NBA Play-In Tournament Opening Odds: Warriors, Magic Favored to Earn No. 7 Seeds

Who will earn the final two playoff spots in the NBA in each conference?

Another edition of the NBA’s play-in tournament – one of Adam Silver’s best ideas – kicks off on Tuesday night with a pair of matchups for the No. 7 seed.

The Atlanta Hawks (No. 8 in the East) take on the Orlando Magic (No. 7 in the East) to open the action, and they’ll be followed up by a Golden State Warriors (No. 7 in the West) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (No. 8 in the West) clash that should be quite the game.

The winner of that matchup will play the Houston Rockets, while the winner of the Hawks-Magic matchup will play the defending champion Boston Celtics.

The No. vs. No. 10 play-in games are set for Wednesday, but luckily for bettors, there are already odds out for all of the matchups set through then.

Here’s a breakdown of those odds, and some trends to watch before betting on these games. Each day during the play-in tournament and playoffs, yours truly will have picks, previews, prop bets, and more for the NBA action.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Hawks vs. Magic Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

Hawks +5 (-110)
Magic -5 (-110)

Moneyline

Hawks: +180
Magic: -218

Total

217 (Over -110/Under -110)

This season, these teams split their four matchups, although Atlanta’s second win came on Sunday in a meaningless game for both sides.

The key in this matchup is going to be the pace of play. Atlanta loves to push the pace, which leads to it giving up a ton of points, but the Magic are a bottom-five team in offensive rating this season. If the Hawks can turn this into an offensive game and score early on a stout Magic defense, they may have the upper hand since Orlando is such a poor shooting team and may struggle from behind.

The Magic are 17-11 against the spread when favored at home this season while the Hawks are 18-12 ATS as road underdogs.

Grizzlies vs. Warriors Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

Grizzlies +7 (-110)
Warriors -7 (-110)

Moneyline

Grizzlies: +230
Warriors: -285

Total

229 (Over -110/Under -110)

Golden State won three of the four matchups between these teams during the regular season, including the lone matchup between the teams after the Jimmy Butler trade.

After Butler appeared to injure his leg late in Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, it’ll be interesting to see how he and the Warriors respond on one day of rest in this one.

Golden State enters this matchup at 13-17-1 against the spread when favored at home, while the Grizzlies are 9-11-1 against the spread as road dogs. Memphis has just two wins against teams that are over .500 since early February, when it beat the Milwaukee Bucks.

Heat vs. Bulls Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

Heat +1 (-110)
Bulls -1 (-110)

Moneyline

Heat: -105
Bulls: -115

Total

219.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Chicago swept the season series (3-0) between these teams, and it picked up a big win in April to essentially clinch the No. 9 seed.

Miami did finish the regular season strong, ranking in the top five in the NBA in net rating over its last 10 games. However, the Heat have been a tough team to bet on this season.

Miami is just 9-12-1 against the spread as a road underdog while the Bulls are 7-8 as home favorites. Chicago loves to push the pace, and if it turns this game into a track meet, it could spell trouble for a Heat team that posted one of the 10 worst offensive ratings in the NBA in the regular season.

Mavericks vs. Kings Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

Mavs +5 (-110)
Kings -5 (-110)

Moneyline

Mavs: +170
Kings: -205

Total

217 (Over -110/Under -110)

Sacramento swept the season series (3-0) between these two squads, but Dallas’ regular season is hard to judge since Anthony Davis played so sparingly during it.

The Mavs did show some signs of life with Davis in action late in the regular season while the Kings squandered several chances to lock up the No. 9 seed before finally doing it on the final day of the regular season.

This season, the Mavs are 14-15-1 against the spread as road underdogs while Sacramento is 12-16-3 against the spread when favored at home.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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