Posted on
5/2/2008 2:09:44 PM
NBA Furious Playoff Picks 2008 – Boston to Finally Silence Atlanta
By Tim Furious
Boston Celtics (66-16) vs. Atlanta Hawks (37-45)
Friday, May 2nd --- Philips Arena, Atlanta --- 8:00pm EST
Series: Bos 3-2
NBA Betting Line: Boston -8 (189)
If we learned anything from the online betting rollercoaster Detroit-Philadelphia series, it’s that the cream will rise to the top in the Eastern Conference. The fact remains that veteran experience is virtually impossible to overcome when you’re a young team on the rise (unless you happen to have LeBron James). And that’s the sour lesson that Atlanta is learning in this series.
After two brilliant and thrilling games in Atlanta, that evened the series, Boston laid the hammer down in a lopsided 110-85 thrashing of their Southern counterparts. You didn’t hear any of the Hawks chirping during that game.
The man that keyed off the catastrophe for Boston was their MVP, Kevin Garnett. The Big Ticket slammed, swapped and swatted his way to a 20-5-7 game, with his block of Josh Smith being the most noticeable play of the game. What’s sad for Atlanta is that KG shouldn’t even have been on the court after shoving a referee in Game 4. It is a bird? Is it a plane? Oh no…it’s David Stern’s credibility tumbling out of the sky.
Boston is now 7-2 ATS in their last 8 games and are 12-5 ATS in their last 7 games on the road. They have gone 4-2 ATS in their last 6 when playing Atlanta. But the boys from Beantown are also 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing in Atlanta. That last sentence, however, does not negate the fact that Boston is in complete control of this series.
It has been a very strong showing by the Hawks, but it will be impossible for them to overcome the devastation of Game 5. They are a young team, and scraping yourself off the floor is simply going to be too difficult in the face of one of the greatest teams ever assembled.
NBA Furious Free Pick: Boston -8 (OVER)
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