NBA Saturday playoff best bets: Bucks' offense ready to explode

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A couple No. 1 seeds look to take series leads while the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets can both go up 3-0 on a pivotal Saturday.

Here are the best bets for the four-game slate.

Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat (-5, 214)

I'll keep playing this under until it's properly adjusted. These two clubs have gone under the total in five straight meetings and they'll make it six on Saturday.

The Heat enjoyed a historic day from beyond the arc in Thursday's win, setting a franchise record for 3-pointers made in a playoff game (18).

Miami shot 47% from the floor and better than 50% from deep, yet still didn't cash its team total.

Meanwhile, the Pacers have shot roughly 46% from the field in the series, and they've struggled to reach 100 points in consecutive games.

Pick: Under 214

Orlando Magic vs. Milwaukee Bucks (-12, 226)

My biggest takeaway from Game 2? Milwaukee doesn't respect Orlando's defense. The Bucks' offense has played early in the shot clock all year, but there's a whole new sense of urgency when they have possession.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. took out their frustrations from Game 1 en route to a 111-96 win. The box score would have looked different had Milwaukee not taken its foot off the pedal in the fourth quarter (18 points). The Magic held their ground in the opening two games, but they're going to crack sooner than later.

Milwaukee's offense is due for a get-right game.

Pick: Bucks team total over 119.5

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers (-7, 225)

I'm not interested in the spread or total in this one. Instead, there are a couple of interesting player props.

Portland's Damian Lillard won't be 100% after dislocating his finger in Thursday's 23-point loss. L.A. found a way to suppress the Trail Blazers' offense by putting an extra defender on him in Game 2.

The results were nearly perfect: On 16 possessions doubling Lillard, the Lakers held the star to 2-of-13 shooting and forced two turnovers.

If the Lakers attempt to take away Lillard again in Game 3, it's going to free up others. The two I'd buy here are C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, who'll have to shoulder bigger roles if the Blazers are going to take a series lead.

Picks: McCollum over points and Nurkic over points

(Odds source: theScore Bet).

Alex Kolodziej is a betting writer for theScore. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 12 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AJKolodziej.