2009 NBA World Championship Odds
June 1, 2009 by sbettingtips
Filed under NBA Betting Tips
And then there were four. The 2009 NBA Conference Final series are upon us and the first two games have been entertaining, to say the least. Can any series live up to the excitement of Boston and Chicago in round one? Will Kobe and LeBraun finally go head to head for the trophy? The oddmakers have made up their minds on just who is favored to win it all this June.
Last week, the Magic made several depressed losers and big time winners after a shocking game-7 blowout of the defending World Champion Celtics. It looks as if Dwight Howard’s decision to call out coach Stan Van Gundy after a game five loss was a good strategy because the team has been winning every since. The Magic took the last two games from Boston and went into Cleveland with a stunning clutch victory over the once-perfect Cavs. A vicious dunk from Howard in the first minute of game one was enough to take out the shot clock and eventually the Cavs as Orlando stormed back from a 16-point deficit to edge out a 107-106 win. They say you live and die by the jump-shot but those are chances the Magic are willing to take with Lewis, Alston and Turkoglu knocking them down on a consistent basis.
Perhaps it was the long layoff that caused Cleveland to come out in game one against the Magic and lay an egg. LeBraun and company swept their way through both Detroit and Atlanta, entering the conference finals with a perfect 8-0 post-season record. Arguably the league’s best team, Cleveland dominated Orlando in the first half, riding the coattail of James who ended up with 49 points on the night. The Cavs may have dropped the ball but are still heavily favored to win the NBA title and the first for the city of Cleveland since the heroics of Jim Brown. Don’t expect Orlando to make it easy though - this could be a long and entertaining series.
The Denver Nuggets play defense - who knew? This isn’t your father’s Nuggets because Chauncey Billups has added leadership and accountability to a team that once cared more about individual stats than winning. Denver has easily been the most impressive team in the West throughout the playoffs, trampling over New Orleans in round one and methodically dismantling the Mavericks in what was a rather controversial series. Denver has looked so good during the post-season that some experts have already deemed them as favorites over the Lakers.
There has been major panic in Laker town over the last few weeks, all caused by a 7-game series with the shorthanded, high-energy Houston Rockets. Even without McGrady and Yao, the Rockets were still able to take L.A. the distance and put the Western Conference champs back on their heels. To no surprise, the Lakers rebounded and stole victory from the jaws of defeat with a nail biting victory over Denver in game one of Conference Finals. If Kobe wants to meet up with LeBraun, he must first go through Carmello Anthony and the best Nuggets team we’ve seen in years.
