Posted on
10/17/2007 6:04:59 PM
NBA Betting Odds: Mavericks a Solid Bet to Win It All
By D.S. Williamson
The Dallas Mavericks went into last years’ playoffs with the best record in the NBA. They came out of their first game series versus the Golden State Warriors as upset victims.
Don’t expect that to happen again. With a solid bench, great coaching, and one of the more underrated point-guards in the NBA, Dallas is a good bet to turn the tables on their chief rival, the San Antonio Spurs, and win the NBA Championship outright this year.
It’s true that their season ending playoff series loss to the Golden State Warriors was embarrassing, but if there is one thing that Dallas coach Avery Johnson is good at, it’s making adjustments. I guarantee you that he’s been replaying the Golden State games in his head all summer long, trying to find whatever he can about why the superior Maverick squad lost to the Warriors.
He’ll get it together and he’ll get his team playing as well as they did last year. With all of that being said, it’s time to squash the numbers and figure out if a future bet on the Mavericks is a good one or not.
Here’s the NBA Line:
The BetUS line on the Dallas Mavericks to win the 2007 – 2008 NBA Championship outright is + 400.
The only team with lower odds are the San Antonio Spurs at + 350. The Mavericks are roughly receiving the same odds as the Phoenix Suns. The only team in the Eastern Conference even close the Mavericks are the Boston Celtics at + 450.
Future NBA betting odds-makers certainly haven’t lost faith in the Dallas Mavericks. But, is + 400 good odds on a team that bowed out in the first round of the playoffs last year? I’m going to say yes because the Mavericks strength is in their guards. Both Jason Terry and Devin Harris are legitimate top-tier NBA point-guards. That gives the Mavericks two excellent ball-handlers. In Harris’s case, he should be better this year which will open things up for Terry and Nowitzki to bury long-range threes.
They also get back Center D.J. Mbenga, hopefully, from a torn ACL that he suffered last season. If he can come back to where all he has to do is lean on Tim Duncan and Amare Stoudemire, then the Mavs have a gigantic center to take away some rebounds from the Spurs and Suns. That’s what they were lacking last year with Dirk Nowitzki loving to troll that 3-point line and not necessarily going inside to take the hard foul. Then, of course, there is Jerry Stackhouse who really didn’t show up in the playoffs last year. The best sixth-man in the NBA has to find a way to play his best basketball in the late spring or the Mavericks probably won’t get out of the tough Western Conference.
One thing to note before laying down your future bet is that Mavs owner Mark Cuban pretty much said that he’d part ways with most of his team to get Kobe Bryant. Don’t worry about it. Avery Johnson is too good of a coach to let that sort of talk get to his players’ heads.
A.J. will have this team ready for the season.
You’ll find the latest 2007-2008 NBA odds and lines in the best online sportsbook, BetUS.com. Betting on NBA player and game props makes every aspect of the game exciting. Join BetUS.com today to bet on the NBA and make online sports betting work for you!