Posts Tagged ‘Boston Celtics’
Another week of the NBA betting season has come and gone, and Bang the Book takes a look at Who’s Hot & Who’s Not, brought to you by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll 1: Milwaukee Bucks (38-21 ATS): The Bucks are arguably the hottest team in the NBA right now. Even though their six-game winning streak SU was stopped by the Hawks in overtime in Atlanta on Sunday, their successful ATS run moved to seven games with ease. Not only is Milwaukee back in the playoff picture, but it also shot up to the top spot in the NBA betting power poll as well after being off the radar for the majority of the season. 2: Utah Jazz (36-20-3 ATS): Utah may have leveled off quite a bit in recent weeks, alternating ATS wins and losses in its L/5, but it did post one of the more impressive wins of the week by crushing Houston 133-110 at home on Saturday. It’s not often that you see a team shoot 68% from the floor for an entire game. There’s more from this team coming later… 3: Oklahoma City Thunder (35-23 ATS): A four-game ATS slide finally stopped on Friday with a big win over Minnesota. A 119-99 victory over the Raptors two nights later pushed the streak to two games. F Kevin Durant’s streak of 25+ point performances might’ve stopped against San Antonio, but his Thunder are still a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference. ATS Power Outage 1: Boston Celtics (21-35-1 ATS): Congrats, Boston. You successfully unseated the Nets for the worst ATS record in the NBA. Four straight losses ATS dropped the team to just 6-20-1 ATS in 27 games played at Boston Garden this season. The only good bits of news for this team are that the rest of the Atlantic Division is still playing terrible basketball as well, and F Paul Pierce is set to return to the lineup. 2: New Jersey Nets (22-36-1 ATS): The Nets showed a bit of a pulse on Saturday night when they beat the Celtics at Boston Garden. However, Jersey is still just a dismal 6-53 and is still on a reasonable clip to beat or match the 1972 Philadelphia 76ers NBA record for nine wins in a season. 3: Dallas Mavericks (25-34-1 ATS): If the Mavs keep playing like this, they’ll be off of this list in one more week’s time. This is a squad that looks dominant right now, winning seven straight and going 4-2-1 ATS in those seven. Dallas’ new look is going to make it a real contender in the Western Conference this year. The Good The Bad The Ugly
G Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks: Not bad when you can log a triple-double and make one of the headiest plays of the entire season on the same night. Kidd did just that by recording 19 points, 17 assists, and 16 boards against the Hawks, but perhaps his most important play came when he intentionally bumped into Atlanta HC Mike Goodson when he was on the court directing his defense. That’s interfering with the course of play, which warrants a technical foul. The Mavs tied the game and forced overtime, which they went on to win by eight points.
The Defense of the Houston Rockets: How many more weeks will the Rockets show up on the wrong side of this list before HC Rick Adelman finds himself in some serious hot water? Houston allowed the Jazz to score 133 points and shoot 68% from the floor in that romp previously mentioned. What made matters worse? Utah would’ve scored a heck of a lot more points if it had shot better than 57.7% from the free throw line…
Boston Celtics: The Nets? Really, Boston? How on earth you can find a way to lose to arguably the worst team in NBA history in front of your hometown faithful is mind-boggling. G Ray Allen shot just 3/11 from the field, but even though the C’s shot 50% from the field and outrebounded the Nets by six, a whopping 18 turnovers proved to be their undoing.
