NBA Playoff Betting Preview
New Orleans Hornets at San Antonio Spurs (Hornets lead 2-0)
Thursday, 9:35 pm Eastern – ESPN

SBG Global Opening Line: Spurs  - 6.5, Total  183

The San Antonio Spurs face what is probably a must win game on Thursday against the New Orleans Hornets.  The Spurs were dominated in the first two games at New Orleans and now the series goes to San Antonio.  “They say you’re supposed to win all your home games. The series doesn’t start until the home team loses,” New Orleans’ Chris Paul said, “We understand their backs are against the wall right now but we’ve got to go in there and understand we really need to steal a game.” SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Spurs at Home.

The Hornets have shown they can beat the defending NBA Champs and now they will try and take a game in San Antonio.  The Spurs must take care of the ball better and get Tim Duncan more involved if they are to turn things around. “It sounds, like, easy, but we just have to play better,” Tony Parker said. “They just outplayed us the first two games and now we’re playing at home and we have to make more shots and play better defense.” The Spurs will need to play smarter and show that they are hungry to defend their title. So far in this series that has not happened.

SBG Global Current Line: Spurs  - 6.5, Total  183.5

Here are the NBA betting stats for Thursday’s game. The Hornets are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 vs. the Southwest. The Hornets are 43-20-1 ATS in their last 64 games overall. The Hornets are 21-10 ATS in their last 31 games as an underdog. The Hornets are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 Thursday games.

The Spurs are 14-3-2 ATS in their last 19 playoff games as a favorite. The Spurs are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games as a home favorite. The Spurs are 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 games overall. The Spurs are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 Thursday games. The home team is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings between the two teams and the favorite is 9-4 ATS in the last 13 meetings.

The Under is 5-0-1 in the Hornets last 6 playoff games as an underdog. The Over is 7-1-1 in the Hornets last 9 Conference Semifinals games. The Over is 5-1 in the Hornets last 6 Thursday games. The Under is 4-1 in the Hornets last 5 road games. The Over is 7-3 in the Hornets last 10 games as a road underdog.

The Over is 4-1 in the Spurs last 5 games as a favorite. The Over is 7-2-1 in the Spurs last 10 overall. The Under is 10-4 in the Spurs last 14 Thursday games. The Over is 12-5-1 in the Spurs last 18 Conference Semifinals games. The Over is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings in San Antonio between the two teams.

Pick: 6.5 is just too many to give the Hornets. Hornets +6.5 3units

NBA Playoff Betting Preview
San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Hornets (Game One)
Saturday, 10:00 pm Eastern – TNT

SBG Global Opening Line: Hornets  - 3.5 , Total  183.5

The New Orleans Hornets will face the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in game one of the best of seven Western Conference semifinals on Saturday night.  The Hornets took out the Dallas Mavericks easily in the first round while the Spurs dispatched of the Phoenix Suns in five games in their opening series. SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Spurs on the Road.

The matchup in this series should be intriguing as the Spurs are the league’s oldest and most experienced team with 11 players in their 30s. They have star players in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.  New Orleans has eight players who are under the age of 30.  Their stars are league MVP candidate Chris Paul and David West.  The two teams look very evenly matched in this series.  They finished the season with identical 56-26 records and they split their four head-to-head meetings.  The reason New Orleans got the higher seed was based on their superior conference record but that was only by one game.

SBG Global Current Line: Hornets  - 3, Total  183.5

The matchups in this series should be excellent.  It will be Chris Paul against Tony Parker in the backcourt.  At the small forward it is Peja Stojakovic against Bruce Bowen and at power forward it is David West against Tim Duncan. Those three matchups are the key to the series.  The one advantage New Orleans may have is off the bench. Jannero Pargo was excellent in the first round against Dallas and Julian Wright also played well.  Technically Ginobili comes off the bench for San Antonio but that is only for appearance.  He is a starter and one of the Spurs most important players.

Here are the NBA betting stats for Saturday’s game.  The Spurs are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games playing on 3 or more days of rest. The Spurs are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games as an underdog. The Spurs are 5-13 ATS in their last 18 games as a road underdog. The Spurs are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 Saturday games. The Spurs are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in New Orleans. The road team is 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings between the two teams.

The Hornets are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 playoff games as a favorite. The
Hornets are 21-7 ATS in their last 28 home games. The Hornets are 44-16-2 ATS in their last 62 Saturday games. The Hornets are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 Conference Semifinals games.

The Over is 6-2 in the Spurs last 8 overall. The Under is 16-6 in the Spurs last 22 vs. the Southwest. The Over is 8-3 in the Spurs last 11 playoff games as an underdog. The Over is 11-5 in the Spurs last 16 Conference Semifinals games.

The Over is 6-1 in the Hornets last 7 Conference Semifinals games. The Over is 17-7-2 in the Hornets last 26 games as a home favorite. The Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings between the two teams.

