Posted on
4/21/2008 4:22:12 PM
NBA Eastern Conference Playoff Betting – Washington at Cleveland
By Eric Williams
After correctly calling Monday’s series opener between these teams in the BetUS Locker Room, I am back to give the NBA Online Betting Community another winning wager as the NBA postseason begins to make its way through ‘the real season’ while beginning its real process of separating the pretenders from the legitimate NBA title contenders.
Though I liked the Washington Wizards, (43-40 SU, 46-37 ATS, 44-39 O/U) a lot entering this series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, (46-37 SU, 38-45 ATS, 37-44-2 O/U) and still believe they have a realistic chance of actually winning if they can control LeBron James while coming up with some big baskets down the stretch in crunch time themselves. Game 2 in the BetUS Sportsbook doesn’t figure to be a walk in the park though the Wizards were right in Game 1 until they fell apart down the stretch with the game tied at 84 with just 1:37 remaining.
The Wizards did however, emphatically let James know that he wouldn’t be making many free trips to the basket as they gave him several hard shoves and fouls.
"I have no problem getting hit," said James who finished with 32 points. "But there's a difference between a foul and a LeBron foul. If that's what their game plan is, I have to be able to get back up and continue to let my game speak for itself."
Washington had a four-point lead entering the final period but shot an atrocious 4-for-20 in the quarter.
"We had our fair share of opportunities," Caron Butler said. "We just didn't capitalize on them. You've got to finish a team like that when you've got them down because they have a superstar who in the fourth quarter can really score some points."
Wizards’ outspoken guard Gilbert Arenas scored 24 points but all-star forward Antawn Jamison shot 0-for-5 in the fourth quarter.
"I had some open shots," he said. "I took four or five that I should have thought about, and a couple of 3s where I could have drove and created shots for other people. But I got some decent shots out there. I'm not beating myself upside the head for taking them."
James said he realizes he will take more punishment as the series continues but will protect himself accordingly.
"I'm not going to try and retaliate if something happens," he said. "I don't think anybody is trying to hurt me. They do want to commit hard fouls. I see that. But I've got to protect myself."
The Wizards are 4-3 against the spread in their last seven games while Cleveland has gone 3-4 against the spread over the same span.
Here is a look at tonight’s key trends followed by my free NBA Betting Picks.
The Wizards are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 Monday games.
The Cavaliers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 playoff games as a favorite of 0.5-4.5.
The Under is 4-0 in Wizards last 4 games as a road underdog.
The Under is 4-0 in Wizards last 4 playoff games as an underdog of 0.5-4.5.
The Under is 5-0 in Cavaliers last 5 games as a favorite.
The Under is 7-0 in Cavaliers last 7 overall.
The Under is 15-6 in the last 21 meetings in Cleveland.
The Favorite is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
The Wizards are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
Analysis: I went against conventional wisdom and picked the Wizards to win this series despite the fact that the Cavaliers have the best player on either team and home-court advantage to boot. Still, I like the Wizards to fix their fourth quarter shooting woes and win this game outright. If there’s one thing the Wizards can do, it’s put the ball In the hole.
NBA Free Picks: Wizards +1½ Points/Over 186½ Total Points
07:00 PM EST NBA Odds
Washington Wizards +1½ -110
Cleveland Cavaliers -1½ -110
Over 186½ -110
Under 186½ -110
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