Posts Tagged ‘nba’
Regaw Rants: #23 Simply the Best
This weekend Michael Jordan and a talented group of basketball players and coaches will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame located in Springfield Massachusetts. With apologies to David Robinson, John Stockton and the others that made it to the Hall of Fame the day and the stage belongs to Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan may be the greatest athlete that any of us will ever see in our lives. He paved the way for superstars like Tiger Woods and was exciting to watch anytime he took the court. He was more than a basketball player and people would flock to see him play basketball, golf, and even baseball. He showed every athlete how to be the ultimate pitchman, and still sells products today. He made movies, sold shoes, and did everything that was asked. He was surrounded by controversy at times, but on the basketball court he could not be matched.
The enshrinement ceremony took place at Springfield’s Symphony Hall, because Jordan was too big for the Hall of Fame. The move to the other building allowed for a crowd of about 2,600, more than double what the Hall can accommodate. He has MVP’s, championships, and records but overall I will remember Michael Jordan as the best athlete there has ever been.
NBA Finals Game Three Bookmaker Sportsbook Opening Line: Magic – 4 , Total 198.5 The Orlando Magic had a chance in the NBA Finals to make the Los Angeles Lakers sweat and it remains to be seen if they get another one. Courtney Lee missed a layup with less than a second remaining in Game 2 and the Magic ended up losing Game 2 in overtime. Now the series shifts to Orlando where the Magic face a must-win Game 3 on Tuesday. SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Magic at Home. The Lakers realize they could have lost on Sunday and Kobe Bryant has promised they will play better on Tuesday. “We’re about to kick it up,” he said. “You’d better believe it. We’re close. You see what I’m saying? This is the finals. We’re going to be ready to go.” The Lakers have been an up and down team during the playoffs but Pau Gasol believes that is over. “We’re playing tougher,” Gasol said. “We understand what it takes to go get the championship.” The problem for Orlando is NBA history. Only three teams have won an NBA title after losing the first two games. “We’ve just got to go home and take care of business,” Magic center Dwight Howard said. “The Lakers did a good job of protecting their home, and now it’s our turn to do the same thing. We’ve been in some tough situations. We’ve just got to fight our way out.” Orlando has a number of issues they must correct if they are to make this into a series. The first problem is turnovers. They had 20 turnovers in Game 2 and their point guards were awful. Rafer Alston and Jameer Nelson have played very poorly and Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy had to go to Hedo Turkoglu to run the point for a while. “We were just trying to see if we could get somebody out there who would make shots off of the double teams and off the pick-and-rolls and things like that,” Van Gundy said. “I thought our guys fought hard, but we couldn’t make enough plays. And the 20 turnovers crushed us.” Here are the NBA betting stats for Tuesday’s game. The Lakers are 22-8-2 ATS in their last 32 games as a road underdog. The Lakers are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings. The Magic are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 playoff games as a favorite. Bookmaker.Com Current Line: Magic – 4 , Total 198 The Under is 10-1 in the Lakers last 11 vs. the Eastern Conference. The Under is 11-5 in the Lakers last 16 road games. The Under is 7-2 in Orlando’s last 9 playoff games as a favorite. The Over is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in Orlando between the two teams. Pick: Magic roll easily
Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando Magic (Lakers lead 2-0)
Tuesday, 9:05 pm Eastern – ABC
Tags: basketball, betting, final, Los Angeles lakers, nba, Orlando Magic, sports
NBA Playoff Preview SBG Global Opening Line: Nuggets - 5 , Total 208 The Los Angeles Lakers will try and close out the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday. The Nuggets have outplayed the Lakers for the most part in this series but at critical times they have made mistakes and they trail three games to two. “For most of the series, we outplayed them for most stretches of the game,” Denver’s Chauncey Billups said. “We just couldn’t get over the hump in the fourth quarter in a few different situations.” SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Lakers on the Road. The Nuggets have not played with much discipline in this series and it has cost them but head coach George Karl is not going to do anything different on Friday. “You guys are almost saying you’ve got to have savvy and poise to be a championship team,” Karl told reporters, “I mean, you think the Detroit Pistons have the poise that the San Antonio Spurs have? No, I mean there’s a different way of handling emotional, passionate, intense players. We have some guys who are emotional. Maybe