Boston (2) vs. Chicago (7)
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Key to series: First Tom Brady, and now this? Garnett’s injury takes title No. 18 out of play, but the Celtics should have enough juice to get by the Bulls. The battle at point guard should be ferocious, with Rose and Rajon Rondo both at full throttle.
Orlando (3) vs. Philadelphia (6)
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Key to series: Orlando needs decent play from its perimeter players to clean things out a bit for Howard. Andre Miller is a smart point guard who should outplay Rafer Alston.
Atlanta (4) vs. Miami (5)
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Key to series: Someone, perhaps improving-by-the-minute Michael Beasley, has to step up and take heat off Wade. If that happens, the Heat move on. Hard to see Miami getting beyond Round 2, though.
Denver (2) vs. New Orleans (7)
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Key to series: Does Billups have much gas left in the tank?
Denver: 54-28
New Orleans : 49-33
Season series: Tied 2-2
Head-to-head:
Denver 101, (at) New Orleans 88
(at) New Orleans 94, Denver 81
(at) Denver 105, New Orleans 100
New Orleans 105, Denver 101
Playoff schedule:
Game 1 – Sun April 19 New Orleans at Denver 10:30PM TNT
Game 2 – Wed April 22 New Orleans at Denver 10:30PM TNT
Game 3 – Sat April 25 Denver at New Orleans 1:00PM ESPN
Game 4 – Mon April 27 Denver at New Orleans TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 29 New Orleans at Denver TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 1 Denver at New Orleans TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 3 New Orleans at Denver TBD
Playoff Gambling Trends: Denver closed the season on a 14-3 run, which started with a win in New Orleans. The Hornets limp in, knowing that just a few more victories would have bumped them up 3 or 4 notches and given them home-court edge in at least one series. The Hornets are still smarting over the 7-game loss to San Antonio last season.
How Denver wins: Chauncey Billups will be outplayed by Chris Paul, but if Billups can moderate the damage, the Nuggets should be OK. George Karl figures out a way to keep Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith focused for 10 days. The Nuggets can play decent defense for a series, but it’s hard to see them dig in for a couple of months.
How New Orleans wins: NO takes full advantage of their edge at the point and Paul turns in big numbers against a weary Billups. James Posey comes of the bench and makes Anthony work for every shot.
Prediction: New Orleans in 7
Props, Halftime, Quarter Line, player props and more. All the lines are at Bodog!
Lawrence Paul is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog, and is a free-lance gambling and travel writer from Massachusetts. He is personally responsible for the election of Barack Obama and has also taught himself how to juggle? He can be reached at newenglandhoops.net.
San Antonio (3) vs. Dallas (6)
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Key to series: The benches. There are a lot of miles on the starters for both teams. Drew Gooden gives the Spurs some toughness which they lacked.
Portland (4) vs. Houston (5)
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Key to series: Stamina. This series should go 6 and could go 7, and Houston’s starters will have to log huge minutes which could be costly in the end.
Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs. Utah (8)
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Key to series: Pace. The Lakers can’t lose if this becomes a showtime series. Utah would prefer to play on mud.
Finally the NBA Playoffs are upon us. Not a minute too soon Craig Trapp has heated up with his NBA Plays going 10-2 last 10 days!! Today Craig will break down the future odds for the Western Conference Championship. Some great value to be had if you can get past the huge favorite: Los Angeles Lakers.
Bulls at Pistons (-4, 196) – 7:35 pm ET (NBA-tv)
Playoff Positioning
The good news for Chicago and Detroit is the fact they have both clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The bad news is that they will have to face Cleveland, Boston, or Orlando in the first round. Chicago (40-40) is currently 7th in the conference and one spot ahead of Detroit (39-41) who is currently seeded 8th. The Bulls could surpass Philadelphia for the 6th seed, but can not move any higher.
It’s the final weekend of the NBA’s regular season, and by the time we meet again next Friday, the playoff matchups will be set and we’ll be anxiously awaiting the tip-off of the postseason the next day. Until that happens however, there is still plenty left to be decided in terms of seeding in both conferences. While the 16 teams that will be participating in the playoffs are virtually set, who will be playing who remains far from.
With just a few games in the regular season in the NBA it’s about time to start examining the playoff picture. The Eastern Conference has a solid three teams that all can win the Eastern Conference crown. Let’s look at all three of these Eastern Conference favorites and break down their odds to win the NBA Eastern Conference.
Magic Look To Hand Cavaliers, James, Consecutive Losses
Cleveland at Orlando
The Cleveland Cavaliers (61-14 SU, 45-30 ATS, 32-43 O/U) and the Orlando Magic (55-19 SU, 46-27-1 ATS, 34-40 O/U) will both be gunning for an SU and ATS victory in the BetUS Sportsbook when they square off at Amway Arena at 8 PM ET.
Nuggets To Narrowly Cover Against ATS Struggling Jazz Tonight – Utah at Denver
The Utah Jazz (46-28 SU, 37-37 ATS, 36-37 O/U) had their two-game winning streak snapped in its 125-104 rout at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.
Utah failed to cover the spread as a 6-point road underdog while the 229 combined points played well over the 194-point O/U total.
Veteran forward Carlos Boozer scored a team-high 20 points in the loss.
The NBA regular season is winding down fast and the games are becoming that much more important. Matt Fargo has been looking into Hot and Cold NBA bets throughout the season and he takes a look at four games that you will want to pay attention to coming up over the next few days.
Figuring out where it all went wrong for the Suns this season is like examining the McCain-Palin campaign. A mid-season coaching change and a complete offensive makeover haven’t been able to staunch the bleeding in the desert, and when the Western Conference regular-season music stops in a little over a week, the Suns will be the ones without an NBA playoff chair.
Below is a look at the most important NBA game in the Eastern Conference tonight.
Orlando Magic (-3, 194) at Miami Heat – 7:35 pm ET
Playoff Positioning
The Magic have clinched the Southeast division title and a top three seed in the upcoming playoffs; however Orlando is still battling with the Boston Celtics for the overall #2 seed and home court advantage in a probable second-round matchup.
