Online NBA Sports Betting – Top Seeds In West Look To Even Series’ Before Heading On The Road
While the MLB betting season has already gotten underway, early baseball has hardly been able to take the attention away from some of the intriguing playoff matchups in the NBA opening round this year. Those postseason showdowns continue this week, with some key games to look forward to.
Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Wednesday, 8:00 PM ET
While an exciting game one came down to a potentially illegal tip in that counted in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s favor, this series between the fourth and fifth seeds in the Western conference is still wide open. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 72 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Thunder to a 107-103 win in the series opener, but it was a put-back by Kendrick Perkins in the final minute that was the difference in the win. Nuggets’ head coach George Karl was adamant after the game that the no-call was one of several that ended up costing his team, but also noted that in the end his team will simply have to play better. Led by 22 points from Nene, Denver had no problem putting up points but really struggled to stop Oklahoma City’s onslaught. Durant and Westbrook combined for almost 10-times more points than the rest of the team’s starters together, and if the Nuggets can find a way to slow them down they will have the chance to even the series. That’s easier said than done however, especially on the road.
NBA Betting Pick: Oklahoma City Thunder
Memphis Grizzlies @ San Antonio Spurs
Wednesday, 8:30 PM ET
If anybody thinks that this Grizzlies’ team is satisfied with securing the first playoff win in franchise history, they couldn’t be more wrong. After establishing a blueprint to getting the job done, fans in Memphis understand completely well that this team is strong enough to push the Spurs if they execute to their potential. That said, it’s difficult to envision a San Antonio team that won 61 games during the regular season dropping their first two postseason games at home to an eighth seed. That is especially true considering that the blue print will change with guard Manu Ginobili back in the lineup for the Spurs. Ginobili is an integral piece to San Antonio’s makeup at both ends of the floor, and he will make the difference to help his team pull even in the sports betting series.
NBA Betting Pick: San Antonio Spurs
New Orleans Hornets @ Los Angeles Lakers
Wednesday, 10:30 PM ET
It seems as though every time that a team like the two-time defending NBA champion Lakers loses they way they did in their game one loss to New Orleans, the talk begins about how they are no longer championship-caliber. Then they respond with a dominant performance in their historic arena and everybody realizes just how wrong they are. Los Angeles will bounce back in game two as Pau Gasol responds after a poor outing in the opener with one of his strongest sports betting bonus performances of the year.
NBA Betting Pick: Los Angeles Lakers
