Breaking down odds boosts for NBA playoffs on September 3rd

We’ve got our first full second-round NBA Playoff slate on tap for Thursday, September 3rd. The Boston Celtics are looking to stay undefeated in the playoffs by going up 3-0 on the Toronto Raptors at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Los Angeles Clippers begin their series against the Denver Nuggets after a slugfest of a Game 7 between Denver and Utah. As a result, DraftKings Sportsbook is offering some odds boosts for the slate. Let’s take a look.

Celtics & Clippers to win boosted from +145 to +160

The Celtics are underdogs right now on DKSB at +2.5 against the Raptors. It’s mostly because many believed this series would be closer and the Raptors’ season is essentially on the line tonight. You don’t really come back down 3-0 in a series. With that said, the Celtics have won in a blowout and a close game. They’re playing fantastic defense and the Raptors are feeling the effects of not having Kawhi Leonard.

As for the Clippers, well they’re heavy favorites at -9 against the Nuggets. Considering the Clips haven’t played since August 30 and the Nuggets had a grueling 7-game series against the Jazz, many believe L.A. will come out and dominate Denver on Thursday. I’m of that school of thought as well.

So really, this bet comes down to whether you think Boston can go up 3-0. It’s going to be tough. I really can’t see a scenario where the defending champs don’t show up in this one. It’s the reason why they’re favored by almost 3 points despite being down 2-0 in the series. The thing we need to consider though is the line almost seems like it’s built in for the Raptors to be at home or something — which isn’t the case. So after two games with nothing really changing in the environment, I can see some appeal in this boost. Boston should probably be favored.

Jayson Tatum & Fred VanVleet each to make over 3.5 threes from +450 to +475

This one doesn’t really have much appeal to me. If we look at Tatum first, he’s only gone over this number twice in the postseason — Game 2 vs. the Raptors and Game 2 vs. the Sixers. He’s taking a decent amount of 3-point attempts but not enough to give me confidence he can hit 4 tonight.

FVV went over this number twice in the first round against the Nets. That was the Nets, though, they don’t play defense and all they do is chuck. The only thing that gives me hope for FVV hitting the over is he’s taken 23 attempts from downtown against the Celtics so far. The volume is there, the Celtics are just doing a great job defensively against VanVleet. I don’t see why that won’t continue tonight.

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