Bettors are gearing up for the most intriguing NBA playoffs in recent memory, and if the regular season was the prelude, handicapping the playoffs will be a tough task.
NBA Playoffs 2011: Are The Bulls A Safe Bet To Win The NBA Title?
There is uncertainty everywhere. No one team has been truly dominant from wire to wire this season, and the elite teams that were the most consistent bring serious question marks – at least as futures bets – to the playoff betting table.
The Chicago Bulls head into the playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference and overall after going an impressive 62-20 straight up and 49-31-2 against the spread, but can they really cash at +250 to win the NBA title?
Chicago sported the league’s best defense during the regular season, but can it possibly run the table in the East and then take down the Western Conference champion?
"Despite rumors of their demise and the Andrew Bynum injury, the Lakers are still the choice of many bettors to repeat as champs with +200 odds to start the playoffs and oddsmakers are keeping their odds low," said Mark Presley of OddsShark.com.
”They open Sunday against the Hornets, knowing they are 8-2 SU past 10 against them. Totals bettors should be wary of the OVER trend as well (7-2 past 9) when those teams meet.”
The Bulls should get off to a good start in their first round series with the sub-.500 Indiana Pacers, but after that, the path will be difficult. Should Chicago get past Indiana, it would face the winner of the first-round matchup between the Orlando Magic (+2000 to win the NBA title at several shops tracked by OddsShark.com) and Atlanta Hawks.
Potentially waiting down the line for the Bulls are the Miami Heat (+350) and Boston Celtics (+700). The Heat finished the regular season strongly, and are set to go up against the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening round.
The Celtics have a much tougher assignment in the New York Knicks to kick things off. It wasn’t long ago Boston was looking like the team to beat for the championship, but a late-season swoon has dropped its odds – and upped its value.
The San Antonio Spurs (+450) are the top seed in the West after an improbable return to the top of the standings, but like with the Bulls, bettors should tread lightly with them.
San Antonio certainly has the experience to get back to the Finals for the first time since winning the title in 2007, but does it have the length to match up with the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers?
The Spurs meet the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, while the Lakers (+200 favorites to win the NBA title) draw the New Orleans Hornets, who are without David West for the rest of the season.
If San Antonio is successful in reaching the West semifinals, they’ll clash with a team no one wants to face. The Oklahoma City Thunder (+1200) deal with the Denver Nuggets in the first round, and either club is a tough out after both of them ended the season on a hot streak.
For its part, Los Angeles is set up to deal with the winner of the Dallas Mavericks- Portland Trail Blazers first round set. The Mavericks are listed at +2000 to go all the way. [See matchup details and future NBA odds and lines here.]
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