Tags: basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Jason Kidd, Milwaukee Bucks, nba betting, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz
The NBA trade deadline shook things up in the basketball betting world quite a bit. Check out Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in the world of the NBA at Bang the Book, brought to you by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll 1: Utah Jazz (34-18-3 ATS): The All-Star Break didn’t slow down the Jazz at all from the looks of it. Utah opened up the second half with four road games and took four victories both SU and ATS. That bumped its road record to 16-9-1 ATS on the season, and even though it’s not as strong as an 18-9-2 mark in Salt Lake City, the Jazz are proving that they are a force to be reckoned with on a nightly basis and are a can’t miss team for your NBA picks. 2: Oklahoma City Thunder (33-21 ATS): Ho hum. Three more 25+ point games for F Kevin Durant. Even though the Texas product is doing nothing but boosting his case to be the league’s MVP and the Thunder continue to find ways to win games (they’re at nine in a row right now), they ran into problems covering numbers at New York and Minnesota this week. Oklahoma City’s bettors hope that that ends this week with a tough stretch of games against Phoenix and San Antonio. 3: Atlanta Hawks (33-21 ATS): Atlanta’s quest to run down the Magic for the lead in the Southeast Division took a turn for the worse this week with a pair of road losses. The good news for the Hawks is that they’re coming home for three straight soon, where they are 18-9 ATS on the season. The bad news is that they have to stop in Utah first. ATS Power Outage 1: New Jersey Nets (21-34-1 ATS): The Nets got their monthly victory last week when they took it to Charlotte as hefty underdogs, but they followed that up by getting progressively worse over the course of the week. Losses to Miami, Toronto, and Memphis at home dropped Jersey to just 10-17 ATS at home on the year. 2: Boston Celtics (21-32-1 ATS): Boston is still a level .500 team on the road this year against the NBA betting lines, but taking three out of four SU on this West Coast swing really had to help the Celtics’ cause. These next three home games are crucial. Trips to New York and New Jersey will be inexcusable, but that showdown in the middle with Cleveland may prove to this team one way or the other if it can really ball with the big boys in the East. 3: Dallas Mavericks (23-33 ATS): Once the Mavs start to gel a little bit more, they’ll be in fine shape. But for now, they’re still not consistent enough to back on a regular basis. That 95-85 win in Orlando was awfully impressive though, and it’s probably a sign of what the rest of the teams in the Western Conference can expect to see down the line from the boys from “Big D.” The Good The Bad The Ugly
Washington Wizards: That’s right. We said it. The Wizards are “The Good” this week! Their front office doesn’t get a thumbs up for dealing away their entire team (F Antawn Jamison to Cleveland and F Caron Butler to Dallas), but the pieces to the puzzle that have come together in our nation’s capitol are fighting hard to prove that they belong at this level. Since February 5th, Washington is a solid 3-2 SU and 5-0 ATS. F Andray Blatche has been on fire, scoring an average of 25.0 PPG in his L/3.
The New-Look Houston Rockets: HC Rick Adelman had better hope that these L/2 games are nothing more than a bump in the road for his Rockets, or he’ll be on the unemployment line here really soon. After acquiring both G Kevin Martin and F Jared Jeffries in a deal that really didn’t cost much of anything for the time being, Houston has laid two major eggs, getting dumped by eight at New Orleans and by ten at home to Indiana. The next four teams on the slate are all playoff squads… which means by the time next week is over, Houston may be playing for nothing but ping-pong balls.
The Front Office of the Phoenix Suns: How on earth do you successfully anger your superstar by telling him that you’re going to trade him, and then turn around and not actually figure out how to do it? Now that the Suns ultimately couldn’t pull the trigger on an F Amare Stoudemire deal, they’re stuck with him for the rest of the season, knowing that he’s declaring free agency right when it’s over. For the brass of this team, they’d better hope that Phoenix hangs on to its playoff spot, or heads are inevitably going to roll.
