Posted on 4/17/2008 12:34:17 PM

NBA Basketball Betting - Power Rankings

By D.S Williamson

Let the NBA betting begin. The 2008 NBA Playoffs have been decided. One team missing are the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors upset the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the 2007 NBA Playoffs. They won’t get that chance this year. There were just too many other good teams in the Western Conference for the Warriors to make the playoffs. Oh, well.

I’m not heart broken over the fact that the Warriors won’t participate. I believe that both the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets are better than the Warriors. I also believe that both the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets could cause some serious issues for some of the higher-seeded teams in the first-round.

I’m going to base these rankings on my feelings towards the individual teams come their first playoff game. You might be surprised to find that for some teams I’m throwing their regular season trends right out of the window.

Let’s get to the rankings!

NBA Power Rankings - - Playoffs

1. Boston Celtics - - They’re just too good to ignore right now. Yes, they might be surprised in the playoffs since they are a relatively inexperienced playoff team but they get to battle the Atlanta Hawks in the first-round. That means four straight covers against the BetUS spread in what should be a sweep.

2. Detroit Pistons - - The Pistons are notorious for playing excellent basketball when it matters most. I think that will happen this year in the playoffs. During the regular season this team was less than ideal against the BetUS spread. I expect a nice turnaround in the first-round of the playoffs as Detroit gets to play the 76’ers. What makes this match-up really enticing from a bettor’s point-of-view is that the 76’ers beat the Pistons the last time these two teams met. Low against the BetUS spread lines means that the Pistons, like the Celtics, should cover four games in a row.

3. Utah Jazz - - As things stand right now the Jazz will get home-court advantage in their first playoff series of the year and it will be against the Houston Rockets. The Jazz are deadly at home, have been playing at an extremely high-level all month, and the Rockets will be without Yao Ming. This could be another sweep.

4. Dallas Mavericks - - If nothing changes, the New Orleans Hornets will have to play this team in the first-round of the Western Conference Playoffs. New Orleans is cold while Dallas is hot. That’s enough for me to say that the Mavs could win this series outright. In any case the Mavs will keep the games close which means they should be the play in this series’ games in New Orleans.

5. Denver Nuggets - - Like the Mavs versus Hornets, the Nuggets are a good enough team to keep things close in their playoff series versus the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers. Denver can score with anybody in the league. They are also a veteran led team. That might hurt the Lakers who have their fair share of inexperienced players. The Lakers should win the series but from a betting stand-point, the Nuggets should be the team that we concentrate on.

6. Phoenix Suns - - The Suns were just woeful against the BetUS spread all year. But I’m going out on a limb and saying that if the Suns play the San Antonio Spurs in the first-round of the NBA Playoffs then the Suns will prevail. Why? The Spurs don’t have anybody quick enough to guard Amare Stoudemire. Shaq can play defense on Tim Duncan and Tony Parker versus Steve Nash is a wash. To me this is one of the teams in the first round of these NBA playoffs that could cause a major upset and beat a team like the Spurs in five games. Think BetUS money-line if the Suns end up playing the Spurs in the first-round.

7. Toronto Raptors - - A healthy Chris Bosh could make all the difference in the Raptors first playoff series versus the Orlando Magic. I like the Raptors from a betting stand-point because they have the one man that can take on Dwight Howard. Bosh is just as good to me. I also still have my doubts as to how well the Magic guards will play come playoff time. Why not pick a team that provides upset potential at nice odds? The Eastern Conference teams after Boston and Detroit just aren’t that good.

8. Washington Wizards - - As good as LeBron James is, I don’t have any faith in the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers. I’d much rather bet on a team with Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and a healthy Gilbert Arenas. This is another team, like the Raptors and Suns that could upset their higher-seeded, first-round playoff opponent. Let’s start making some dollars on the BetUS NBA money-line!

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