Friday night serves up three more big NBA matchups, including the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.
Prior to Game 2, Mavs owner Mark Cuban talked about the hate he felt towards his team’s first-round opponent.
"I have a hard time being civil to [Spurs owner] Peter Holt at the board of governors meetings and he has a hard time being civil to me even though we both like each other," Cuban is quoted as saying by ESPN.
"We can both be 0-80 and if those last two games are Spurs-Mavericks, it's going to be like a playoff game because we dislike each other that much."
The Spurs responded by blowing out the Mavs 102-88 in Game 2, covering as 3.5-point underdogs.
Now tied at 1-1 going into Game 3, online sportsbooks have the Spurs as 3-point road ‘dogs with the Total at 193.5.
In their last 16 games in San Antonio, the Dallas Mavericks are a very impressive 12-4 against the spread.
The Mavs have also been kind to bettors in their last 12 road games, with records of 10-2 SU and ATS.
The Spurs, for their part, are 12-3 SU and 11-4 ATS in their last 15 home games.
Looking at the Over/Under numbers of note, San Antonio has produced 7 Overs and only 1 Under in their last eight home games.
Sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com is reporting early action coming in on the underdog Mavericks, with 63% of all the betting volume in this one so far tilted to the visitor.
Two big matches Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics. Enjoy all the action.
Memo to Mo Williams, leave the predictions or shot calling, to Babe Ruth, Mark Messier and Joe Namath.
Prior to Tuesday’s Game 4, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ one-guard guaranteed a win but unlike that revered New York trio, his mouth wrote a check that he couldn’t cash.
The Cavs were defeated in OT by a score of 116-114 and as a result, they failed to cover as -1.5 road faves and are down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference final.
Over in the West, the sports betting rejoiced as the Los Angeles Lakers rebounded nicely at home last night following a brutal 120-101 road loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
Back in the friendly confines of the STAPLES Center L.A. defeated the Nuggets 103-94, covering as 6-point favorites and getting a leg up on Denver in the series, currently leading 3 games to 2.
NBA Playoff Trends
The Nuggets aren’t out for the count by any stretch of the imagination as they play Game 6 back in Denver and are 18-2 straight up and 14-6 against the spread in their last 20 home games.
The NBA secretly wants a Cavs-Lakers final but should the Orlando Magic, who are 7-point underdogs in tonight’s Game 5 in Cleveland, defeat the Cavaliers and the Nuggets force and win a Game 7, the NBA will see a final with the Denver Nuggets and Orlando.
Prospective Betting
What about an Orlando-Denver Final?
SPORTSBETTING.com offers up the unique option fo “Prospective Betting”
The Nuggets have been the hotter team during the postseason, going 12-2-1 ATS while the Magic are 10-7 ATS in the playoffs, although they are currently on a 6-0 ATS run.
In the last 20 games overall between Denver and Orlando, the Magic hold the edge with a record of 12-7-1 ATS and the Under has cashed in the last four consecutive meetings between the two.
More recently, the Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic split the season series in 2008/09.
The two teams last met back in February 11, 2009 but it was Denver that came away with the win straight up and against the spread, covering as 7-point road ‘dogs in an 82-73 win.
The first meeting of the season took place back in January, with the Magic coming away with a 106-88 win in Denver, covering 1.5-point road underdog.
The last 15 times Orlando has hosted Denver, they have been, pardon the pun, magic, going 14-1 SU and 11-3-1 ATS.
In Denver’s last 15 home contests against the Magic, it hasn’t been too profitable overall going 7-6-2 ATS but more recently it has been, going 5-1 ATS and 4-2 O/U in its last six matchups dating back to November of 2003.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility to see a Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic championship final in the NBA.
It wouldn’t be the exact matchup the NBA would want but it wouldn’t be a bad thing either.
We’ll see how it plays out.
You can check all the NBA Playoff odds and Prospective Betting at SPORTSBETTING.com.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
Author: ChadRogers has been an avid follower and handicapper of North American sports for over 20 years and has written about sports and sports betting for the last decade. Chad specializes in articles focused on the NFL, NFL betting, NCAA betting, the NBAand overall "how-to" handicapping articles.