Pick: Hornets -3.5 4units

NBA Playoff Betting Preview
New Orleans Hornets at Dallas Mavericks (Hornets lead 2-0)
Friday, 8:05 pm Eastern – ESPN

SBG Global Opening Line: Mavericks  - 5 , Total 195

Chris Paul has led the New Orleans Hornets to two dominating wins over the Dallas Mavericks with the series now moving to Dallas for games three and four.  MVP candidate Paul is averaging 33.5 points per game and also dishing out 13.5 assists per game.  He is the first player in NBA history to have at least 30 points and 10 assists in his first two playoff games.  “It’s been too easy,” Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki said, “We’ve got to be a little more proactive on him and see if we can get the ball out of his hands some. If not, just move up on him and make it a little harder on him. We’ll see how that works.” SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Mavericks at Home.

Chris Paul doesn’t believe Dallas can do anything to stop him. “There’s only so many different things you can do in basketball,” he said. “Whatever they’re doing, we’ve adjusted to it. We’ve had 82 regular-season games to see what different teams try and that’s what it’s all about, making adjustments.”
The good news for Dallas is that they are a very good home team and New Orleans has not won in Dallas since 1998.  The Mavericks were 34-7 at home this season. “This is a totally different animal that we’re facing, totally different atmosphere and a whole lot more at stake,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “So right now, as far as we’re concerned, it’s 0-0 as far as playing them in their arena.”

SBG Global Current Line: Mavericks  - 5.5 , Total 196.5

Here are the NBA betting stats for Friday’s game.  The Hornets are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Hornets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Southwest. The Hornets are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 Friday games. The Hornets are 20-9 ATS in their last 29 games as an underdog. The Hornets are 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 playoff games as an underdog. The Hornets are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a road underdog.
The Hornets are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Dallas.

The Mavericks are 4-1-2 ATS in their last 7 Friday games. The Mavericks are 37-17-1 ATS in their last 55 vs. the Southwest. The Mavericks are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games as a home favorite. The Mavericks are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Mavericks are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games. The favorite is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings between the two teams and the home team is 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

The Over is 4-0 in the Hornets last 4 overall. The Over is 7-1 in the Hornets last 8 games as a road underdog. The Over is 4-1-1 in the Hornets last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Over is 8-3-1 in the Hornets last 12 Friday games. The Over is 5-2 in the Hornets last 7 vs. the Southwest.

The Over is 5-1 in the Mavericks last 6 vs. the Southwest. The Under is 8-2 in the Mavericks last 10 playoff games as a favorite. The Over is 4-1 in the Mavericks last 5 overall. The Under is 6-2 in the Mavericks last 8 games as a home favorite. The Under is 7-3-1 in the Mavericks last 11 Friday games.
The Under is 7-1 in the last 8 meetings in Dallas between the two teams.

Mavs need this one bad and will get it at home Mavs -5 4units

NBA Playoff  Betting Preview
Dallas Mavericks at New Orleans Hornets (Hornets Lead 1-0)
Tuesday, 7:05 pm Eastern – TNT

SBG Global Opening Line: Hornets  - 3.5 , Total 193

The New Orleans Hornets showed the NBA that they are not to be taken lightly as they handled the Dallas Mavericks in the first game of their best of seven series on Saturday.  The Hornets will try and make it two straight on Tuesday.  Chris Paul had 35 points and 10 assists to lead New Orleans to the 104-92 win in game one.  SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Hornets at Home.

New Orleans played superb defense on Saturday in the second half as they held the Mavericks to just 40 points.  Dallas shot only 33 percent for the game. “I think they really do understand that defense does win championships,” said New Orleans head coach Byron Scott, “Defense has been our staple all season long.”  The Mavericks must find a way to contain MVP candidate Chris Paul or this series could be a short one.  They also must find other scoring options other than Dirk Nowitzki. “We need those guys to play as if Dirk’s not on the floor, but at the same time, we know we need him on the floor,” Johnson said, “More than anything, whatever changes we need to make, we need the ball to go in the basket more than 33 percent of the time. If the ball can go in the basket more than 33 percent of the time and we can get back to our normal production, then we think that will help our defense.”

SBG Global Current Line: Hornets  - 3.5 , Total 193.5

Game #2 is a huge one for both teams considering Dallas has a big home court edge. “Game 2 is the most important game of the series, because if you win that game you’re still in the driver’s seat. You’ve accomplished your goal, which is keep home-court advantage,” Scott said. “But if you lose it, now all the pressure’s on you, because they’re going home with a split; they have two games at home, so the momentum shifts.”

Here are the NBA betting stats for Tuesday’s game.  The Mavericks are 14-3 ATS in their last 17 playoff games as an underdog. The Mavericks are 37-16-1 ATS in their last 54 vs. the Southwest. The Mavericks are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Mavericks are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games.

The Hornets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 playoff games as a favorite. The Hornets are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Hornets are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games as a home favorite. The favorite is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings between the two teams and the home team is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

The Over is 10-1 in the Mavericks last 11 games as a road underdog. The Under is 5-2 in the Mavericks last 7 overall.

The Over is 5-1 in the Hornets last 6 playoff games as a favorite. The Over is 16-6-2 in the Hornets last 24 games as a home favorite. The Over is 13-6-2 in the Hornets last 21 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Under is 11-4-1 in the last 16 meetings between the two teams.

Pick: Look for the Mavericks to even up the series tonight. 3units Mavs