Prop-aganda - Best Bets on the NBA Playoffs

TACKLING THOSE NBA SERIES PROPS

If you really want to get the "full experience" of the NBA playoff season, you want to explore the BetUS Sportsbook. You can get there by clicking on the "Basketball" option, then the sub-category "Futures." It's simple as that.

Let's get you updated on some of these playoff props:

To Win the Eastern Conference
Cleveland Cavaliers       -650
Boston Celtics              +600
Orlando Magic              +700
Atlanta Hawks               +3500

It is indeed difficult to make a case for anyone else than Cleveland (-650 at BetUS), because, after all, the Cavaliers have a 41-2 record at home as we speak, and they are going to have home court advantage no matter who they face in the conference finals. The path was cleared for them when Kevin Garnett went down with his knee injury. If Garnett was still in place, I would possibly play Boston as an underdog to get back to the Finals, considering the nice job they did against LeBron James in last year's playoffs. If you're going to take a shot with anybody, however, it might be the Magic (+700 at BetUS), the team in the this group with not only the best big man (Dwight Howard) but also the ability to stretch out a defense with two forwards (Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis) who can shoot from the outside. What Orlando does NOT have going for it is a point guard who can shoot from the perimeter and the prospect of being at a home disadvantage in two straight series.

To Win the Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers       -600
Houston Rockets           +1400
Denver Nuggets            +500
Dallas Mavericks           +2000

In the West, it was basically the Lakers (-600 at BetUS), then a pack of teams that had a hard time distinguishing themselves from the others. Some think perhaps the most dangerous team because of its experience, the San Antonio Spurs, make it easier for L.A. because they are out of the way now, but the Spurs were not going to be a threat without Manu Ginoboli. The Lakers were a combined 11-1 against these three other teams, with Denver (+500 at BetUS) garnering the only victory. The Nuggets are the only other team I would take a shot with, and that's because they have a championship-level point guard (Chauncey Billups), a little bit more of a defensive attitude, the ability to run and gun, and a top scorer in Carmelo Anthony who can, on any given night, give Kobe Bryant a run for his money.

This prop has come across prior to Game 1 of the Boston-Orlando series. It's called a "Game and Series Double":

Magic win game and win series               +225
Magic win game and lose series              +550
Celtics win game and win series              +125
Celtics win game and lose series            +375

As I alluded to before, in watching Boston have life-and-death with Chicago in the first round, I just can't help but think they are like a lot of other teams in the NBA, dropping a notch or two without Kevin Garnett. That struggle with a .500 team is no accident. By the same token, it wouldn't be shocking if they beat Orlando in the first game of this series.  Remember, you're talking about a team that won 59 games in the regular season, has the game's best rebounder and a premier shot-blocker in Dwight Howard, and by Game 3 they should be at full strength with Courtney Lee coming back. Keep in mind as well that this is a team that dusted off Philadelphia in Game 6 without Howard or Lee. You're going to see it more difficult for Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins to work up some offense in the paint, that's for sure. And we'll see how good the Celts' perimeter defense is. That +375 with Orlando eventually winning the series looks pretty appetizing.