Posted on 4/18/2008 12:28:06 PM

NBA Basketball Playoff Wagering - East Playoff Power Poll

By Mike Rose

(CURRENT) (TEAM) (W/L OVERALL & W/L FOR WEEK) (ATS RECORD) (LAST WEEKS RANK)

1) Boston Celtics (66-16/4-0) (52-28-2 ATS) (LW: 1) The Celtics put forth a regular season effort for the ages. They won 66 games throughout their 82-game schedule, and made their backers plenty of loot by winning 65% of their games against the spread. Their efforts earned them the #1 seed throughout the entire post-season, and they’ll get the pleasure of taking on the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the Playoffs. They beat the Hawks by an average of 14 PPG in their three regular season match-ups this season, and most recently knocked them off by a 99-89 final count as three-point road pups on April 12th. At home, the Celtics went a combined 48-29 ATS (62%) vs. sub .500 non-divisional opponents, while on the road, they went a combined 50-33 ATS (60%) vs. sub .500 non-divisional opponents. Look for the Celtics to take advantage of the Hawks youth and average play at both ends of the court.

2) Detroit Pistons (59-23/4-0) (45-36-1 ATS) (LW: 7) The Pistons turned the intensity up a couple notches this past week winning all four of their games both SU and ATS. The Central Division champs experimented with player rotations and its bench throughout the last month, and should be more than ready for what’s to come down the road. They won 59 of their 82 regular season games this season, and made their backers some greenbacks in the process by covering 56% of their games against the Vegas number. They’re matched up with the 7th seeded Philadelphia 76ers who managed a season split against them in the regular season. That said Philly won the meeting in March when the Pistons were suffering from a multitude of injuries and in April when they were experimenting with their rotations for the second season. They should have no problems taking care of business at home where they went 34-7 SU and 26-15 ATS, but things could get dicey for them on the road where they went 25-16 SU and a mediocre 19-21-1 ATS.

3) Orlando Magic (52-30/3-1) (50-29-3 ATS) (LW: 10) The team everyone loves to dismiss in the East had a fantastic year under first year head coach Stan Van Gundy. The Magic seemingly won the Southeast Division months ago, and ended up winning it by nine games. The Magic relish the fact that they’re being completely overlooked to do much of anything in the post-season, so don’t be shocked if this group gives one of the big two a real scare further along down the road. Dwight Howard was a beast this season averaging close to 21 PPG and almost 15 boards per contest, with Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis being the other double-digit scorers. The Magic were nothing but $$$ ATS this season going 23-15-3 at home and 27-14 on the road. They won two of their three match-ups with the Raptors this season with the only loss coming in the Air Canada Centre when Chris Bosh dropped 40 on them.

4) Washington Wizards (43-39/2-2) (46-36 ATS) (LW: 13) The Wizards proved to be a resilient bunch all season long with both of their superstars out for long periods of time. The fact that they managed to finish four games over .500 with both Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler missing tons of action says something about Head Coach Eddie Jordan’s “Wizz”. This will be the third straight year that Washington will lock horns with the Cavaliers in the post-season. They split their four-game series with the Cavs, but this is the team Washington wanted and they should be able to move on if their defense is able to contain Lebron.

5) Cleveland Cavaliers (45-37/2-2) (37-45 ATS) (LW: 15) This Cavs team hasn’t impressed all season long, and now they get home court advantage against a team they’ve knocked out of the playoffs the last two years. Not good if you ask me considering the Cavs have been a disappointment for a bulk of their 2007-08 campaign. Defensively, they’re sound coming in ranked 9th allowing a shade under 97 PPG, but their offense outside of Lebron James leaves a lot to be desired (24th in PPG at 96.4, 28th in FG% at 43.9, 28th FT% at 71.7). They are decent from beyond the arc (16th at 35.8%), and they’re the best offensive rebounding team in the league averaging 13.3 per game. If they’re able to control the glass against the Wizards, it will allow them to remain competitive in this series. If not, the Wizards should finally get past them.

6) Philadelphia 76ers (40-42/0-4) (43-36-3 ATS) (LW: 12) The Sixers took the last week of the regular season off going 0-4 both SU and ATS thinking they can just turn it back on in the post-season. They might be a sexy pick by some to pull off an upset against Detroit, but this club can’t shoot the three, and they’re woeful from the charity stripe. That said, the fast paced style of play they adapted to in the second half of the season could help them cover a few in their series with the Pistons. They managed a winning mark ATS at 43-36-3, but they were better against the Vegas number on the road where they went 23-17-1.

7) Toronto Raptors (41-41/2-2) (39-42-1 ATS) (LW: 17) Just take a look at the Raptors season long marks SU and ATS and you’ll get a picture of just how mediocre this club really is. They failed to build off of their first divisional championship from a year ago, and could be cannon fodder for Orlando in their first round match-up of the post-season. That said, Toronto has owned the Magic up until this season, and they enter the playoffs the healthiest they’ve been in months. They boast the better overall depth, and they’ll be looking to make good on their poor first round showing in last years post-season. The Magic aren’t world-beaters by any stretch of the imagination, but Toronto will have to do a better job defending the three-ball than they have to date (#21 at 36.8%).

8) Atlanta Hawks (37-45/1-3) (37-44-1 ATS) (LW: 16) The Hawks showed no reservations in not showing their hand against both Orlando and Boston this week, but to close out the regular season losing to Miami by double-digits was disgraceful. This will be the Hawks first post-season inclusion since the strike shortened 1999 season. "We're a team that has nothing to lose. We're going to go out there and just fight" said F Josh Childress. They made the post-season mostly due to a down year in the East, but the club has some nice talent regardless of its youth. Still, they have no shot of upending the Celtics, but they might grab a couple ATS winners.

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