As the basketball betting favorites to win the NBA title this year, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers get the honor of leading our postseason NBA Power Rankings as we prepare for the second season to start on Saturday.
1. (1) Cleveland Cavaliers (66-16): They just missed tying the record for home wins, but they pushed Philadelphia to overtime with their scrubs.
The Western Conference playoff race figures to be the Lakers versus the field.
Los Angeles has sprinted away from the pack this season while the #2 through #8 teams in the West are grouped as closely as any other season in the history of the NBA.
Even NBA betting players were focusing on the NCAA Tournament, but with the playoffs coming up, the NBA power rankings are returning with a new No.1 team, and some movement in the top 10.
1. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers (63-15): The Cavs finally take the top spot, but a blowout loss in Orlando last Friday is worrying. Sunday’s visit from Boston should be entertaining.
2. (1) Los Angeles Lakers (62-16): The Lakers didn’t do much to lose the top spot, but losing in Charlotte didn’t help. Andrew Bynum should be back very soon to join the Lake Show for their playoff run.
There’s a new No.1 team in the NBA, but not by much. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers will probably fight for the top spot for the rest of the year, and NBA betting players will have a tough time deciding which team to go with in their offshore sportsbook.
There isn’t much change near the top of the NBA power rankings this week, as the NBA betting favorites for the championship have stayed essentially the same, although Cleveland is hot on the Lakers’ heels.
(Last week’s ranking in brackets)
We are entering the stretch run of the NBA season, as All-Star Weekend and the trade deadline have passed us by. This means NBA betting players will be even more focused on the daily box scores of their favorite teams, and we’re here to try and give you a betting edge. As the standings show, home-court advantage is going to be HUGE in this postseason.
The Los Angeles Lakers are flowing with confidence on a four-game winning streak but they may be a bad bet tonight.
Sportsbook.com has Los Angeles as 11-point favorites with a Total of 196, but they haven’t fared well as big chalk this year. Tip-off is set for 10:30pm ET.
L.A. thrashed San Antonio 99-85 as 7 ½-point favorites on Sunday. The contest was so lopsided, Kobe Bryant only got off the bench in the fourth quarter for timeouts.
BetUS NBA Basketball Betting Odds: L.A. LAKERS -4.5, Total 202.5
Here are some of the NBA pro basketball online betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* CLEV has won 12 of its last 15 games SU
* CLEV has covered four of its last five games
Well, we are almost finished with one quarter of the NBA sports betting season, and maybe it’s time to look at where we are in terms of championship contenders and who may have emerged to improve their standing over the last time we talked, which was on the eve of the season opener.
Detroit Pistons (8-3) @ Boston Celtics (10-2)
Although the Detroit Pistons took a few games to adjust to their new backcourt weapon, Allen Iverson, all seems to be good in Motown as the Pistons head to Boston to face the Celtics in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.
The Los Angeles Lakers (7-0 SU, 6-1 ATS) will try to keep their record unblemished on Friday night when they play host to the Detroit Pistons (6-2 SU, 4-4 ATS) in NBA basketball sports betting action that is set to take place at 10:30 PM ET at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
