The 76ers blast confetti all over the court and in the stands as a gratuitous gesture of celebration, as the final horn sounds on every home victory. This season, the Sixers‘ first-year ownership group entered overloaded with gimmicks meant to make the game more enjoyable for a fan base accustomed to a decade of rooting for a franchise stuck closer to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings than the top. The 76ers are one Game 6 victory away from the franchise’s biggest win in nine years.

Allen Iverson will not be there. Larry Brown is now, improbably, back to college at SMU. He won an NBA title in Detroit then had trekked to New York. Billy King bet the future on Kyle Korver, Willie Green and Samuel Dalembert. All others who made pit stops in Philadelphia were former No. 1 overall picks Joe Smith, Chris Webber and Glenn Robinson. The Sixers suffered with Eddie Jordan and won with Jim O’Brien on the bench. The Sixers are trying to become the fifth No. 8 seed to win a first-round series against a No. 1 seed. Memphis also pulled off the rare feat by eliminating Denver (1994), New York (1999), Golden State (2007) and San Antonio last season.

On the other hand, the Bulls have no interest in joining the wrong side of history. Gibson left Game 5 clutching his right ankle, though he vowed to play Thursday, while Noah missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle and Rose, the defending NBA MVP, tore the ACL in his left knee late in the Bulls’ Game 1 win. The Sixers definitely have the injuries to credit for their 3-2 series lead

In any of the last three games, the Sixers have not cracked 90 points and they were held to 69 in the Game 5 loss. In a Game 4 victory, the Sixers shot 39 percent from the floor, 34 percent in a Game 3 win, and 40 percent in a Game 2 win. The Bulls are ravaged by injury and those percentages are only going to beat such a team.

For Game 6, Noah is still listed as day to day, while Gibson has vowed he will be in the lineup. A year ago, the Bulls reached the conference finals and believed after Game 5 they still had at least another round in them left this postseason.

The short-handed Raptors had their interior defense soundly beaten and their point guard bloodied last time out. Rajon Rondo leads the resurgent Celtics and his eagerness has highly motivated him for Friday night’s game.

Rondo is playing the best basketball of his career. The Celtics (34-24) try to overtake the Indiana Pacers for third in the Eastern Conference and try to win their fifth consecutive Atlantic Division title. For the 19th straight game, the point guard reached double figures in assists that matched to a season high with 20. On Wednesday, Boston won 88-86 over Atlanta in overtime and he recorded his NBA-leading sixth triple-double of the season. This achievement at Miami came one night after a big win.

John Stockton had a 29-game run Jan. 25-March 30, 1992 and Rondo’s streak is the NBA’s longest. Rondo is posting a 3.5-to-1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio during his streak, while he is averaging 13.7 assists.

Brandon Bass contributed 21 and 10, while Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Mickael Pietrus filled in for the injured Ray Allen. He left the bench at the start of both halves during Tuesday’s win in Miami with his ankles re-taped. This goes to show that it was bothering him.

During Boston’s West Coast road trip in mid-March, Allen missed six games after injuring the ankle. He received a cortisone shot shortly before his return, although an MRI revealed no structural damage in the ankle. Calderon is expected to play after a collision with Jrue Holliday, taking three stitches to his right eyebrow. In that match, his team faced a 93-75 loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Leading scorer Andrea Bargnani will not be available for the Raptors. He has missed the last two games with a calf strain. Rookie Ed Davis did contribute 13 points and 13 rebounds off the bench Wednesday for his second straight double double, unfortunately, Linas Kleiza may be unavailable after suffering a sore right knee.

Earlier this week, LeBron James dislocated the ring finger on his left, non-shooting, hand at Indiana and he said that this incident is one of the most painful moments that he can remember. This match was weighing heavily on him. He added that the doctors have advised him rest and it is the only recovery for it.

In the race for the NBA’s best record, the Heat is trying to snap a two-game slide that left them looking up at both Chicago and Oklahoma City. Thursday night match will the second and final meeting of this regular season between the clubs.

On Christmas Day, the Heat watched the Mavs raise their championship banner, and then built as much as a 35-point lead before settling for a 105-94 victory. The Mavs remember the opener, as the Heat remembers Dallas celebrating on their floor.

in 11 of their last 13 games, the Heat have been held under 100 points, and not even the most staggering stat. Miami was the league’s highest-scoring team at 103.8 points per game through March 1. The Heat is 25th at 93.1 points per game.

Miami has a 14-game home winning streak. In those 14-games, the margin of victory is over 10 points. The Heat endured double-digit losses in consecutive games, the first time since James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh became teammates nearly two years ago.

The Mavericks maybe turning things around after a stretch where they lost 11 of 18 games. They have won two straight. Dallas had the fifth-best record in the Western Conference on Wednesday and was only two games ahead of ninth-place Houston. Dallas has only six home games left, and three of those are next week.

Right now, there is not a lot of time for reminiscing over last year’s title run. Why Mavs owner Mark Cuban did not bring his championship ring on this trip to Miami may be one of the reasons. If the Mavericks are going to make a real playoff push, it probably should be starting right about now.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.