The Run For The Playoffs
By SPORTSBETTING.COM
The madness of the NBA trade deadline is over and now teams can truly set their eyes on the prize.
This year?s deadline saw some big names switching zip codes and the balance of power has shifted more than a couple of times since the trade clock ticked down to zero.
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers
With one swift move, the Los Angeles Lakers became the odds-on favorite to take this year?s NBA championship, +200 at SPORTSBETTING.COM.
Pau Gasol was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies on February 1 and made his debut with the Lakers on February 5 against the New Jersey Nets and he has averaged 21.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg and has been making 62.8 percent of his field goals ever since.
The Lakers have gone an incredible 10-1 overall and 9-2 against the spread and have become the darling of the betting public.
Phoenix Suns
Shaquille O?Neal has a number of nicknames including the Big Aristotle and Shaq Fu, and his latest incarnation sees him christened as the Big Cactus.
A popular theory amongst analysts is that the Suns acquired Shaq as a foil for Western conference rival San Antonio and C Tim Duncan.
Ever since he debuted with the Suns on Feb. 20th against the Lakers, the Suns have gone 2-2 ATS.
Shaq, Steve Nash and the Suns are listed at +600 to take the title.
Dallas Mavericks
The old clich? that goes, ?if at first you don?t succeed try, try again? was something the Dallas Mavericks used prior to the trade deadline.
After a false start, the Mavs, +1500, were finally able to acquire PG Jason Kidd, the player they took in the first round of the 1994 draft.
Although Kidd is a good PG and makes Dallas better, the money going in the Mavs? direction has only increased minimally probably because the public perceives the changes made by the Lakers and Suns as more beneficial.
Eastern Conference
Cleveland Cavaliers
There was only one trade of note in the Eastern Conference and it was also one of the most complicated.
The deal involved the Cavs, the Chicago Bulls and the Seattle Sonics and to make a long story short, Cleveland ended up with C Ben Wallace, Fs Joe Smith and Wally Szczerbiak and PG Delonte West and a draft pick.
The key player for the Cavs is Wallace who is a monster under the boards in fact, in two games with his new team Wallace has averaged 10.5 rebounds and 9.5 points.
Like the Mavericks, the Cavaliers are listed at +1500.
Boston Celtics
The team with the best record in the NBA didn?t do much at the trade deadline but they did just sign power forward P.J. Brown.
But with the likes of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in the lineup and a 78.2 percent win percentage, nothing seems broken and therefore nothing needs to be fixed.
SPORTSBETTING.COM has the Celtics as the odds-on in the Eastern Conference listing Boston at +350.
The 2007/08 NBA season should close with a bang?enjoy the action.
By SPORTSBETTING.COM
The madness of the NBA trade deadline is over and now teams can truly set their eyes on the prize.
This year?s deadline saw some big names switching zip codes and the balance of power has shifted more than a couple of times since the trade clock ticked down to zero.
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers
With one swift move, the Los Angeles Lakers became the odds-on favorite to take this year?s NBA championship, +200 at SPORTSBETTING.COM.
Pau Gasol was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies on February 1 and made his debut with the Lakers on February 5 against the New Jersey Nets and he has averaged 21.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg and has been making 62.8 percent of his field goals ever since.
The Lakers have gone an incredible 10-1 overall and 9-2 against the spread and have become the darling of the betting public.
Phoenix Suns
Shaquille O?Neal has a number of nicknames including the Big Aristotle and Shaq Fu, and his latest incarnation sees him christened as the Big Cactus.
A popular theory amongst analysts is that the Suns acquired Shaq as a foil for Western conference rival San Antonio and C Tim Duncan.
Ever since he debuted with the Suns on Feb. 20th against the Lakers, the Suns have gone 2-2 ATS.
Shaq, Steve Nash and the Suns are listed at +600 to take the title.
Dallas Mavericks
The old clich? that goes, ?if at first you don?t succeed try, try again? was something the Dallas Mavericks used prior to the trade deadline.
After a false start, the Mavs, +1500, were finally able to acquire PG Jason Kidd, the player they took in the first round of the 1994 draft.
Although Kidd is a good PG and makes Dallas better, the money going in the Mavs? direction has only increased minimally probably because the public perceives the changes made by the Lakers and Suns as more beneficial.
Eastern Conference
Cleveland Cavaliers
There was only one trade of note in the Eastern Conference and it was also one of the most complicated.
The deal involved the Cavs, the Chicago Bulls and the Seattle Sonics and to make a long story short, Cleveland ended up with C Ben Wallace, Fs Joe Smith and Wally Szczerbiak and PG Delonte West and a draft pick.
The key player for the Cavs is Wallace who is a monster under the boards in fact, in two games with his new team Wallace has averaged 10.5 rebounds and 9.5 points.
Like the Mavericks, the Cavaliers are listed at +1500.
Boston Celtics
The team with the best record in the NBA didn?t do much at the trade deadline but they did just sign power forward P.J. Brown.
But with the likes of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in the lineup and a 78.2 percent win percentage, nothing seems broken and therefore nothing needs to be fixed.
SPORTSBETTING.COM has the Celtics as the odds-on in the Eastern Conference listing Boston at +350.
The 2007/08 NBA season should close with a bang?enjoy the action.
