The Boston Celtics (66-24 SU, 46-43-1 ATS, 47-42-1 O/U) will be looking to even their second-round Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Orlando Magic (64-25 SU, 52-36-1 ATS, 38-51 O/U) at one victory apiece when the two Eastern Conference rivals square off at TD Banknorth Garden tonight at 8 PM ET.
The long, grueling regular season is over and the NBA playoffs are ready to tip off this Saturday.
Sixteen teams, eight from each conference are all dreaming of bringing home the Title, but only one team will make that dream a reality.
Here is a brief preview of each team along with their odds of winning the 2009 NBA Championship.
The Charlotte Bobcats (35-45 SU, 46-34 ATS, 37-41-2 O/U) and New Jersey Nets (33-47 SU, 42-37-1 ATS, 42-38 O/U) will both be gunning for an SU and ATS victory in the BetUS Sportsbook when they square off at the Izod Center tonight at 7:30 PM ET.
Last game out the Nets grabbed a one-sided win over the Magic, winning 103-93 at IZOD Arena Saturday night, and the Bobcats fell 113-106 to the Bulls, as 9.5-point underdogs. The 219 points fell UNDER the posted total of 199.5.
NBA Basketball Sports Betting
DOUBLE PLAY FOR SATURDAY
BetUS NBA Basketball Sports Betting Matchup:
Golden State Warriors (28-50 SU, 37-40-1 ATS) at Utah Jazz (47-31 SU, 38-40 ATS)
Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City — 9 PM ET
NBA Oddsmakers like LeBron James’ chances of capturing his first NBA Title as his Cleveland Cavaliers are now the favorite to win it all this season.
The Cavs, with just four losses in their last 27 games, moved to +175 odds and are now listed in front of the previously favored L.A. Lakers.
“Cleveland looks great right now and a lot of bettors are feeling like this is LeBron’s time to win a championship,” said Sportsbook.com spokesman Dave Staley. “This team is unbeatable at home and if they get home court in the playoffs, they’ll be tough to take down.”
News flash: Cavaliers/Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Big 3 back in December were the Lakers out West and the Celtics and Cavs in the East.
Two of those three were expected to meet in the NBA Finals. Not much has changed since, with the exception of all the injuries to key players preventing any other team from cracking that elite list.
EXPERTS POST ODDS ON EVERY POSSIBLE SCENARIO
New York, NY – The NBA’s All-Star festivities have wrapped up which means the second half of the season is ready for liftoff. With all of the tumult that came with first half action, experts are predicting an explosive conclusion to the season. Fans across the country are amped and speculation is at an all time high with regards to coach firings, MVP, and of course championship odds.
The NBA is heading for their All-Star bash and things have been looking good for the defending champion Boston Celtics.
Sure they lost 110-109 in OT to Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers last night, failing to cover as 6.5-point home faves, but despite the tough loss in that highly entertaining matchup, things are pretty rosy in Beantown.
The Los Angeles Lakers are still the favorite to win the NBA Championship even with Andrew Bynum’s latest injury.
Bynum will be out 8-12 weeks after tearing a knee ligament, but the Lakers are still the 2:1 favorite to win the NBA Championship at Sportsbook.com. Three Eastern Conference teams are next on the title list with the defending champion Boston Celtics at 5:2, the Cleveland Cavaliers at 11:4 and Orlando Magic at 6:1.
The three leading candidates for the NBA Rookie of the Year award are all on display Tuesday night in a mammoth 12-game schedule.
The NBA is off on Wednesday for Christmas Eve but will resume on Thursday with five nationally televised games including the huge one between NBA Finalists, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t covered a spread in their last seven outings, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting their game or future odds.
Los Angeles (21-3) has been at least an 11 ½-point favorite for the last seven games, and while they’ve won six of them, they are 0-7 against the spread (ATS).
Sure, BetUS NBA sports betting fanatics, everyone knows the Boston Celtics (+125) and Los Angeles Lakers (+115) look like absolute locks to reach the 2008-09 NBA Finals in the BetUS Sportsbook, but hoops fans and bettors everywhere should know that nothing is etched in stone no matter how powerful any particular team looks, particularly at this early juncture of the regular season.
Let me see if I’ve got this right. The Phoenix Suns (55-27 SU, 39-40-3 ATS, 45-37 O/U), were agonizingly close to reaching the NBA Finals four straight seasons under head coach Mike D’Antoni, playing an entertaining up-tempo brand of basketball that literally altered the style of play of almost every team in the league.
I know the Los Angeles Lakers (57-25 SU, 47-33-1 ATS, 40-41 O/U), surprisingly won the Western Conference last season and are favored to win the West again this season in the BetUS Sportsbook, but I’m here to warn my beloved Sportsbook NBA bettors that far too many basketball pundits are putting the cart before the horse when it comes to the Lakers!
The Memphis Grizzlies (22-60 SU, 35-46-1 ATS, 39-43 O/U), got explosive combo guard O.J. Mayo in a draft day trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but dropped the ball if you ask me by allowing talented big man Kevin Love to get away for another point guard just one season after drafting former Ohio State product Mike Conley to be their ‘point guard of the future.’
The Los Angeles Clippers (23-59 SU, 33-49 ATS, 35-47 O/U), can change the names on the back of their uniforms all they want – this is clearly a franchise that is clueless when it comes to building a team for sustained success.