a little too emotional. But for me, I’m not going to tell them to stop that because I think that stops them from becoming a competitor.” The Lakers have been so unpredictable in the playoffs that anything is possible in Game 6. If Los Angeles brings their best game they could end this series but rarely have the Lakers played great in back-to-back games. “That’s what the conversation has been about this entire postseason, our team, our potential and our capabilities,” Derek Fisher said. Here are the NBA betting stats for Friday’s game. The Lakers are 21-8-2 ATS in their last 31 games as a road underdog. The Lakers are 12-5 ATS in the last 17 meetings between the two teams. The Nuggets are 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games as a home favorite. The Nuggets are 21-6 ATS in their last 27 games overall. SBG Global Current Line: Nuggets - 5.5 , Total 208.5 The Under is 9-1 in the Lakers last 10 Conference Finals games. The Under is 11-4 in the Lakers last 15 road games. The Over is 11-5 in the Nuggets last 16 games as a home favorite. The Under is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in Denver between the two teams. Pick: Nuggets
Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets (Lakers lead 3-2)
Friday, 9:05 pm Eastern – ESPN
Tags: basketball, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles lakers, nba, sports
NBA Playoffs Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Lakers -6.5, 209.5 O/U Series tied 2-2 The Denver Nuggets put together an impressive performance Monday night in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith fueled a dominating effort by the Nuggets as both stars tallied 24 points each to get the series all square. However, the Nuggets now will take the road and travel to the Staples Center where the Lakers always play their best. Denver would like nothing more than their effort in Game 4 to carry over and give them a chance to steal a game on the road. Los Angeles suffered from poor bench effort in their most recent loss to the Nuggets. Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom who are usually impact players only combined to score 10 points. Outside of Pau Gasol who added some help, it was mostly all Kobe Bryant offensively for the Lakers. Los Angeles just could not get any momentum going as they were held to a low 41% shooting from the floor. The Lakers will look for that to change as they will likely come out with a lot of confidence as normal when they are at home. However, Denver will be attempting to take control of the series by pulling off what would be a mild upset. The Lakers will have to come out with their back against the wall in Game 5. Los Angeles can not afford to let Denver steal a win and head back to Denver for Game 6 with a chance to lose the series. The Lakers will likely be a tough challenge as usual Wednesday night inside the Staples Center. However, if they are to get back control of the series they will have to overcome some poor efforts from Monday night. The Lakers bench which is has always been solid throughout the season had one of their worse nights of the postseason. The Denver Nuggets bench outscored the Lakers bench 42-24 in the double digit victory. Los Angeles may have been completely blown out the building if not for Bryant still managing to put together a 34 point performance despite not quite being 100%. The Lakers big men will also need to have bigger impact down low. Lamar Odom had an off night while Pau Gasol had a solid 21 point performance. However, the two combined to pull down only 5 offensive rebounds the entire night and it is more than safe to say that Denver dominated the glass on both ends of the floor. The Lakers can not afford to let the Nuggets dominate the boards again Wednesday night if they hope to pull out the victory. Denver had a very strong performance Monday night despite their biggest superstar Carmelo Anthony having an off night. In defense for Anthony, he was not only battling a battered ankle but also had a stomach virus that had him really sick before the game even began. However, some familiar faces picked up the slack to hand the Lakers a rather embarrassing loss. J.R Smith knocked down four 3 pointers that helped lead to his 24 point night. Chauncey Billups also had a 24 point performance to lead the Nuggets. Billups was able to get to the charity stripe on multiple occasions which led to a perfect 9 for 9 effort from the line. The Nuggets only shot 44% as a team from the floor which may be surprising considering they posted 120 points on the evening. However, the true battle was won down in the paint where the Nuggets out-rebounded the Lakers a whopping 58-40. The 58 rebounds was a playoff high by the Nuggets and if they can dominate the glass again Wednesday night it will go along way in effort to bringing the series back to Denver with the chance to win the Western Conference in Game 6. Pick – Denver +6.5
Denver Nuggets at LA Lakers
Staples Center, Wednesday 9:00PM Eastern
Tags: Denver Nuggets, L.A Lakers, nba, nba playoffs, Post season, Western Conference
