NBA Playoffs Picks - The King Is Dead
The King is dead, long live the King.
This is the rallying cry in Texas now as Dallas took care of the Lakers in 4 straight and hoop bettors have to give them a very good chance at covering more often than not as the long winding road continues.
In this world of instant gratification, all bettors have to resist the temptation to take one or 2 game of any series and draw finite conclusions similar to the everyday fact that the sun will come up.
When sports betting the playoffs online this season, bettors have to keep their collective heads and just like how a golfer or a ball player must do, a bettor can not get too high or too low about any one result but keep the eye on the prize and take things one thing at a time.
Dallas looked like they were dead in the water after they blew a 23-point lead to Portland in the first series when Brandon Roy had a career game, but they steadied the ship enough to sweep the Lakers right out of contention this season
History was against the Lakers to win in all as only three teams in history have rebounded after going 0 and 2 at home but the Lakers did it in 1969, the Rockets broke the hearts of the Suns in 1994 and they were stunned again 11 years later by Dallas.
The Lakers somewhat tried to do what no team has ever done and that’s come back from 3-0 but the way they went out, like chumps, is a whole new story.
Sorry, just can condone throwing cheap shots when the game is all but over. If a team collectively wants to send a message that means something, they have to get physical early in the series and let it be known early and often that the road to the championship goes through them.
The Lakers just did not do that. They flat-out got punked.
Kobe didn’t look right the whole series. He only had one hoop going to the basket in the first 3 games and that is not his game.
Pau Gasol was missing in action. He was tossed around, out hustled, out defended and he looked like he was playing basketball for the first time.
As for Dallas, they covered all 4 games with the Lakers and they covered nine of their last 10-playoff games with a push.
That’s solid.
The way they are structured gives them a legit chance to come out of the West.
Jason Kidd is not the spry point guard of years past, but he controls the tempo as well as anybody in the game and can still hit a three on occasion.
The two guard Deshawn Stevenson doesn’t fill up the box score, but he does the little things like box out and defend that doesn’t always show up.
Shawn Marion has re-invented himself at the three spot while Tyson Chandler has made a huge difference on the defensive end because he is vocal, aggressive and smart.
And there is nobody on the planet that can stop Re-Dirkulous, Dirk Nowitzki.
Jason Terry is arguably the best guard coming off the bench in the league. Brendan Haywood can give Chandler a rest and he’ll defend, while Jose Barea goes to the hoop with a vengeance and nobody on the Lakers could stay in front of him.
Dallas will have the experience NBA betting edge on either Memphis or Oklahoma who will be in the Western Finals and that may be the difference at the end of the day.
Bettors have to respect Dallas as a cover team in every single basketball betting game here on out.
