At the time of writing, there could be two Game 7 matchups Sunday, depending on the outcome of Friday’s Boston vs. Milwaukee game. For now, all eyes are in the Valley. You can wager on this game in our sportsbook.

Game info

Sunday, May 15

Odds

Phoenix is a -6 point favorite on the spread and -260 on the moneyline to win and advance. Dallas is a +210 underdog and the Total Points Over/Under is 208.

Matchup History

The series is tied 3-3 and Dallas has covered the spread in three of the last four games. Phoenix swept the regular season series against Dallas in each of the last two seasons.

The overall matchup history favors Phoenix 94-74 in the regular season. This is the third time these teams have met in the playoffs and second time in the Conference Semifinals. Both teams have won a series and have 9 wins against. Their last playoff series was in the 2006 Conference FInals when Dallas won 4-2 on the way to its first Finals appearance.

The Series So Far

The home team has won every game in this series by 9 points or more.

Facing elimination in Game 6, Dallas dominated 113-86, leading by 15 at halftime. Luka Doncic posted 33 points and 8 assists in the win. In Phoenix, Doncic has not had the same support around him as he is getting at home. He has been consistent though. Going into Game 6, Doncic’s teams were 0-2 in elimination games.

Even with three poor showings in Dallas, the Suns have been the better team in this series. They are shooting 49-percent from the field and 41-percent from three. While Devin Booker and Chris Paul have struggled on the road, Deandre Ayton continues to produce regardless of the site. He is averaging more than 17 points and 8 boards, shooting a hair under 60-percent for the series. The Mavs do not have a player who can effectively match up with Ayton, but help defense has worked in spots. In particular, bringing Dwight Powell to help off the dribble has been the best defense against Ayton.

Outside of Doncic, Dallas has not had another player elevate in this series. Jalen Brunson had a phenomenal series in the first round against Utah but has remained relatively quiet against Phoenix. Dallas has built runs off of turnovers and by allowing Doncic to penetrate and find shooters beyond the arc. When those shots fall, the Mavs stay in the game.

The elephant in the room

We need to talk about what could be looming over this game. There is a possibility referee Scott Foster is assigned to officiate Game 7. Why is this important? Chris Paul’s teams have lost 14-straight games when officiated by Foster. It is never good when we know the name of an official, or think about him when analyzing a game. Foster was on assignment for Friday’s game between Boston and Milwaukee.

Prediction

The trend in this series has been for the home team to bring much more energy to the court than the road team. Home court aside, the Suns are a significantly better team. They have better defenders at every position and there is not an apparent offensive weakness in the starting five or top of their bench rotation.

Dallas is dependent on Doncic to be great all too often. He is still ailing from a calf injury that sidelined him in the first round. It was evident again in Game 6 when he was seen being treated on his way to the locker room.

Paul will benefit from the extra day’s rest and Booker will get back in rhythm. Phoenix wins and covers the spread.

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Before the start of the season, you can make your big prediction on who will win the championship in August. With 36 games ahead, anything can happen. This is the best time to lock in the best odds on your futures picks. Let’s break down the odds on the 2022 WNBA Champion and make our wagers.

Sun top Sky in odds

Oddsmakers are expecting this WNBA season to be tight at the top with at least four teams threatening to dethrone Chicago and win it all.

Candace Parker and Chicago will not celebrate long into the season. It is time to get to work. The Sky +425 have just the fourth-shortest odds in the league to win the title. The team may be the deepest in the league along with having top-end talent like Parker, Courtney Vandersloot and Kahleah Copper. In the offseason they added Julie Allemand which will bolster the second unit and again keep them in contention.

The Connecticut Sun are the team that is most expected to leap to the top of the league after a surprising 2021 campaign. At +300, the Sun get Alyssa Thomas back for a full season after missing a large part of last year with an Achilles injury. With Thomas out, Jonquel Jones stepped up and won league MVP. Having the duo together with Jones elevating her game makes Connecticut very formidable. They boast six players who have made the All-Star Game. This team could be dominant.

Title Favorites are neck-and-neck

The Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm are again in the mix after appearing in the 2020 Finals. Las Vegas +350 suffered a couple losses in the offseason, particularly with Liz Cambage heading to the Sparks. They also made a couple moves to stay strong though, particularly re-signing A’ja Wilson and adding Becky Hammon as a head coach. Hammon has long been considered one of the best head coaching candidates in basketball at every level, including the WNBA and NBA. The former superstar guard is a perfect match for the most versatile backcourt duo in the league in Wilson and Chelsea Gray.

Finally the Storm +400 are a team which could certainly boom or bust. This starts with the play of Sue Bird, who returns for her 21st season in Seattle. She showed no signs of slowing down, averaging better than 10 points, 5 assists and making her 12th All-Star appearance. If her production holds up, the trio of Bird, Breanna Stewart and Jewell Lloyd can make a lot of noise.

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As the series moves to Milwaukee for Game 3, we break down the series so far and make our prediction on who will win Saturday.

Here is what you need to know before wagering on Game 3 of this NBA Playoff series.

Game Info:

Saturday, May 7
3:30 p.m. ET on ABC

Odds

Milwaukee is a -3 favorite on the spread against Boston, taking -145 odds on the moneyline. The Celtics are +125 on the moneyline and the Total Points Over/Under is 213.

Matchup History

The Bucks have a 3-2 edge in the last five meetings between these teams, winning two of those games at home. The Celtics are 4-1 against the spread in those games. All time the Celtics are 114-109 against Milwaukee.

The Series so far

Milwaukee was dominant on both ends of the floor in Game 1 at TD Garden, winning 101-89. They held the Cs to just 33-percent shooting from the field, had a 54-48 rebounding advantage and had a 28-8 edge in fastbreak points. They led by as much as 17 points and had six more field goal attempts than Boston.

Game 2 was a far different story. The duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum came up big with 30 and 29 points respectively, while Grant Williams added 21 off the bench. The combination of Robert Williams and Al Horford were aggressive on both ends of the floor against Giannis Antetokounmpo. Horford finished with 11 rebounds and 11 points while Williams was a +12 on the floor.

The Celtics also flipped the script in Game 2, shooting better than 46-percent from beyond the arc while holding the Bucks to under 17-percent. They had a 40-37 rebounding edge and limited Milwaukee to 6 fastbreak points.

Who has the edge in Game 3?

This is going to be a long and taxing series for both teams. It has been punch, counterpunch so far. While the Celtics were able to limit the Greek Freak’s attempts to barrel down the court to the bucket in Game 2, the Bucks were still hammering the paint all night. There is seemingly no defense for Antetokounmpo, who can get down the court in three dribbles, lower his shoulder to contact, often getting the call and the score.

The most glaring stat in the Game 2 box score is 2 points from Brook Lopez. He and Bobby Portis are the secret ingredient to Milwaukee’s success. They tipped things toward the Bucks in the Finals last year and need to be active and aggressive to out-muscle these Celtics.

While nobody can truly guard Giannis, the same is true about Tatum and Brown. Jrue Holiday is the best bet to slow one of them down but he can’t guard both. The Celtics have a real shot at unseating the defending champions even after surrendering home-court advantage.

For Game 3, we are expecting a response from the Bucks. The first two games ended with large winning margins, reflecting one team imposing its will. From here on, it is going to be a much tighter series of games. The Bucks will get the win in this one by 3, but do not take a spread any larger than that.

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