Tags: Amare Stoudemire, Andray Blatche, Atlanta Hawks, basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Jared Jeffries, Kevin Martin, nba betting, NBA Picks, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
It was a short week for the NBA betting world, but in spite of that fact, there was still plenty of ups and downs to talk about. Check out Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in the world of the NBA at Bang the Book, brought to you by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll 1: Atlanta Hawks (32-19 ATS): We won’t fault the Hawks for coming up well short against the Heat in the final game before the All-Star Break because of their injuries. A 108-94 victory in Memphis back on Tuesday was key for some self-confidence, especially considering that the first four off of the break are all on the West Coast. 2: Oklahoma City Thunder (32-19 ATS): You’ve been Thunder Struck! Oklahoma City went into the hiatus on a high, winning six straight SU and five of those six ATS. Three huge wins on the road against Western Conference rivals were all clutch to say the least, and with a relatively easy schedule starting on Tuesday night, the Thunder could be in the playoff picture to stay. 3: Utah Jazz (30-18-3 ATS): The Jazz had their opponents singing the blues until the Lakers clipped them 96-81 at home in their final game prior to the season’s intermission. Whereas Utah is 18-9-2 ATS at home, its 12-9-1 mark against the basketball betting lines isn’t quite as strong. The first four next week are all on the road. ATS Power Outage 1: New Jersey Nets (19-32-1 ATS): It’s never good when the turnstiles at your games only read 1,016. That’s what happened to the Nets right before the All-Star Break. One would figure that a chance to see history can’t be missed. After all, how many times in your life will you get to feast your eyes on a team that may not reach five wins on the season? Oh that’s right. Who wants to see the home team get blasted by 20 points on their home court? 2: Boston Celtics (19-30-1 ATS): The break came just at the right time for Celtics bettors, who had to be losing faith in their squad after dropping four straight ATS decisions in a row. The good news for Boston is that it is 13-13 ATS on the road this year, which is where the first four will be next week. At least that may build some momentum before coming back to the Garden on February 23rd. 3: Dallas Mavericks (21-31 ATS): Now that the Mavericks have made a move that has totally changed the face of their team, they’re going to be a tough squad to make NBA picks on. F Caron Butler is certainly going to add some scoring flare, but there’s got to be a question about how well this team will mesh. Things couldn’t get much worse from a bettors standpoint, though. Dallas had failed to cover seven of its L/8. The Good The Bad The Ugly
F LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers: It’s hard to say that LeBron is simply “The Good,” because with the way that he has been playing lately, he’s simply, “The Best.” It was just another week of back-to-back 32-point games for King James, and that came on the heels of a mere 47-point effort against the Knicks and a 36-pointer vs. Miami. Simply put: There isn’t a man that you’d rather have on your NBA team right now than LeBron James.
The Bigs for the Los Angeles Clippers: Ok, I know that it’s hard for you to even find G Stephen Curry on the court considering that he’s only 6′3″ and looks like he is about 120 lbs sopping wet, but how are all ten eyes on the court not on a guy who ends up going for 32 points, ten boards, and 13 assists in the same game? F Rasual Butler and C Chris Kaman were outrebounded by Curry 10-8 on the night. Not good, Clips. Not good at all.
Houston Rockets: Being short-handed may be a good excuse for some teams, but for the Rockets on Tuesday night, there were just no excuses. Houston only scored 66 points in an embarrassing 33-point loss in South Beach against the Heat. G Dwyane Wade’s pedestrian 17 points was more than the Rockets scored in three of the four quarters of action.
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Caron Butler, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Dwyane Wade, Houston Rockets, lebron james, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, nba betting, NBA Picks, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Stephen Curry, Utah Jazz
Another week of NBA betting action is in the books, and Bang the Book takes a look at the hot and the not from the week that was, sponsored by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll ATS Power Outage The Good
1: Atlanta Hawks (31-18 ATS): The Hawks just can’t get over the hump and hop past the Orlando Magic for the lead in the Southeast Division. A brief three-game ATS slide was ended on Friday with a 91-81 win over the Bulls. It was the best defensive effort for Atlanta since December 5th.
2: Utah Jazz (29-17-3 ATS): The Jazz parlayed a stretch of seven games of which six were at home into a 5-1-1 ATS run. Utah has won eight straight basketball betting battles outright, and they’re snapping right at the heels of the Nuggets for the top spot in the Northwest Division.
3: Oklahoma City Thunder (31-19 ATS): Is the MVP of the entire NBA really on the Thunder? F Kevin Durant certainly has a great gripe as we trickle towards the All-Star Break. He’s averaging 29.7 points per game and has scored at least 28 points in every game that he has played since January 9th. OKC has covered three straight and six out of eight.
1: New Jersey Nets (18-31-1 ATS): It was a rare good week for the Nets, who have gone 2-0-1 ATS in their L/3 games overall. Of course, Jersey only has one win SU since January 2nd and two wins SU since December 8th. One would say that this is a team that should be trading everyone at the deadline, but is there any other team in the league that really wants anyone on a team that is 4-46?
2: Washington Wizards (18-29-2 ATS): For whatever reason, the Wizards seem to have Orlando’s number. They’ve taken two SU victories as dogs against the Magic this year, including Friday’s buzzer-beating win at Amway Arena. Of course, aside from that, Washington is only 1-6 ATS since January 20th.