NBA Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Cleveland -9, O/U 188 Orlando leads series 1-0 The Eastern Conference has truly had some outstanding match-ups throughout the post-season and it is quite evident that we may have one more left to play out. The Orlando Magic pulled off what many would consider an upset when they took down the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland 107-106 in dramatic fashion. The Cavaliers jumped out to an early lead in the game leading by 15 at the half and it appeared as they would cruise to another home victory. However, the Magic answered back throughout the 2nd half and Rashard Lewis nailed a 3 pointer to cap the comeback in the closing seconds to capture the surprising win. Cleveland now looks to rebound tonight when they host Orlando for the 2nd game of the series. If somehow the Magic could find a way to win again, then it would be just completely devastating to Cleveland considering how they have dominated all year at home. However, Orlando would take complete control if that scenario were to happen as they get the next two games at home as well. Orlando came out the gates with a sluggish start Wednesday night, but regrouped at the break which led to a solid 2nd half effort. The Magic will try to put together another similar effort and take down the Cavaliers twice at home; a feat no other team has done this year. Dwight Howard had a solid performance as always in Wednesday night’s showdown. Howard led the Magic with 30 points while shooting a strong 70% from the floor. Howard also grabbed 13 rebounds on the night. However, Rashard Lewis was perhaps the biggest aid in second half. Lewis was just 2 of 5 from the floor with 5 points in the first half, but ended up getting some momentum after the break. Lewis scored 17 second half points that included 3 for 3 behind the arc in the final quarters which handed Cleveland their first loss of the post-season. Hedo Turkoglu got in on the action dropping 15 and led the team with 14 assists on the night. Turkoglu and Lewis will be huge factors throughout the series and their ability to play strong will likely determine if the Magic can take down the series. Cleveland completely appeared to be stunned after Wednesday night’s home loss in the opening game of the Conference Finals. The Cavaliers looked to be in control for most of the night, but could not hold off Orlando in the end. The loss certainly did not result from a lack of effort from the league’s reigning MVP. Lebron James played strong throughout the night and appeared to score at will. James put together a masterful 49 point performance that included 8 assists and 6 rebounds. However, Cleveland true downfall possibly came from the play of their defense which has been superb throughout the season. The Cavaliers have led the NBA all season in defense holding opponents to just 91 points on the year. However, the Cavaliers fell victim to a strong shooting performance from Orlando and allowed the Magic to shoot for 55% and 107 points both of which equal the worse Cleveland defensive performance of the postseason. The Cavaliers will look to get back the rhythm and stick to their style of play this Friday night when they will be 9 point favorites to try and get the series back all square. Pick – Cleveland -9
Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers
Friday, 8:30PM Eastern
Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2, nba, nba playoffs, Orlando Magic
NBA Playoffs Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Lakers -6.5, O/U 215 Western Conference Finals The heavily favored team out west in the Los Angeles Lakers battled 7 games with the Houston Rockets before finally coming out victorious. The Lakers played fairly inconsistent throughout the series, but they will again be favorites to win the Western Conference when they meet the Denver Nuggets for Game1 inside the Staples Center this Tuesday night. Denver has also been one of the hottest teams in the conference especially through the latter part of the regular season. The Nuggets overpowered the Dallas Mavericks in 5 games to make their way to the Conference Finals. Denver has vastly improved as the season has progressed and Chauncey Billups has been a big factor to the newfound success. However, Denver has not faired extremely well against the Lakers this season losing 3 out of 4 meetings. Then again this is not the same Denver team from those earlier meetings as they will attempt to earn their first NBA Finals appearance. Los Angeles will definitely have a load of confidence when they host the Denver Nuggets this Tuesday night. Usually when you have had your way with a team in the past it stays fresh in your mind. However, the Lakers need to be ready for a more sound Denver team to take the floor. Kobe Bryant played strong against Denver in every meeting this season as 29 points was the least amount of points scored against the Nuggets. The Lakers and the Nuggets both possess high scoring offenses that attack the basket quickly. Bryant struggled at times against a feisty Houston defense. However, Denver is not known to be a great defensive unit and that could be the Lakers biggest advantage because they always play very well against those types of