Top-Three Finals Preview

The National Basketball Association’s regular season comes to a close today, with one final playoff spot to be determined in the Eastern conference. While little has changed atop the standings, the road to the finals could lead to a very intriguing championship series. Here’s a quick look at three match ups NBA sportsbook enthusiasts will be hoping to see.

Orlando Magic vs Los Angeles Lakers

A rematch of the 2009 finals would be a treat. The Lakers never really looked in danger of conceding the title to the Magic a season ago, and while Orlando feels it is better equipped to handle Los Angeles should the two represent their conferences in the final for a second straight year, the truth is both teams have improved. Can the Magic rely on Vince Carter to be the difference if these teams meet?

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Los Angeles Lakers

This is the dream match up NBA betting enthusiasts were anticipating a year ago when the Cavaliers and Lakers were each made heavy favorites in their respective conference finals. One of these teams made it, the other had eleven months to think about it, and work towards ensuring a spot in the championship. The key difference between this years team and the one that lost to the Magic in six games a season ago will be at center, where Cleveland added Shaquille O’Neal in the off-season to match up with Dwight Howard in the post. Will that be enough? How about Shaq versus Kobe for the NBA title?

Boston Celtics vs San Antonio Spurs

How about two solid teams with aging rosters making one more championship run? The Celtics can compete with any team in the east when healthy, while San Antonio has been one of the hottest teams in the association down the stretch.

Do Bosh’s Injuries Mean Game Over For Raps?

Last night the Toronto Raptors may have had their unlikely playoff hopes dashed with the blow of one elbow.

The Raptors are still alive in the NBA playoff race in the Eastern Conference with a one-game lead over Chicago for the last playoff spot. However, during the first quarter of Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chris Bosh took an accidental elbow from Antwain Jamison. Reports indicate that Bosh’s nose is broken, and he will be out of the lineup going forward. Sportsbook cappers know that puts the Raps playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.

For the Raptors, the timing couldn’t be worse. Bosh is arguably the heart and soul of the team, and certainly the workhorse. With five games left in the regular season, fans of NBA betting know the outlook for Toronto does not look good.

The Raptors return home to Toronto for a match against the Celtics on Wednesday, then it’s off to Atlanta to take on the dangerous Hawks. After their loss against the Cavs, the Raps cannot afford to drop another two before they face the Bulls on Sunday.

While information has not been immediately forthcoming with regard to the time Bosh will be out of the lineup, the severity of the injury indicates he won’t be back in regular season Northbet.com betting play. As to whether or not there will be any games after that, well that’s up to remainder of the Raptors to make happen. Team players have indicated that while Bosh’s absence will undoubtedly hurt the team, it creates an opportunity for an individual or individuals to step up and fill the void. Will the Raptors have a last minute hero this season, or is the loss of Bosh an irrevocable catastrophe?

Injury Update; Big Names Hitting the Pine

It has been a bad couple weeks as some major stars are missing time for playoff bound teams and are sure to sway NBA odds. With fewer and fewer games remaining, the player’s teams will hope to get them back sooner rather than later.

Kobe Bryant has been out since February 5 with an ankle injury, to compound a broken finger. He has started practicing and is expected to test it out, in limited minutes, when the Lakers host Memphis tonight before a big matchup in Dallas on Wednesday.

Steve Nash is skipping Phoenix’s road game against the Thunder to rest his ailing back for tomorrow’s home-game against Philadelphia. After being a game time decision on Sunday, he opted out of travel and a back-to-back situation by missing the game.

Chris Bosh has missed two games with an ankle injury and is questionable for Tuesday’s game against Portland. The Raptor’s power-forward is leading the team in points, rebounds and will be needed as Toronto faces Cleveland, Oklahoma City and Houston in the next week.

Deron Williams was scratched from Monday night’s game against Atlanta and is questionable for Wednesday’s game against Charlotte with a bruised quad. It was the sixth game he has missed this season and the Jazz are 3-3 without him.

