Betting on NBA

The Eastern Conference favorites are back at it again early in the strike-shortened season. The Miami Heat, led by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, are 5-2 to win the NBA title in most online sports betting sites and they are living up to the hype this season.

The Heat have already lost three games this season, including a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers but they are still the No. 2 teams in the Eastern Conference. The Heat are once again taking a back seat to the 2011 MVP, Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls are the third favorite to win the NBA title but they are 10-2 and the No. 1 seed as they dominate their division and the Eastern Conference once again.

One huge surprise early in the season is the No. 3 seed, the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers are 7-3 after ten games but they are still getting no respect from the books. The Sixers are 60-1 to win the NBA title and anyone looking for a nice long shot in a strike-shortened season will be well-served to put a few bucks on the Sixers.

The downward spiral of the Boston Celtics looks like it is beginning. The Celtics are 4-5 and showing minimal signs of life. The Boston fans love to bet their green heroes and this is why the Celtics have odds of 8-1 but hey are far from worthy of being a favorite this season.

The Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard look like they are lying in the weeds and waiting for the playoffs. The Magic are well above .500 and at 20-1, they are a strong middle long shot to win the title.

On Thursday June 2, 2011 at 9:00 pm at AmericanAirlines Arena, Mavericks (57-25, 28-13 away) will lock horns against Heat (58-24, 30-11 home). There has been lots of excitement in the betting field arena. Heat is favorite to win the Game 2. The odds for Mavericks are 15/8 and Heat are 10/21.

During this postseason, Miami has been strong at home. It has remained unconquerable. At American Airlines Arena, they progressed their record to 9-0. After being prematurely deemed as a group that cannot close, Wade, Bosh and James persist to dictate fourth quarters. In the final four minutes and change, the three combined with 16 points, scoring every which very possible. They made the Mavs defense look helpless.

In Game 1, Miami showed how to defend Dirk Nowitzki. They proved their defense by doing a solid job in the crucial Game 1 of the Finals. Miami gave Nowitzki a combination of different looks, which worked out fine. Miami’s defense would be a big factor especially against Nowitzki. They need to keep up the same strength in their defense.

In the fourth quarter of Game 1, Nowitzki injured himself, while he was stripping the ball from Bosh. The incident occurred a little under 4 minutes left in the opener. Nowitzki had suffered a torn finger, making things worse for Mavs. However, fortunately for Mavs, Nowitzki does not feel the injury is a big worry. He also claimed that he might not need a splint, to play in Game 2.

Overnight figures for Game 1-NBA finals opener were the highest ever since the 2004 series between the Pistons and Lakers. Between these same teams, it was up 15 percent from the start of the 2006 series.

The Miami Heat will take on the Boston Celtics in the 5th game of their best of 7 game series. The Heat are currently ahead 3-1 in the series and the Celtics have their backs against the wall.

NBA playoff betting has the Heat as a 7-point favorite and the over/under total at 181.

This seems to be somewhat of a bizarre postseason as the Lakers were swept in this round and now the Celtics face elimination. These teams were seen by many as the favorites to go to the NBA Finals to square off in a rematch. Now it appears that both teams will be out of the playoffs as the Celtics need to beat the Heat 3 times in a row to stave off elimination.

The Celtics need a solid performance from Kevin Garnett if they are going to come back in this series. Garnett looked like the Garnett of old in game 3 of the series, but then simply looked old in game 4 as he was only able to score 7 points.

While the Celtics were able to slow down Wade and James during the regular season, these players have both been dominant against them in this series. Both players are averaging more than 26 points per game and they seem to come through in the clutch to carry the Heat through the tough parts of the game.

Rajon Rondo was injured in game 3 and he was clearly limited in game 4. The Celtics were forced to take him out of the game during overtime because they were struggling offensively and he couldn’t produce with his injury affecting him. The Celtics need Rondo at full strength to beat Miami and they’ll need to him to miraculously heal before game 5 of this series if they’re to have a chance.

This Wednesday, in opposition to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks will prepare to play the second game of their series and game two will be held in Los Angeles.

