Bet On NBA Playoffs – Hungry Pups
The opening sports betting salvo in the NBA playoffs is not quite over but there are some trends already that need to be addressed.
The first and foremost thing is that of the first 19 games, online casino underdogs were 13-6 against the spread. Home teams have done well winning 14 of their first 19 straight up and favorites were 16-3 SU.
The Dallas Mavericks have played solidly so far. They won and covered their first 2 games vs. the Portland Trailblazers and pushed in the third game of the series.
The Memphis Grizzlies played great in the second half of the regular season and they seem to be ready to take on the top seed in the West, the San Antonio Spurs.
They won out right and covered in the first game of the series with the Texans and played them tough in the second game losing by six but covering by a bucket.
Betting the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers can be a shaky thing. First off, they are a popular team of the people and get over-bet off that fact alone.
They were stunned by the New Orleans Hornets when losing by 9 at Staples Center to kick off the series but there are reasons. Pau Gasol looked like a ghost of himself and he played one of the worst games in recent memory.
The second thing that killed the Lakers was the fact that Chris Paul attacked Derek Fisher and exposed him badly going for something like 33 and dropping 7 dimes.
In the second event of the series in Los Angeles, Kobe stepped up and guarded Paul and another the excellent point guard had a good game with 20 and 9 assists, he was obviously affected by the strong arm tactics of Kobe.
Kobe sacrificed his offensive game, only going 3 for 10 from the floor, but like it has been for a long time now, when Kobe trusts his teammates, they play better.
Andrew Bynum was a flat-out monster in that second game. The Lakers did not lose any single quarter and Bynum had a double/double despite fouling out after 31 minutes.
One more thing about L.A. before we tackle the Hawks is that Ron Artest has found a new gear. Ron Ron is averaging 7 more points in the playoffs then he did in the regular season and he’s shooting 45.5% from the field, rather than his sub 40% seasonal output.
Artest has scaled down his extra work and it has helped his conditioning. During the season, he would hit the training room and take endless extra jumpers but he is resting a bit more and has more in the tank.
That could be the difference between a three peat and a disappointing season.
Atlanta beat Orlando soundly in Florida to kick off the series then covered the second game when they got 9 and a half points and lost by 6.
Despite Dwight Howard doing his impersonation of Wilt Chamberlin, Orlando has looked confused and soft most of the time.
Atlanta has a lot of fouls to give in the paint and as long as Josh Smith and Joe Johnson play to their potential, they will be a very tough sportsbook promo out.