teams. Los Angeles has actually won 9 out of the last 10 meetings with the Nuggets and they will try to thwart any confidence building efforts Denver might throw there way Tuesday night. Denver has really played well over the last two months dating back to the end of the regular season. The Nuggets have come together well as a team with the early season trade with Chauncey Billups. Billups has averaged slightly over 22 points per game during the post season and is shooting the ball very well. Billups could be the missing link to the puzzle as Denver strives towards the first Finals appearance. Carmelo Anthony has also been playing well which is rather traditional. Anthony has looked fabulous throughout both series averaging 27 points in the playoffs. Denver has really looked strong on the offensive side of the ball, but it will be the defensive side of the ball that gains the focus. If the Nuggets are to have any success against the Lakers, they will have to play strong defense. The Nuggets will have to play similar to their only win against the Lakers this year when they held Los Angeles to nearly a season low 79 points. Denver may not have to keep the Lakers scoring down that low, but they will definitely need some solid defensive efforts if they are to have a chance to win the series. Pick – Lakers – 6.5
Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers
Tuesday, 9:00PM Eastern
Tags: Denver Nuggets, L.A Lakers, nba, nba playoffs, Western Conference Finals
NBA Playoff Betting Preview Betus.com betting line- Denver -8.5, O/U 213.5 Denver leads series 3-1 The Denver Nuggets will have the chance to lock up the series when they host the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 on Wednesday night. A win would secure Denver the right to play the winner of Houston/Los Angeles in the conference finals. The Dallas Mavericks avoided being swept in 4 games with an exciting 119-117 high scoring victory in Game 4. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with a blazing 44 points which prevented the Nuggets from sweeping the series. Denver will be trying to rebound on Wednesday night and avoid losing back to back games. The Nuggets have not lost back to back games since the beginning of March. Fortunately for the Nuggets they have a few trends that bode well heading into the contest. For starters, Denver has yet to lose a playoff game at home and they are also 2-0 against the Mavericks at home this season as well. The Nuggets will try to put together another solid home performance this Wednesday night and take down the series. Dating back to the end of the season, Denver has only been held to less than 100 points in 2 out of their last 25 games. One of the big reasons the Nuggets have performed so well over the last few weeks is that they have shot the ball very well. Denver high scoring offense has just been too much to handle for their opponents throughout the playoffs. Only did a huge night from Dirk Nowitzki finally result in the Nuggets defeat. Carmelo Anthony also had a huge performance in the lost draining 41 points. Anthony has been solid as ever averaging 26.7 points throughout the post-season. Chauncey Billups has also been giving solid effort along with Carmelo averaging over 20 points per game. Add JR Smith to the picture and Denver’s best 3 scorers are responsible for nearly 60 points per game. If things are to take any major turns in this series, Denver will either have to get very cold in terms of shooting or Dallas will have to step up with some defense. Denver was among one of the hottest teams in the league heading into the post-season and so far their momentum has yet to take any major hits as they are just one game away from playing for the right to this year’s NBA Finals. The Mavericks entered the playoffs as fairly large underdogs taking on San Antonio in the first round. After some media scrutiny and predictions that Dallas would get blown away, the Mavericks were out to prove they belonged and beat up on the Spurs in 5 games. However, the Mavericks have simply been over-matched in their series with the Nuggets. Dallas finally put together a big scoring performance in Game 4 that saved the series, but they will have to find away to score a lot of points again in Denver. The team must give some help and not place all the weight on Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk has averaged a stout 26 points throughout his stint in the playoffs, but has not gotten the help needed against the Nuggets. Josh Howard and Jason Terry have both been solid, but not spectacular. Howard has been hampered with an ankle injury early in Game 2 as he should be returning to full strength. Terry has not been as big of factor as the Mavericks would have hoped, but still is averaging 14.5 points per game. One of these two guys needs to have a really big night to help the Mavericks take down the Nuggets in Denver this Wednesday night. Pick – Denver -8.5
Dallas Mavericks at Denver Nuggets
Wednesday, 9:00PM Eastern
Tags: Conference Semi-Finals, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, nba, playoffs
