The Sure Bet
Well it looks like ProSportsbook.com is able to steal the show again as the Las Vegas Hilton & Casino released their sportsbook on Monday evening. I had Sands at 28/1 odds to win the NBA championship and listed Miami at 9/1, followed by San Antonio at 15/1, the Phoenix Suns at 20/1, the Clippers at 30/1 and the eventual winner at 40/1. Those exact lines came out on the Patriots, Pistons, and Bucks for Sunday’s huge win over the Lakers.
Sands notes the Rockets are 28/1 to win the conference finals and 28/1 to take it all. Houston is the class of the NBA at the moment, slot 138 rtp both on the court and in the handicapping business. Look for the Rockets to be in the finals and battle the Western Conference champion for the crown at 8/1 odds.
The NBA is also big business for Las Vegas and the Hilton, which posted up some pretty impressive numbers yesterday. For instance, the Tigers are 8/1 to win the NBA Finals, the Suns at 10/1, the Cavs at 11/1 and the Dallas Stars at 20/1. Sunday’s games are highlighted by Detroit at 7:05 ET on ABC with a Tenager on the Pistons while the nightcap features Memphis at 7:35 ET.
New Jersey is a new addition to the Las Vegas Hilton’s futures line this season with the team at 20/1. select performance isn’t expected this weekend with most games being played indoors. Sunday’s schedule has the Heat at 7:05 ET, Suns at 10:05 ET and the Clippers at 3:35 ET. Miami is favored by 2.5 points with a total of 103. Suns are a 5-point favorite with a total of 104. Louisville is the home underdog in its season opening road game at 7:00 ET. The Cards are a double-digit favorite with a total of 105.
les St. are the home underdog in their season opener in college hoops. The Cardinals, who are 22-10, join the Heat in the postseason after an 0-6 start last season while the Pistons made it to the NBA Finals last season in the best-casual seating category. Combined to go that far, the Heat have posted a mark of 22-4-1 ATS, while the Pistons have gone 25-8 and have been in the NBA Finals in each of the last two seasons.
If you’re looking for good college basketball picks, another possible goldmine is Lousiville’s outstanding five-game winning streak to start the 2006-07 season. The cluttered West needs to decide what to do with Troy Woodson as he enters his senior season after knee surgery and what exactly with the season-ending knee injury suffered by Chris Paul last year. He is single-handedly trying to lead Detroit to a first round trip since the 2002 playoffs.
ressing up against victimizing Paul and the best will be Atlanta’s Deon Thompson, the NBA’s reigning defensive player of the year. Thompson is 6-foot-7 and weighs about heavier thanumberjack, which means he can take and cannonball almost anyone off of his bounce. He uses his long arms to great effect to get under the basket and also to play a terrific behind the back steal game behind the line of scrimmage.
But LSU coach Les Miles has an idea of what’s in store for everyone else. Miles has noticed that almost everyone else in the East Room — the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers, to name a couple –loathe going under the total, which is a manifestation of new coach Isiah Thomas’ aggressive, team-oriented approach.
“No one wants to be up 20,” said Miles, a former Pistons and Heat player. “I think it’s just a mentality. We just want to win, period. Everyone wants to win, but you can’t win with four guys on your team. You can’t win at halfcourt or with three.”
Miles noticed that even Thomas, who has always been known for his underrated play, had gotten a lot of foul calls this season.
“That’s basketball,” Miles said. “You can do whatever you want to do. That’s what I like about it. Whatever comes, happens. We won’t be able to change the custom of the game.”
Perhaps, but it seems like the basketball world would benefit more from a little reflection on the Who dun it, when it comes to basketball betting, rather than a bunch of pointy stakes ranging from the NBA Western Conference to the NCAA Football Championship.
“That’s a lot of money up there,” Miles said. “It’s only for the championship.”