The Lakers are 7-point favorites in NBA betting odds.

As the game went down to the line before Dallas was able to take home the victory, game one was very much a thriller. It actually wasn’t very close for a good part of the 2nd half while the game was close at the end. It looked like the Lakers were putting the Mavericks away as they had a dominating run in the 3rd quarter.

The Mavericks managed to claw their way back into the game as they held strong. As there was a controversial foul called on Gasol while he was guarding Nowitzki, they finally took the lead in the last minute. In order to take the lead Nowtizki hit his free throws.

There was another controversial play on the other end of the court as Kobe Bryant appeared to be fouled by Jason Kidd, causing him to fall and lose the ball. The Mavericks forced a turnover as there was no call on the play.

The Lakers can’t complain too much after squandering an enormous lead in the 3rd quarter while there were some questionable calls at the end. Although the Lakers also showed a susceptibility to slack off and allow Dallas back into the game, they definitely showed that they can play superior basketball to the Mavericks when they are playing their game. For the Los Angeles Lakers, game 2 will be a must-win situation.

This week in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia 76ers will battle against the Miami Heat. In the Eastern Conference playoffs this will be the 3rd game of a best of 7 games series.

The over/under total at 187 as NBA betting odds have the Heat as a -210 favorite.

The Heat has shown no signs of slowing down as they have dominated the series to this point. Even though in their last contest the 76ers were beat down by the Heat, Miami had a rough start in the first game and allowed Philadelphia to stick around for a while.

To keep up with the 76ers, the Heat simply has too much talent and too many stars. To consistently carry the 76ers’s through tough stretches, they don’t have that “go-to” guy on their team.

As game 3 will be on the 76ers’ home court they do have a chance to get things rolling. They at least have a chance of stretching out the series if they can win this game. There is a good chance that they series do not make it past 4 games for the 76ers if they lost this game. In game 3 look for the 76ers to bring their best effort of the series.

This series is needed to close by the Heat. They can’t afford to lose any games and trigger a losing streak as they were susceptible to losing streaks and rough stretches throughout the season. It will give them a lot of momentum entering their second round series against their probable foes, the Boston Celtics if they are able to sweep this series. In basketball picks, the Miami Heat is favorites to win this match.

The Boston Celtics played their way into a battle with the New York Knicks for the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Celtics have been struggling since their trade of Kendrick Perkins and now that Shaquille O’Neal is damaged heading into the playoffs, the Celtics find themselves with their backs to the wall.

Boston is among the top favorites to win the NBA Championship at 5-2. NBA Handicapping has the Knicks at 50-1.

Amare Stoudamire and the Knicks have not been world beaters since their addition of Carmelo Anthony but this is the second season of the NBA. The Celtics will need to change gears and learn how to play without a steady big man in the middle.

Result for the Celtics over the last six games is a 3-3 record and the word old has been kicked around by many close to the organization. The Celtics last three losses came to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls and the No. 2 seed Miami Heat as well as a loss to the Washington Wizards.

One question revolving around the Celtics will the age and health of their big man and team motivator Kevin Garnett. If Garnett is ready to go and healthy for this series the Celtics have a chance but if he struggles and is battling ailments the Celtics may make a quick exit.

Carmelo Anthony and Stoudamire also have something to prove in this series. Anthony has been ridiculed since leaving the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets have flourished without him and the Knicks have been average at best since his arrival in New York.

The Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Hornets will play this Friday. This game will have meaning for the Hornets, but the season is over for the Suns.

The Hornets are at 100-1 to win the NBA Championship in NBA Odds.

The Hornets are 44-33 and they are in line to take the 7th position in the playoffs. The Hornets are in a spot where they could fall to the 8th position, but they are also just one game back from the Trailblazers and they could sneak into the 6th spot if they finish the season with a streak.

Finishing in the 6th spot would be very advantageous to the Hornets. In their current position they will likely have to play against the San Antonio Spurs or the Los Angeles Lakers. These are the two strongest teams in the conference and they would be at a large disadvantage if they had to take on either of these teams in the first round. There is a significant drop off after those teams and getting into the 6th spot will be the goal of the Grizzlies, Hornets and Trailblazers.