It has been a rough month for Tony Parker, not only did he miss three games with an ankle injury but now he has missed his third game with a hip injury. After having an MRI, on Monday, it is not believed to be a serious injury and he is listed as day-to-day for the struggling Spurs.

In other notes; Tracy McGrady left early in just his second game with the Knicks after banging his knee… Allen Iverson is out indefinitely as he deals with his daughter’s prolonged ailment.

All Stars Bosh and Randolph go Head to Head

The Toronto Raptors kick off the second portion of the season at home on Wednesday against a team that used to share the same nationality (expect a sports betting SEO or two and a betting search engine optimization guru to be court side).

In their ninth season since leaving Vancouver, the Memphis Grizzlies are looking to build on the first winning record the club has achieved at the half-way point in four years.

After accumulating a record of 68-178 over the past three seasons, the Grizzlies sit a game over .500 and with a young and talented core of players, sit just three games out of the last playoff spot. They have however dropped four straight and need to turn things around if they want to stay in contention.

The Raptors are coming off their best pre All Star record in franchise history and are looking to push for home court advantage in the playoffs. Their 29-23 record puts them in fifth place in the East and just three wins behind the Boston Celtics and four behind the Atlanta Hawks; a gap that could be closed if they continue their three game win streak.

The experts writing 5dimes reviews know that this will be a matchup of two of only three players in the league averaging over 20 points and 11 rebounds; New York’s David Lee is the other. Zach Randolph and Chris Bosh are playing as well as any power forwards in the league this year and after playing in the All Star game, for their respective conferences, it is time for both to resettle and lead their teams to the playoffs.

Toronto and Memphis average 104.6 and 102.5 points per game respectively, and both rank in the bottom eight in points allowed so this should be a high scoring contest. The Raptors however should be able to come away with this game as the team outside of Bosh is much better than the Grizzlies team outside of Randolph.

Take a break from football betting odds and college football betting odds and invest in some NBA tonight.

Kobe, LeBron Heading En Route To Finals Collision

While most people are focused on Super Bowl betting right now, it is becoming more and more obvious who will play in the Championship round of the NBA Finals: The Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.

This isn’t too much of a stretch for either team as they are both at the top of their conference and both team ventured to the Conference Championships or further last year.

The Lakers are the reigning NBA Champions so there is no reason to believe that they can’t be back. In the offseason, they upgraded Trevor Ariza to Ron Artest and that should make them better. At the same time, the rest of the Western Conference has grown weak as the San Antonio Spurs are old, the Utah Jazz lack chemistry, the Dallas Mavericks lack and identity and the Phoenix Suns are fading.

In the East, the Cavaliers have been the class and considering they went all the way to the Conference Finals last year and then added Shaquille O’Neal in the offseason, that should give them a huge boost.

The Cavaliers are the best team in the NBA right now record wise and the Lakers are right behind them. With two of the best players of this generation leading them, it should very much be a LeBron James-Kobe Bryant, Cleveland Cavaliers-Los Angeles Lakers NBA Finals this Northbet.com betting year.

Lakers To Repeat As Champions

It’s early in the NBA season and while most of the main contenders aren’t even trying yet, there have been some disturbing signs among some of the teams that are supposed to be Championship contenders.

In the East, the Boston Celtics have looked a little on the old side even though Kevin Garnett’s knee is feeling better. Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers are both feeling out their lineups.

Everyone is waiting until the postseason to flick the ‘on’ switch but there is only one team you can trust to do that: the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers are the reigning NBA Champions and they have been competitive the last two years without full production from Andrew Bynum. On top of that, they have added an All-Star caliber player in Ron Artest.

This is a team that is already the best in the NBA and has simply improved. In the West, the conference has deteriorated, which has left the Lakers as the best team standing.

Once Bynum gets into the lineup and Artest grows more comfortable, this is going to be a very tough team to stop. As they proved last year, nobody was capable of doing it so now that they are better, it’s unlikely anyone will top them again.

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