posted April 30, 2008 at 18:45 EST in NBA Betting Trends

The Western Conference online betting matchups are pretty much set with the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Utah Jazz in the second round of the playoffs and the San Antonio Spurs taking on the New Orleans Hornets.

Although the Jazz haven’t officially won their series versus the Houston Rockets, I have no doubt that they will pull it through. The Jazz are the better team and can provide BetUS online NBA bettors with more opportunities. So, in that sense we want the Jazz to win!

Let’s take a look at each conference match-up:

New Orleans Hornets vs. San Antonio Spurs

From a BetUS online sportsbook gamblers point-of-view, this series is going to provide the most opportunities. As good as the Spurs have been throughout the years, they haven’t anyone as close as Chris Paul who can dominate you inside or outside depending on how you decide to play him.

Paul is a master attacker - - a rare thing in the NBA and that means that the Spurs will be hard-pressed to stop that super Hornets attack.

I expect the Hornets to lay low for most of the game and then try to come on strong at the end. In that respect, pay close attention to the BetUS online over/under odds. A lot of where the wins go in this series will depend on whether or not the Spurs can keep the games under 200 points.

I’m not ready to pick a winner in this series yet.

I am ready to say that the Spurs are not a lock. So, if you can get BetUS online odds on the Hornets to win straight-up, then you need to go for it!

Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers

I’m going to forget that the Rockets are just a game behind the Jazz and say that they win the series and then move on to take on the Lakers. For the Lakers, this is their worst nightmare match-up wise as the Jazz are a great inside/outside team.

Like the New Orleans Hornets, the Jazz have a great point-guard in Deron Williams. He can absolutely dominate you on the glass as a passer or scorer.

The difference between the Jazz and Hornets is that the Jazz actually have a terrific front-line. I feel comfortable in saying that the Jazz can effectively guard Pau Gasol.

What does this mean to BetUS online NBA bettors? It means that we should concentrate on take the Jazz and the points in most of the games that occur in this series.

I also believe that the Jazz will attempt to run with the Lakers in this series. The overs should be money!

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