posted May 27, 2008 at 12:54 in NBA Free Picks

How many times during these Western Conference playoffs have BetUS NBA betting fans written off the San Antonio Spurs? During their online betting series versus the New Orleans Hornets it appeared that the Spurs were too old to keep up with Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and David West. Yet the Spurs came up with the win in game seven of that basketball wagering contest.

The win propelled the old Spurs into the Western Conference Finals against the young Los Angeles Lakers. Not only are the Lakers younger, but they also have the best player in the world on their team, MVP Kobe Bryant. With Bryant playing like Superman in the first game of the series, the Spurs went down after having a half-time lead. Then, in the second game of the series Bryant and the Lakers blew the Spurs away.

It appeared as if the Lakers were going to coast to a four game sweep and then await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. But what happened in game three of the series? The old team dominated. Yes, the Lakers had their chances in the first half, but eventually it was the Spurs who “wore down” the younger, and supposedly more talented, Lakers.

How have the Spurs been able to dominate the NBA for the past eight to nine years? Simple. They have the best chemistry out of any team in the NBA. The Spurs are probably the only team that has three legitimate leaders in Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Not only are all three terrific at leading the Spurs on the court, all three are also good at letting each other lead.

That’s rare in the NBA where most teams have maybe one, like the Lakers and Bryant for example, leader, while the other players take a backseat. The Spurs never worry in a series because their brand of basketball - - counting on each other deep into the fourth quarter - - usually makes them winners at the end. A lot of the credit has to go to coach Greg Poppovich who knows exactly what buttons to push in order to get his team to perform.

The question in the Western Conference Finals now becomes - will the Lakers be able to adjust to the Spurs who are, simply put, the more experienced and battle tested team? That’s a good question and one that almost certainly depends on your philosophy as an online gambling aficionado. If you believe that eventually age will catch up to the Spurs, then taking the low basketball betting odds on the Lakers to win the NBA Championship in the BetUS online sportsbook makes perfect sense.

Then again, if the experience of the Spurs matters to you, then taking the Spurs who are no better then the third favorite to win the NBA Championship in the BetUS online sportsbook is a brilliant wager.

Yes, the Spurs can do it again. This is the NBA Playoffs and more often then not the team that comes up big will be the team that is able to count on more then one player in the third and fourth quarters.

In any case it is the Spurs who have now made the Lakers the team that has to adjust in this series. That could spell trouble for the Lakers who after Bryant really have nobody that they can count on in the crunch.

The Spurs look good. Good enough, I think, for me to pick them to win this series in seven.

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