3: Boston Celtics (19-29-1 ATS): The Celtics are really killing their NBA wagering fans right now. They’re just 9-12 SU and 5-15-1 ATS in their L/21 games, and if they’re not careful, the Raptors may run them down in the Atlantic Division. Getting outscored 36-11 in the third quarter of the Orlando game on Sunday wasn’t exactly something to be proud of either.
The role players for the Los Angeles Lakers: In order to win a championship, it takes the effort of a lot more than just a superstar. On Saturday night, G Kobe Bryant missed the Lakers’ game against Portland. C Andrew Bynum was banged up just a few minutes into the game. But without those two, LA didn’t just survive; it dominated. Everyone played their role. G Ron Artest scored 21 points, F Lamar Odom pulled down 22 rebounds, a G Shannon Brown scored 19 off of the bench. The end result was a 99-82 road win, which may have been one of the more significant victories of the season.
The Bad
F Tayshaun Prince, Detroit Pistons: Remember when Prince was considered one of the best role players in the NBA? He always did a little bit of everything and managed to put up solid numbers. But this week, he only scored four points in 25 minutes against New Jersey and shot 2/12 from the floor in a 107-83 loss to Indiana.
The Ugly
Golden State Warriors: This eight-game losing streak has been particularly awful for the Warriors. In the L/6, they’ve allowed 114.8 points per game. Things may be getting uglier any day now, as there have been rumors of dealing G Monta Ellis are picking up. Ellis is scoring 26.2 points per game for Golden State, but it’s pretty clear that all he’s doing is stunting the growth of G Stephen Curry. Things are just ugly right now in Golden State and probably aren’t getting any better any time in the near future.
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant, Lamar Odom, Los Angeles lakers, nba betting, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Ron Artest, Shannon Brown, Tayshun Prince, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
Another week of NBA betting action is in the books, and Bang the Book takes a look at the hot and the not from the week that was, sponsored by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll ATS Power Outage The Good
1: Atlanta Hawks (30-16 ATS): Atlanta continues to pester Orlando for the lead in the Southeast Division, but its more important triumph of the week came against the Celtics. The Hawks swept the season series against the C’s and gave themselves a bit of a cushion over Boston in the event that they do win the division.
2: Oklahoma City Thunder (28-18-1 ATS): NBA gambling fans wouldn’t know that the Thunder went on a three-game losing skid over the L/2 weeks. They’ve stormed to a smoking hot 6-2-1 ATS mark in their L/9 games. Thank F Kevin Durant for Oklahoma City’s strong play. He’s posted at least 28 points in 12 straight games and hasn’t had a night in which he scored less than 25 since December 19th.
3: Utah Jazz (27-17-2 ATS): The Jazz are certainly the hottest team in the basketball wagering world right now, as they have won five straight and nine out of ten SU and are 8-1-1 ATS in that stretch as well. Just a few weeks ago, Utah was on the outside of the playoff picture. Now it is all the way up to #4 in the conference and is inching closer to the Nuggets for the lead in the Northwest.
1: New Jersey Nets (16-30 ATS): Is it a good thing that the Nets have covered three straight things or a bad thing that they’re still the worst ATS team in the game? The countdown is on. ‘72 Sixers, here we come!
2: Washington Wizards (17-27-2 ATS): Contrary to popular belief, the Wizards actually had a two-game winning streak in them again. On Monday, they’ll inevitably return to your regularly scheduled ineptness, as they’ll play host to the Celtics. Before beating the Knicks 106-96 on Saturday, Washington had failed to cover four straight.
3: Boston Celtics (18-26-1 ATS): What are the mighty Celtics doing on this list, might you ask? Maybe a very mediocre 13-8 record at Boston Garden has a little something to do about it. Even worse is their 6-14-1 ATS record at home, a stat that may get a lot worse with three home games in the upcoming week.
F Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors: Even though Bosh could be traded from Toronto at any moment, he’s sure giving the Raptors everything that he can while he can. He went for 26 points and 15 boards against Indiana on Sunday, marking his fifth straight double-double. In that stretch, Dinos are 5-0 SU and ATS, and Bosh has averaged 24.2 points and 15.2 rebounds per game.