NBA Playoff Preview SBG Global Opening Line: Nuggets - 1 , Total 209.5 The Dallas Mavericks will try and avoid elimination on Monday night as they host the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series. The Mavericks probably should only be down 2-1 in this series but a bad call by the referees allowed Denver’s Carmelo Anthony to get away a 3-point shot that he hit to win Game 3 by a score of 106-105 on Saturday. “We’re not going to get that last play back, so just by watching it doesn’t do us any good,” Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki said. SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Mavericks at Home. The NBA has admitted that the referees made a mistake in Game 3 but that doesn’t change the fact that instead of being down 2-1 the Mavericks are down 3-0 in this series. No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series so it doesn’t look good for Dallas. The Nuggets though are taking nothing for granted heading into Monday’s game. “We’re going to be aggressive and we’re going to fight extremely hard,” said Denver’s Chauncey Billups, “They’re facing elimination. That’s always the toughest game to win, especially in a sweep situation. They’re going to fight really hard and do everything they can possibly do to keep their season alive.” The Mavericks have never been swept in a four-game series so Monday’s game should be interesting. “These guys have met adversity with unity, with a collective will,” Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said. “It happened in November; we got off to a 2-7 start. It happened in January; we lost four games in a row and everybody said we wouldn’t be a playoff team. It happened after we lost to Oklahoma City … and it’s obviously going to happen now. But, hey, that’s what this is about. When it gets tough, you’ve got to stick together and keep fighting.” Here are the NBA betting stats for Monday’s game. The Nuggets are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games as a road underdog. The Nuggets are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games overall. The Nuggets are 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Dallas. SBG Global Current Line: Mavericks - 1.5 , Total 210 The Mavericks are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite. The Mavericks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Conference Semifinals games. The Under is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings in Dallas between the two teams.
Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks (Nuggets lead 3-0)
Monday, 9:35 pm Eastern – TNT
Tags: basketball, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, nba, sports
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 Playoff Preview Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers (Cavaliers lead 1-0) SBG Global Opening Line: Cavaliers - 12 , Total 177 The Cleveland Cavaliers will try and take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday. The Cavaliers are heavily favored to win Game 2 considering they have only lost two games at home all season. Cleveland has been rolling throughout the playoffs so far, winning all five of their games by double-digits. SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Cavaliers at Home. Cleveland is giving up only 76.8 points per game in the playoffs which is even better than they did in the regular season when they led the entire league in defense. The Hawks actually scored 44 points in the first half of Game 1 before Cleveland’ coaching staff made a statement about the poor defense and the Cavaliers slammed the door on the Hawks in the second half. “The coaches got on us,” Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. “They were shooting 56 percent from the field or so, getting some dunks. We came out flat or lackadaisical. The second half was different, we got some stops and they only got one offensive rebound.” Cleveland played great defense in the second half, got another superb game out of league MVP LeBron James who scored 34 points and rolled to a 99-72 win. It could be more of the same on Thursday. Here are the NBA betting stats for Thursday’s game. The Hawks are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 vs. the Central. The Hawks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 playoff games as an underdog. The Cavaliers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 Conference Semifinals games. The Cavaliers are 36-15 ATS in their last 51 games as a home favorite. The home team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings between the two teams and the favorite is 17-8 ATS in the last 25 meetings. SBG Global Current Line: Cavaliers - 12.5 , Total 179 The Under is 5-0 in the Hawks last 5 games as a road underdog. The Under is 5-1 in the Hawks last 6 overall. The Under is 5-1 in the Hawks last 6 vs. the Eastern Conference. The Over is 13-5-1 in the Hawks last 19 vs. the Central. The Under is 4-0 in the Cavaliers last 4 playoff games as a favorite. The Under is 15-4 in the Cavaliers last 19 Conference Semifinals games. The Under is 41-20-1 in the Cavaliers last 62 games as a home favorite.
Thursday, 8:05 pm Eastern – ESPN
Tags: Atlanta Hawks, basketball, Cleveland Cavaliers, nba, sports
