Betting tips for NBA playoffs - Bucks-Celtics, Mavericks-Suns Game 7s

All odds are provided by Caesars Sportsbook.

Smart to fade Marcus?: Celtics point guard Marcus Smart has been cashing over tickets left and right of late, as he is averaging 18 points and shooting 55% from the field (45.5% from 3) over his past three games. Great. But you know what past numbers don't do? They don't cash today's tickets. But they do impact today's numbers. His 21 points on Friday night look great in a box score, but after the first quarter, he managed just seven points in more than 28 minutes on 3-of-9 shooting. That sort of usage down the stretch of a do-or-die game is concerning as we enter Game 7, especially when you consider that in the final three quarters of Game 6 — you know, when Boston's season was on the brink — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took more than 59% of its shots. It's reasonable to think the C's lean as much on their stars as ever in this game, something that could take usage off of Smart's plate. We've seen the scoring ceiling of late, but with a jumper that comes and goes, and exactly zero free throw attempts in three straight games (119 minutes of action), the scoring floor is lower than the prop market indicates.

Luka Magic: The only player with a stronger fantasy profile than Luka Doncic on Sunday is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Doncic has posted a usage rate of least 39.7% in each game of this series while averaging roughly 1.6 DraftKings points per minute. With nearly 75 fantasy points in Game 1 in Phoenix, Doncic looks to bookend this series against Devin Booker with yet another offensive opus.

Searching for stability: In any Game 7, the object is to give yourself a chance to win down the stretch. While both members of the Phoenix backcourt have had their ups and downs lately,