margin of victory for a winner under the current voting system.
Ja Morant wins Most Improved Player
Continuing in awards news, the NBA also announced this week that Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies has won Most Improved Player. Ja made the leap this season from talented prospect to fully actualized All-Star starter (and shoe-in All-NBA player). But even though he had been the odds-on MIP favorite to win for months, his win was not without controversy.
Morant’s win reignited a debate about what the purpose of the MIP award truly is, with media members and players like Draymond Green weighing in to suggest that a player of Ja’s caliber winning is not in the spirit of the award.
I’m not staying quiet either @Money23Green regarding the #PooleParty being robbed of MIP. I’m still waiting for the cowardly media members who didn’t vote for the Poole Party to reveal themselves since, you know, that whole transparency thing’s important. pic.twitter.com/JDuo21wqeu
— Cyrus Saatsaz (@DogSurfRoadshow) April 24, 2022
These are the last five winners of the award before Ja: Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, Pascal Siakam, Victor Oladipo, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. All these players made leaps towards becoming All-Star players as Ja did, so his win is right in line with that trend. Only CJ McCollum and Ryan Anderson have won in the last 10 years without becoming an All-Star. Morant and the young Grizz still face a stiff challenge from the Minnesota Timberwolves, but they’ll have at least one piece of hardware to commemorate this outstanding season.
Khris Middleton diagnosed with grade 2 MCL sprain
The Milwaukee Bucks dispatched the Chicago Bulls in five games and have earned themselves a second-round matchup with the Celtics. But last year's champs suffered a serious blow to their title defense hopes in the process. All-Star guard Khris Middleton was first lost for the series but now could possibly miss the rest of the playoffs. Middleton has been diagnosed with a grade 2 MCL sprain, which carries a timeline of anywhere from four to eight weeks.
The left MCL injury of Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton is a Grade 2 sprain and he is expected to miss the entire second-round series vs. Celtics, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The recovery of Grade 2 MCL places a potential Conference Finals in jeopardy for him as well.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 28, 2022
That means Middleton is certainly not going to appear in the Bucks matchup with the Celtics, further clearing a path for the Celtics to make the Finals. If the odds to win it all aren’t to your liking, the Celtics are +150 to win the East.
NBA schedule for this weekend
Friday, April 29
• Grizzlies vs. Timberwolves (Game 6), 9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Saturday, April 30
• No games this day
Sunday, May 1
• Bucks vs. Celtics (Game 1), 1:00 p.m. ET, ABC
• Timberwolves vs. Grizzlies (Game 7), 3:30 p.m., ABC *If necessary
Monday, May 2
• Heat vs. 76ers (Game 1), 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
• Mavericks vs. Suns (Game 1), 10:00 p.m., TNT
Check out the full NBA schedule, matchups, odds, and more!