The Bad
New York Knicks: How bad do you have to be to lose to both the Nets and T’Wolves in the same season? New York became just the second team in the NBA to pull off the feat when they were knocked off 112-91 in Minnesota on Sunday night. However, the first team to pull the accomplishment was the…
The Ugly
Los Angeles Clippers: Sometimes, you just have to try to play as poorly as the Clippers did this week. If we’re featuring “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” right now, LA was playing, “The Bad, The Worse, and The Disgraceful” this week. They started by losing at Minnesota by 16, followed that up by dropping to New Jersey by two touchdowns, and finished it all on Sunday by allowing 46 points in the first quarter against the Cavs.
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Chris Bosh, Kevin Durant, Los Angeles Clippers, nba betting, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
Last week we had the passing of several celebrities and well known personalities. The celebrities had different levels of notoriety but all of them were sad and some even tragic. It started with the super sidekick of late night host Johnny Carson with the passing of Ed McMahon. Then it was legendary high school football coach Ed Thomas. Next was 70’s bombshell and Angel Farrah Fawcett, soon followed by the King of Pop Michael Jackson. Finally sensational pitchman Billy Mays passed away. From neighborhoods to around the globe, people mourned the loss of these great people. People connected with them, grew up with them, and were entertained or inspired by them. This got me to thinking about some of the poignant deaths in the sporting world and how we live and die with our teams as sports fans. We connect with our teams and the players that represent our loyalty, pride and passion. Any sports fan would surely be able to tell you about an athlete that passed away that affected them on one level or another. I remember the athlete that died and left me in shock, upset, and wondering how it could have happened. For me that athlete is Len Bias. The story of Len Bias has been told more than once but for those of you that are not familiar with it, here it is in a nutshell. Len Bias was a very talented basketball player that had mind blowing numbers and the potential to be one of the best ever. He had inked a deal with Reebok around the same time Michael Jordan signed with Nike. He was so good that plenty of people thought he would be better than Michael Jordan. Len Bias was drafted 2nd in the 1986 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. Less than 48 hours later Len Bias was dead. The cause of death was listed as cocaine intoxication. This story is tragic on every level, young man, young talent, and young hopes. I never met Len Bias but when word spread of his death it hit me straight in the gut, like I had known him my entire life. As a young Celtic fan I knew all about Len Bias. He was dubbed the heir apparent to Larry Bird and was touted as the player to keep the Celtics on top of the NBA world. Of course he never played a game in a Celtic uniform and to this day Celtic fans still wonder what might have been. Ironically Len Bias passed away on June 19th 2006, 23 years and ten days ago yet his memory lives on. As a sports fan it’s easy to forget about the “real world” and the tragedies that occur but every now and then we are reminded just how real this world can get.
Tags: Billy Mays, Boston Celtics, Ed McMahon, Ed Thomas, Farrah Fawcett, Jackson, Larry Bird, Len Bias, Maryland Terrapins, Michael, Michael Jordan, NBA Draft, Nike, Reebok, University of Maryland
NBA Playoffs Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Orlando -7, O/U 190 Boston leads series 3-2 The Boston Celtics were able to capitalize off the home court advantage and take down the Orlando Magic in a close 92-88 victory. The Celtics victory allowed them to take control in the series 3-2. Orlando now gets the opportunity to host the Celtics on their home floor this Thursday night in attempt to get the series back square and to force a Game 7. Boston has battled back to win the last two games after being down 1-2 to Orlando after Game 3. The Celtics have pulled off two straight very close defeats and will have the chance to win the series this Thursday night. The Magic are expected to put together their best effort at home which is why they will enter the contest as 7 point favorites. Orlando has struggled shooting the ball over the last two nights averaging 41% from the floor. Orlando must get a strong effort from all their shooters this Thursday and not allow Boston the opportunity to keep the game close. Orlando has failed to win the battle on the boards over the last two games which have also led to two straight losses. Dwight Howard has a strong reputation for dominating the glass and rightfully so consider he has averaged 16 rebounds throughout the playoffs. However, that still does not change the fact that Orlando as a team has not been winning the battle among the glass. The team that has won the rebounding aspect of the game has also been the winner in the last 4 games. The Magic also need someone to step up on the offensive side of the floor and have a big night. Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard have both had their bright moments. Howard has been the most consistent scoring threat, but Orlando has failed to have any player with a really huge performance. Orlando needs somebody to catch the hot hand this Thursday night and take some pressure off the rest of the starters. JJ Redick has gotten more playing time with his ability to shoot the 3 ball, but after only 3 points in Game 5 his back is against the wall. Hedo Turkoglu has not shot the ball as well as he did during the season and Orlando could definitely benefit from one of these players having a big night. Boston has been apart of some great battles during the playoffs. If you are a Celtics fan, you have probably been holding your breath all throughout the post-season. Boston battled 7 games with Chicago is possibly the most exciting opening series in history. The Celtics then turned around and were beaten the first 2 out of 3 games against Orlando. Boston has definitely not been over powering throughout the playoffs, but the defending champions have done everything needed at the right times. The Celtics likely will come out the gates firing Thursday night as they can sense the opportunity is there to take the series. The Celtics defense will be the most important aspect in Game 6 to follow. They must keep Orlando off the offensive boards and not allow any uncontested shots. If the Celtics defense can wear down Orlando, you would definitely like the Celtics chances in a close ending game as they have just been very clutch down the stretch. Paul Pierce has come on strong in the closing weeks at the right time for Boston. There have been quite a few scenarios where Pierce has put the team on his back in key moments during the ball games and his shooting has definitely been back on the upswing after some lackluster performances in the 2nd half of the regular season. Pierce and his 22 point playoff average will try and get the Celtics to come together and finish off Orlando on Thursday night. Pick – Boston +7
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic
Thursday, 7:00PM Eastern
Tags: Boston Celtics, nba basketball, nba playoffs, Orlando Magic
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic
Friday, 7:00PM Eastern
Betus.com betting line – Orlando -4.5, O/U 189
Series Tied 1-1
The Boston Celtics were apart of perhaps the greatest opening round series of all time when they overcame the Chicago Bulls in 7 games that had plenty of overtime sessions as well. The Celtics could be on the verge of another back and forth battle in the Conference Semi-Finals match-up with Orlando. The Magic came out looking strong beating the Celtics at TD Northbank Garden in Game 1 95-90. However, things were much different in Game 2 as Boston completely dominated all aspects of the game blowing the Magic out 112-94. However, the series will take another turn as these teams will battle the next two meetings in Orlando. The Magic have played very well all season at home and they will need to take advantage of the home court over the next two games. Orlando really needs to win both games to avoid having to rely on more wins in Boston. However, the Celtics won the only previous meeting earlier this season in Orlando and they will be looking for similar results this Friday night.
On Wednesday night Boston star player Paul Pierce was held to only 3 points, but that did not stop the rest of the Celtics from stepping up and playing great basketball. There was one player in particular by the name of Rajon Rondo who really stepped up his game. Rondo recorded a triple-double on the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 18 assists. The Boston point guard played much larger than his 6-1 frame which included a big time dunk in the 3rd quarter between Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis. However, it was not just Rondo who had a big night. Eddie House was the guy who caught the hot hand. House drained all of his 4 attempted 3 pointers leading Boston with 31 points on the night. The huge scoring performance was House’s season best as he became the different maker on Wednesday night. Boston will look for the back court to play big once again this Friday night and hopefully get more help from Paul Pierce who has really played well over the past few weeks despite being off in Game 2.
Orlando had big performances from all their playmakers in Game 1, but they were all mediocre at best in Game 2. Usually the signs are not good when your leading scorer only has 17 points, and that was the case on Wednesday night. However, Orlando will get some restored confidence when they take the floor on their home court this Friday. Perhaps more important than the lack of shots falling for the Magic was how poorly the defense played allowing Boston to score 112 points. Orlando has only allowed 91 points on average this season as they are one of the top defensive units in the league. However, they allowed Boston too many uncontested shots and open looks to the basket in Game 2 and the entire team just looked out of sink. Orlando would be expected to come out firing in Game 3 to make up for their lackluster performance. JJ Redick could be a guy to keep an eye on. Redick posted four 3 pointers in the loss and has started getting a bit more playing time due to his ability to knock down more shots. Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis must be able to get the inside game going and play well. Also, the Magic will be more than happy if they could get Hedo Turkoglu back to posting big numbers after only averaging 12 points throughout the post-season.
