NBA Playoffs Acca and Predictions

The NBA Playoffs are in full swing, so Ladbrokes looks at the different markets available to bet on and puts together its NBA Playoffs acca and predictions.

Ladbrokes has taken a deeper look at some of the main playoff contenders, as well as explaining the structure of the NBA Playoffs for those new to the sport.

Here, we'll present our NBA Playoffs acca and predictions for this week's Game 5 matchups, and see which prop bets catch the eye.

There are a multitude of different ways to bet on the NBA Playoffs with Ladbrokes. Here are a few of the main ones.

• Money Line refers to the outright winner of a particular match.
• Handicap Betting, also known as point spread betting, levels the playing field by adding and subtracting points from each team. For example, if the Celtics are favoured by 11.5 points, they must win by 12 or more for the bet to win.
• Prop Bets are wagers on specific markets within a game, such as a player's total points, rebounds or assists. An example of a prop bet would be backing Luka Doncic to score 25+ points.
  

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the current favourites to win the NBA Finals, closely followed by last year winners the Boston Celtics.

NBA Conference Semi-Finals (best of seven):

West

Oklahoma City Thunder 4-3 Denver Nuggets

Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1 Golden State Warriors

East

Cleveland Cavaliers 1-4 Indiana Pacers

Boston Celtics 2-4 New York Knicks

The Pacers have taken control of the series and now lead the series 3-1 against the previously heavily favoured Cavaliers. Indiana now has a chance to wrap up the series in Game 5, after comfortably winning Game 4 129-109.

The Cavs, who were the #1 seed in the East, have been devastated by injuries in the playoffs. After losing Darius Garland and Evan Mobley for time earlier in the series, star man Donovan Mitchell picked up a knee injury in Game 4. Mitchell had been averaging over 40 points a game in the series so far.

Tyrese Haliburton has been clutch in the postseason, and his three-point dagger with 1.1 seconds left stole Game 2 120-119. The Pacers have shared the load on offense, with their starting five averaging at least 14 points per game in the playoffs so far.

Where Indiana has had balance, the Cavs' injuries have forced them to be a one-man show, which Mitchell had done superbly. With Cleveland's injury situation still uncertain, as well as the nature of Indiana's win in Game 4 - they were up by 41 points at half-time - we see the momentum carrying over and are tipping the Pacers to beat the handicap.

Pick: Indiana Pacers +8.5 handicap

This battle comes down to two MVP candidates - OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver's Nikola Jokic. The series is 2-2 heading into Game 5, after an entertaining back-and-forth series.

The Joker continues to put up absurd numbers, after averaging a triple-double per game during the regular season. Through the playoffs, Jokic is scoring 24.9 points, 12.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game. In the Nuggets' Game 1 win, the Serbian had a ridiculous 42 points and 22 rebounds. Too much focus on Jokic can backfire, though, as Aaron Gordon's two dramatic game-winners in the playoffs show.

SGA has continued his superb regular season form, averaging 29.7 points per game in the playoffs, while Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein are dominating off the board, averaging over 9 rebounds a game.

OKC have a chance to take control of the series with two games coming up at home. At home this season, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 31.7 points per game, so we're backing him for the over here.

Pick: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over 31.5 Points

It's panic stations in Boston, as last year's NBA Finals winners find themselves 3-1 down to the Knicks and potentially without star man Jayson Tatum for the remainder of the series. The Celtics have two home games coming up, but the rest of their impressive roster really needs to step up now in Game 5. A theme so far has been the Celtics' struggles in the fourth-quarter.

They've also suffered for not having Kristaps Porzingis fully healthy. Tatum had been averaging 26.1 points and 12 rebounds per game through the playoffs. The Celtics have also suffered for not having Kristaps Porzingis fully healthy, so Jaylen Brown (22.1 ppg) and Derrick White (17.8 ppg) will assume greater roles.

The Knicks have revelled in the underdog role, and now have a chance to seal the series in five games. After losing all their regular season matchups against the Celtics, few would have seen this coming. Karl-Anthony Towns has a double-double in six consecutive games, while the defining image from this round could be Mikal Bridges' steals to see out victories in the first two games.

New York's star is undisputed though. Jalen Brunson, the Clutch Player of the Year, has shown it so far during the playoffs, inspiring multiple fourth-quarter comebacks against the Celtics and Pistons. Brunson averages 29.1 points per game during the playoffs, and we think he'll continue to light up the postseason.

Pick: Jalen Brunson Over 28.5 Points

The Timberwolves have gone from dark horses to real contenders after dispatching the star-studded LA Lakers 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs, and now lead the Golden State Warriors 3-1 heading into Game 5. Their odds to win the NBA Finals have been slashed from 66/1 to 8/1.

You can't rule a team as experienced as the Warriors out, but their chances have been severely impacted by the injury to Steph Curry, who has played just 13 minutes of this series. They look to be out on their feet after seven games against the Rockets, and outside of Jimmy Butler have few scoring options.

Anthony Edwards' ascent to stardom continues with 27 points per game in the playoffs, while Rudy Gobert is showing his four-time Defensive Player of the Year pedigree. The feel-good story for Minnesota has been Julius Randle, who is having a breakout in the postseason with 23.3 points per game, including 31 in Game 4.

'Ant Man' has scored 30 points in each of the last two, and we're backing him to make it three in a row as the T-Wolves look to go one step further than last year's runners up.

Pick: Anthony Edwards Over 28.5 Points

Ladbrokes' selections for this week's NBA Playoffs acca and predictions are:

• Indiana Pacers +8.5 handicap (4/5)
  
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over 31.5 Points (10/11)
  
• Jalen Brunson Over 28.5 Points (10/11)
  
• Anthony Edwards Over 28.5 Points (10/11)
  

You can place these selections individually, or can combine them into an acca at odds of 11.52/1, as seen below.

Agree with our picks, or think you know better? Good luck, and always bet responsibly!

View the latest NBA odds here.

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.