The Suns are out of the race and they are below .500. It will be interesting to see if the Suns continue to go out and try to win games or if they decide to allow some of their younger players to get some time to develop. The Suns are usually a team that brings everything they have to the table, but they may not in this one.

This is a very important game for the Hornets to win if they want to advance in the playoffs.

This weekend the Atlanta Hawks will take on the Boston Celtics and both these teams have already qualified for the Eastern Conference playoffs. If the Hawks are able to find their way out of the first round of the playoffs against the Orlando Magic, there is a decent chance that these teams will meet up at some point during the playoffs.

In NBA Odds to win the NBA Championship the Celtics are now at 10-1 whereas Boston has slipped in NBA Odds.

After a scary slide the Hawks have finally managed to turn things around. Even though they have at least managed to win 2 games in a row, they still have won just 5 of their last 10 games. On the season they are now 42-32. In order to win in their preparations for the playoffs, this would be a huge game for the Hawks. Against teams like the Celtics, winning games can often build a team’s confidence and help them on their way to a winning streak.

As of late the Celtics have been fairly mediocre. They are allowing the Chicago Bulls to run away with the best record in the Eastern Conference as they have won just 5 of their last 10 games.
Throughout the playoffs that will mean that the Bulls will have home court advantage. As the Bulls are a much poorer team on the road than they are at home the Celtics need to do whatever they can to take those honors back. In the standings they are currently two games behind the Bulls.

The Celtics will be tough to score on for the Hawks as they have the best defense in the NBA. To step up and play like a superstar the Hawks need Joe Johnson. Paul Pierce will be forced to play good defense by this and will take away from his offensive production. Between two solid teams this should be a great game.

The New Jersey Nets will head to Atlanta to take on the Hawks this weekend. The Hawks will be the home team in this game. The Hawks have been a solid team at home this season, going 21-14 in games played in Atlanta. The New Jersey Nets are not much of a road team and will be heavily disadvantaged in this game. They are 4-29 while playing on the road this season.

Both teams are non-factors to win the 2011 NBA Championship in NBA odds, the Hawks at 100-1 and the Nets at 5000-1.

The Nets looked like they were on their way up last week as Deron Williams had the team on a solid winning streak. The Nets have since fallen again and they have now lost 3 games in a row. The Nets could be in big trouble in this game as Deron Williams has been struggling through a wrist injury and may not be available for this game.

The Hawks will be the favorites in this game, but they will be even more heavily favored if Williams is unable to play in this game. Williams helps the team in so many ways and the Nets will struggle to create good shots offensively without him.

The Hawks are probably set in the 5th spot in the Eastern Conference and they may or may not have a sense of urgency in this game. The Hawks could either try to build some momentum entering the playoffs, or they could try to find some rest for their starters before the playoffs approach.

The Hawks should be able to take home a victory in this game so long as they are able to play their normal game and they are the favorite to win this game in NBA picks.

The Chicago Bulls are headed to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks this weekend. The Bulls are in excellent position, as they are currently tied with the Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls will need a victory in this game as home court advantage will be very important to them in the playoffs.

Chicago is now one of the top favorites to win the NBA Title, at 7-2 in NBA Picks.

The Bulls are 30-4 while playing in Chicago this year, but they are just 19-15 while playing on the road. In order to secure home court advantage, they will have to win some games on the road as the season comes to a close. This game against Milwaukee will be a good chance for the Bulls to show that they can be successful on the road.

The Bucks are in desperate need of some victories as the season comes to a close. While they will probably not finish with a record of .500, they still have a chance at earning a playoff spot. They are currently 1.5 games behind the Pacers for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Bucks have won 2 games in a row and they have won 5 of their last 10 games.

The Bucks will need solid guard play if they hope to take home a victory in this game. Their guard play will have to be solid offensively and defensively. If they allow Derrick Rose to penetrate into the paint, they will be in big trouble in this game.

The Bulls should be able to win this game if they are able to bring their normal effort. They are the favorite to win this game in basketball betting lines odds.