Pick – Orlando -4.5
Tags: Boston Celtics, Conference Semi-Finals, nba, nba playoffs, Orlando Magic
NBA Playoff Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Orlando -4.5, O/U 189 Series Tied 1-1 The Boston Celtics were apart of perhaps the greatest opening round series of all time when they overcame the Chicago Bulls in 7 games that had plenty of overtime sessions as well. The Celtics could be on the verge of another back and forth battle in the Conference Semi-Finals match-up with Orlando. The Magic came out looking strong beating the Celtics at TD Northbank Garden in Game 1 95-90. However, things were much different in Game 2 as Boston completely dominated all aspects of the game blowing the Magic out 112-94. However, the series will take another turn as these teams will battle the next two meetings in Orlando. The Magic have played very well all season at home and they will need to take advantage of the home court over the next two games. Orlando really needs to win both games to avoid having to rely on more wins in Boston. However, the Celtics won the only previous meeting earlier this season in Orlando and they will be looking for similar results this Friday night. On Wednesday night Boston star player Paul Pierce was held to only 3 points, but that did not stop the rest of the Celtics from stepping up and playing great basketball. There was one player in particular by the name of Rajon Rondo who really stepped up his game. Rondo recorded a triple-double on the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 18 assists. The Boston point guard played much larger than his 6-1 frame which included a big time dunk in the 3rd quarter between Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis. However, it was not just Rondo who had a big night. Eddie House was the guy who caught the hot hand. House drained all of his 4 attempted 3 pointers leading Boston with 31 points on the night. The huge scoring performance was House’s season best as he became the different maker on Wednesday night. Boston will look for the back court to play big once again this Friday night and hopefully get more help from Paul Pierce who has really played well over the past few weeks despite being off in Game 2. Orlando had big performances from all their playmakers in Game 1, but they were all mediocre at best in Game 2. Usually the signs are not good when your leading scorer only has 17 points, and that was the case on Wednesday night. However, Orlando will get some restored confidence when they take the floor on their home court this Friday. Perhaps more important than the lack of shots falling for the Magic was how poorly the defense played allowing Boston to score 112 points. Orlando has only allowed 91 points on average this season as they are one of the top defensive units in the league. However, they allowed Boston too many uncontested shots and open looks to the basket in Game 2 and the entire team just looked out of sink. Orlando would be expected to come out firing in Game 3 to make up for their lackluster performance. JJ Redick could be a guy to keep an eye on. Redick posted four 3 pointers in the loss and has started getting a bit more playing time due to his ability to knock down more shots. Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis must be able to get the inside game going and play well. Also, the Magic will be more than happy if they could get Hedo Turkoglu back to posting big numbers after only averaging 12 points throughout the post-season. Pick – Orlando -4.5
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic
Friday, 7:00PM Eastern
Tags: Boston Celtics, Conference Semi-Finals, nba, nba playoffs, Orlando Magic
NBA Playoffs Betting Preview Boston leads series 3-2 Betus.com betting line – Chicago -3, 196 O/U The Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics have put together possibly one of the best opening round playoff series in history. Tuesday night’s game was just another example of how exciting the last 5 games have been. The Celtics and the Bulls went into overtime for the 3rd time in 5 games and it was the 4th game that the margin of victory has been 3 points or less. The basketball slugfest has become the first series in postseason history to have 3 overtimes. Late in the 4th quarter in Tuesday night’s game the Bulls were faced with an inbounds play with less than 10 seconds remaining. Chicago Coach Vinny Del Negro drew up a perfect play which allowed Brad Miller to roll towards the basket wide open and seemed to have an easy two point lay-up. However, Miller was fouled rather hard by Boston guard Rajon Rondo. After review of the play, the foul could have easily been called intentional as Rondo’s hand came across Miller’s face leaving him with a mouth full of blood. Miller went on to miss both free throws even though the 2nd miss was on purpose and Boston got the rebound which gave them a 3-2 lead in the series. The Bulls now have their back against the wall, but judging how well they have played it would be surprising if this series does not see a Game 7. Rajon Rondo led the Boston Celtics with 28 points on Tuesday night continuing his stellar postseason play. Rondo has averaged 24.2 points in the 5 games played and has been vital to the Celtics success. However, Paul Pierce was the real hero from Tuesday night’s classic battle. Pierce has really come on strong the last few outings with strong shooting performances. Late