The 2024 NBA postseason is well underway, and the basketball betting market is hotter than ever. CBS Sports will provide daily picks for the duration of the postseason. Sam Quinn will make at least one pick for every game between now and the NBA Finals.
Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks
Do you think Isaiah Hartenstein is going to pull in 12 more offensive rebounds in Game 6? You shouldn’t, because there were only two other games this entire season in which anyone did so, and neither of them belonged to Hartenstein. The home team has won all five games in this series. Notably, the home team has also won the rebounding battle in four of the five games in this series, with the lone exception being the Knicks in Game 2. This series has more or less come down to whether the Knicks can generate extra shots. They took 29 more shots than the Pacers in Game 5. When those totals are closer, the Pacers have had an easier time generating good looks since OG Anunoby went down. The Pacers have held up their end of the bargain at home. I’m expecting them to continue to do so. The Pick: Pacers -6
The Pacers have the best home offensive rating in the playoffs at 125.3. That makes sense intuitively when you remember what kind of team they are. They’re young, they play a relatively egalitarian offense, and their best trait is pace. This is a team that needs to feed off of crowd energy, especially with the limited playoff experience that it has. I’m expecting more offense in their home building in Game 6. The Pick: Over 215.5
Tyrese Haliburton scored six points in Game 1. He was open about the fact that he needed to look for his own shot more afterward, and sure enough, he responded by scoring 34 points in Game 2 and 35 in Game 3. He fell back down to 13 in Game 5, but that same emphasis on individual shot creation will likely carry over to Game 6. Even if he’s not as efficient as he was in Games 2 and 3, he took 45 combined shots in those games. If he’s pushing 20 attempts, this line is low enough that he should be able to reach it comfortably. The Pick: Haliburton Over 20.5 Points