in the 4th quarter, Pierce knocked down a crucial basket right above the free throw line which tied the game and sent the contest into overtime. Pierce knocked down many clutch shots as the game winded down, but the biggest was another similar 17 footer with 3.2 seconds to go which ended up being the game winning basket. Ray Allen who has been the primary clutch shooter for the Boston Celtics through the series, fouled out in the game. Allen finished with only 10 points on the night. Boston will look for Allen to back to rhythm and hope Pierce and Rondo can stay hot this Thursday night. Chicago has put up a valiant effort to take down the defending World Champions, but they are quickly running out of time. The Bulls still have a glimmer of hope, but to pull off back to back wins over Boston will be far from a small task. Chicago shooting guard Ben Gordon has been super throughout the series, but a hamstring injury seems to be taking effect. Gordon still managed to drain 26 points in the overtime loss on Tuesday night, but his shot was a bit altered all night as he tried to make up for the ailing hamstring. If Gordon starts to struggle, the Bulls chances to win the series goes from bad to worse. John Salmons has not but spectacular, but effectively consistent averaging 16 points through the series. Rookie Derrick Rose has been hot and cold. Rose needs to be the man to step up for Ben Gordon if the hamstring continues to affect his play. For a rookie, that may be placing a lot of pressure on the young guard. However, Rose can get a hot hand quickly making him very dangerous. Expect to see another great effort from Chicago at home in Game 6. Pick – Over 196
Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls
7:00PM Eastern Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Tags: basketball, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, nba playoffs
NBA Playoff Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Chicago -2.5, 200.5 O/U The NBA Playoffs got off to a great start when the Chicago Bulls took down the defending World Champions the Boston Celtics in dramatic fashion in the opening game of the series. The Bulls were lifted by the play of rookie Derrick Rose who knocked down 36 points in the over-time victory. Rose 36 points tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the most points in a playoff debut. Game 1 was a big storyline because of the hard fought back and forth action. However, the following game last Monday was very similar and just as exciting as the first. The game was another back and forth slugfest, but this time the outcome was slightly different. Ray Allen for the Boston Celtics got the hot hand in the 2nd half scoring 28 points and delivering the nail in the coffin when he drained a 3 pointer with less than two seconds to play. The exciting win evened up the series as game 3 heads to Chicago as everyone anticipates another exciting contest as this series has the making to possibly make it to 7 games. Chicago has really come on strong in the late part of the season and carried a lot of momentum into the playoffs. The Bulls are fairly young team that has a lot of room to develop and they may be blossoming earlier than expected. The Bulls won 12 of their last 16 games of the regular season ending on a high note. The solid stretch also included a victory over the Celtics. However, most people had forgotten about the success heading into the start of the series and their opening round win caught many by surprise. However, this was not that big of a surprise considering how well Chicago has played over the last few weeks. As Rose led the scoring efforts in the big win in game 1, Ben Gordon fired back with a huge night in game 2 draining 42 points on the night. Gordon and Rose have been contributing factors to giving the Bulls the opportunity to take down the defending Champions. After two straight games being decided by only a basket, Chicago will definitely try to build on that momentum when they get Boston back at home this Thursday night. Boston probably did not envision this type of struggle in their opening series of the playoffs. While the Celtics have not been as dominant as they were this time last year, they have still played extremely well inside TD Northbank Garden this season. Leaving Boston not ahead 2-0 in the series has to feel like a let down. However, Boston showed the fight of a champion in game 2 when they hit nearly every clutch shot down the stretch given nearly every shot was from the hot hand of Ray Allen. Still, Boston must find away to not let things go any further for Chicago. The Celtics need to come out and make a statement in game 3 and stop the Bull’s confidence from building. Like it or not, the absence of Kevin Garnett is really hurting this team. Not only is Garnett an extremely big defensive force, but he gives the Celtics the depth they need. The bench only scored 10 points in their 118-115 win on Monday. Definitely not trying to give Boston any excuses, but the loss of Garnett does have its effects. However, if Ray Allen can find rhythm again and Rajon Rondo can continue to play well then the Celtics still should be favorites in the series despite being 2.5 point underdogs on Thursday. Pick – Chicago continues to impress. Bulls -2.5
Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
Tags: Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, nba basketball, nba playoffs
